Thibau Nys Beats Del Grosso After Thriller in Dendermonde, Wout van Aert Sixth

Thibau Nys and Tibor Del Grosso alert at the front
The holeshot in Dendermonde went to Niels Vandeputte, who entered the field just ahead of Ryan Kamp and a surprising Felipe Orts. Thibau Nys was also alert, and Wout van Aert quickly entered the top 10. The race forecast as a track meet came true. It was difficult to create gaps, despite Vandeputte, Kamp, and Orts doing everything possible to keep the pace high.

Belgian champion Nys recognized the danger of the race situation and, with Tibor Del Grosso on his wheel, took the lead in the fifth lap. That was not even halfway through the race, as the short circuit and high speed led the jury to set the race at twelve (!) laps in Dendermonde. Van Aert also tried to move up within the eleven-man leading group during this phase. However, he had to watch Nys take the initiative at the front.

Wout van Aert puts pressure on the competition, Del Grosso suffers puncture
Michael Vanthourenhout briefly took over and accelerated, but Nys, Del Grosso, Orts, and Emiel Verstrynge also moved up. Van Aert was repeatedly caught in a gap but never cracked. Entering the eighth lap, the pace dropped momentarily at the start-finish straight, prompting the Visma team leader to accelerate and pull away. He put the rest under full pressure, causing a selection after 40 minutes of racing.

Still, Van Aert couldn’t prevent a leading group of ten from entering the last four laps. Bad luck struck Dutch champion Del Grosso and teammate Niels Vandeputte, both getting punctures during the ninth lap. They lost contact with the five leaders: Vanthourenhout, Van Aert, Nys, Verstrynge, and Orts.

Nine riders enter the last two laps
It was clear the race was on a knife edge when Van Aert nearly crashed. He impressively stayed upright and kept the pace high. Del Grosso and Vandeputte managed to get within seven seconds of the leaders, and when the pace eased, they caught back up at the front. This all happened in the penultimate lap. The tension was palpable, with nine riders still dreaming of victory.

Sweeck pushed the pace with Nys and Del Grosso on his wheel, successfully pressuring Van Aert. The World Cup leader from Crelan-Corendon also began the final lap at the front, but behind him the race was full throttle. Every moment was seized to overtake. Nys sat on Sweeck’s wheel, while Del Grosso was lurking for his chance. Van Aert, meanwhile, was too far back in the finale.

Despite multiple attempts, Nys couldn’t pass Sweeck until he made his move going uphill and overtook Sweeck. Del Grosso also advanced, making it seem like a sprint between the Belgian and Dutch champions. Nys gained five meters, enough to beat Del Grosso in the final straight, much to the delight of the East Flanders crowd. Sweeck finished third, Van Aert ended up in sixth place.