For the occasion, a guard of honor was formed for Declercq, who rode his bike for the very last time as a professional cyclist. Several well-known names such as Wout van Aert, Tiesj Benoot and Tim Merlier were present to honor the cyclist.
Although the criterion was obviously sporting in nature, there was also room for an alcoholic drink break in between. In the final laps the pace increased, and together with his buddy Yves Lampaert, Declercq pulled away from the rest of the peloton. Naturally, the victory in the farewell criterion went to Tim Declercq, with which he ended his career in a nice way.