Sven Nys came up short in the battle for second at the World Cup race in Valkenburg as he was distanced by Wout van Aert on the final lap.

"I have done everything to put Lars [van der Haar] under pressure and together with Wout to get rid of Kevin [Pauwels]," he told Sporza. "I wanted to finish on the podium but in the final lap I could not respond to Wout's acceleration. I should be happy with this. I'm in a good position in the standings and I am making progress. There are still great weeks coming ups and I hope to win another one.

'Wout started very fast. It was too fast for me. Lars jumped immediately but I chose my own pace. I automatically ended up where I belonged. And I felt good. Behind Lars, I could do my own race. I tried to put Wout under pressure, but in the final lap I made a small mistake."

Kevin Pauwels finished fourth after losing contact with van Aert and Nys.

"When Van der Haar left, I knew that the victory was for him," he told Sporza. "He rode off like van Aert has done in recent weeks. I felt that I was not really good. Last week I felt better."