For Victor Kampenaerts (Lot Soudal), "teeth" was the word of the day at Dwars Door Hlaanderen. His chain ring had 58 teeth, one of which broke off in his own mouth. Kampenaerts finished fourth in Waregem on Wednesday and appeared before the media zone with a missing front tooth. He revealed that he did not suffer all the damage in the Flanders Ardennes and that he first broke his tooth in a crash six years ago. But the cobbled classic race was tough on his already old replacement tooth. 'In 2016, I crashed at the Tour de Romandie and had it repaired,' he said. They said it would last me five years." As for chainrings, Campenaerts has had great success. Most riders used 56s, and Tom Pidcock, who finished ahead of him on the podium, used 53s.

The chainrings were non-sponsored and made by Rotor, built into a Shimano Dura-Ace 12-speed groupset. It was mounted on a Dura-Ace crank, but the Rotor logo on the ring was hidden by tape. Also, the chain was generously waxed and the handlebars were narrow. After the race, Tom Pidcock called him "Mr. Aero." Pidcock and the winner, Van der Pol, commented on Campenaerts' chainring, noting that he attacked on the descent. While they were running a high cadence on the descent, Campenaerts put a lot of power in the pedals and attacked several times in the last 20 km.

"I was riding at full throttle and he was pulling away from me," said Pidcock, who suspected there was slipstream from the bike before being told about the chainring. 'Well, that's how it happened. I was on the 53." Van der Pol already knew. Having spent much of the last few weeks training in the same corner of southeastern Spain, he was familiar with Campenal's technical hacks and had read his intentions. 'At that point, I knew what he was going to do. I was with him in Spain. He always attacks on the downhills, and today was no different."

In the end, the chain ring did not carry Campenaerts to victory. Although he made an important choice in Berg ten Houte with 70km to go, his tactical ride to Waregem did not go his way. The Belgian made his first attack on the descent from Nokereberg and quietly got away, only to be pulled back 2km later. He attacked again on the Holstraat with 8km to go and cleared on the descent. A few kilometers later, he met up with Pidcock and Benoot, and as things began to fall into place, he and Benoot went clear. Pidcock failed in his final attack, and when Benoot cleared, Van der Pol followed, and the two finished together. Campenaerts sprinted strongly, but was outpaced by Pidcock and missed out on the final podium spot. I had the legs to win, but I needed some luck," he said. I had the legs to win, but I needed some luck. My sprint was not enough to beat Pidcock.

Campenaerts revealed in the finale that he ignored his team's instructions and chose to follow his instincts and attack rather than wait for a predetermined moment.

"I am a little against the tactics of sporting director Nicholas Maes. He told me that I should only attack after Van der Pol had gone twice. I felt good and couldn't wait," Campenaerts said. Kampenaerts had set his sights on a race like the Doire de Flenderen (only 184 km long) as his major goal. Having spent most of his career as a time triallist, he has been pessimistic about his chances in 250km monuments like Sunday's Tour de Flanders, but after having had some bad luck so far this spring, he finally got to test his legs to the fullest. I know I have good legs," he said. I knew I had good legs. Let's see what happens in the 200km on Sunday."