Initially, Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma) thought he had made it out alone, but he soon realized that he had the worst company in the last 2 km of the Dwar door Hlaanderen. Mathieu van der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix) was stuck on his rear wheel. Still, Benoot, an economics graduate from Ghent University, quickly crunched the numbers and decided it was worth the effort. Working with van der Pol would at least ensure a podium finish, he decided, and he finished second, with Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) in third. I thought I had it all to myself for a few seconds, but then Mathieu came in on my wheel," Pidcock said. I had to choose what to do with that. I had to make a choice, because it would have been difficult for me anyway if I let the rest of them go home. That way, if Mathieu made a gear change mistake or something, I had the best chance of winning. I made one more turn and then took a gamble." [Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadier), Victor Kampenaerts (Lotto Soudal), and Stefan Kühn (Groupama-FDJ), along with Benoot, Van der Pol, and Pidcock cleared the climb of Berg ten Hout with about 70km remaining. They were then joined by an escape group including Nils Pollitt (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Kelland O'Brien (BikeExchange-Jayco), and this eight-man group continued to the finish.

They had no choice but to work together for the next 60 km or so. Two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) missed the Berg ten Hout branch, but was making a spirited chase at the back.

Their unity began to be disrupted in Nokeberg, where Van der Pol showed his strength, while Campenaerts, with a 58-tooth chainring, made several efforts to avoid a sprint finish. Benoot accompanied him on one of them, but was reeled in by Kühn.

"I think it was a really good race, a really long final with a very tense finish," Benoot said. "Especially the attack at the end. Stefan Küng was pulling behind me and Victor for a long time, so we had a better chance to win the sprint than we did with Mathieu." He and Christophe Laporte will line up as Wout Van Aert's most valuable support members, while Benoot, who finished fifth in his debut race in 2015, felt secure with his performance here; his victory in the E3 Saxo Bank Classic made him the favorite to win Ronde Van Aert had to forego the Doire d'Or Flanderen, but Benoot was happy to have the extra race distance. If I had wanted to save something [for the Tour of Flanders], I would have trained at home today. The E3 and the last weekend in Ghent-Wevelgem gave me the depth I needed for the final." Meanwhile, when asked who was most likely to thwart Jumbo Visma in Oudenaarde, Benoot said the answer was obvious. 'I'd have to say Juan del Pole,' he said. I think that says it all."