Jasper Philipsen wins after photo finish

After a pressing sprint, Philipsen was faster than the Dutch Dylan Groenewegen and Fabio Jakobsen.

Gijs Van Hoecke, Thibau Verhofstadt, the Frenchman Samuel Leroux and the Swiss Fabio Christen signed for the first attack of the day. The early breakaway was immediately formed and the sprinter teams could start checking the peloton. With four laps of 15.1 kilometers each ahead of them, the foursome rode one minute ahead of the big pack. Some riders from Beat Cycling Club tried to cross to the front, but they were repeatedly called to order by the riders from Soudal Quick-Step, Jayco Alula and Alpecin-Deceuninck.

With 50 kilometers to ride, Fabio Christen briefly tried to mount an attack. The leading group started the last three laps with a mere minute lead. Samuel Leroux suddenly had to leave the front and we were left with a leading group that was only three men strong. When the penultimate round was withdrawn, the lead had been halved to half a minute. A full peloton, with Caleb Ewan always in the last places, started the final lap. The Australian moved up as the finish approached.

Jordi Warlop and about ten other riders were involved in a crash 13 kilometers from the finish. Some riders tried to avoid the bunch sprint, but their attempts were in vain. In the subsequent group sprint, Fabio Jakobsen, Jasper Philipsen and Dylan Groenewegen stormed to the finish line. After watching the photo finish, the victory, just like in 2021, went to Philipsen.