World champion Van der Poel demonstrates in Mol

Victory number 32 in the oldest points-based criterium was how Mathieu van der Poel kicked off his season in the Telenet Superprestige. By the halfway point, the world champion had left everyone trailing in his wake and finished solo with a one-minute advantage over Laurens Sweeck. Michael Vanthourenhout took third place, a minute and a half behind the winner.

For the first 20 minutes, the riders remained locked together. In a group of eight riders, no one was able to gain an advantage during the first four laps. Until world champion Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) let loose. Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) was the only one who managed to stick with him and the two of them broke away to lead the race.

For a while, the world champion could tolerate the company. But one lap later, he took off again on the beach of the Zilvermeer. This time, Sweeck had to let him go. However, on the next sandy stretch, a brilliant passage by Sweeck got him back on the world champion's wheel. So, it was back to square one.

For the third time in a row, Van der Poel chose the beach by the Zilvermeer as the point to step on the gas. Sweeck cracked a second time and, after that, did not see the world champion again. Van der Poel flashed through the sand and seemed to get better with each passing lap. He eventually finished with a lead of more than one minute. Sweeck was second, Michael Vanthourenhout third. Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) takes over the overall lead in the ranking.