Mathieu Van der Poel wins the 208 km E3 Saxo Classic.

The race exploded with an attack by the Dutchman himself with 69 km to go.

The Alpecin rider, practically alone, goes to catch up with two groups of men who had attacked previously and in turn goes off alone on the Paterberg .

From behind, Hagenes , Vermeersch , Abrahamsen and Dewulf , fresh from the morning's escape, tried to react.

The four closed in on Van der Poel , until they were three seconds behind in the final kilometer. Incredibly, they stopped, allowing the Dutchman to take a solo victory. Hagenes finished second, while Vermeersch was third. Andresen led the pack by 24 seconds.