"Sven still made it pretty tough for me in the end," he told Het Nieuwsblad. "I'm glad I could make the differnce in these difficult conditions. I got a small gap because someone behind me made a mistake. Teammate Tim [Merlier] rode in second position, a good thing for me and I decided to pull through as fast as possible, at least until the first intermediate sprint to gain some bonus seconds."

Subsequently, Van Aert continued to build his lead. "I chose a pace that I could sustain, but it was not easy because Sven was still very close. On such a difficult course it took me a lot of effort and mental strength to hold him off. I could make absolutely no errors . I am proud that I have shown mental toughness and can go home with the victory. A competition like Koksijde last week is lovely, a duel with Sven, but I still love to win solo. Today I just decided to take the race into my hands at the start and it appears it was the best option to win. I'm very happy with that."

Because Pauwels finished in third place just over a minute behind, van Aert sees his lead in the Bpost Bank Trofee standings grow to more than a minute. "That gives me peace of mind. In the Christmas period there will be many hard races in the series. I'm glad I can start with a big lead in the bpost."