Wout Van Aert was able to stay with Sven Nys and eventually won the Koppenberg in a sprint. After the race, however, everyone speaks about the strange maneuver by his teammate Jan Denuwelaere.

"For me, it was a strange incident. Jan made a mistake by staying on the inside. I also had to go around him. After that I did not see what happened behind me and I just rode my sprint," the winner told Het Nieuwsblad after the race.

Van Aert took a major win in Oudenaarde but will probably but now complain about the incident that took all the attention.

"It is unfortunate that everybody is now only talking about this," he admitted. "I have not seen what happened byt it is an unfortunate incident that I could not control. I would have preferred to have won in a fair sprint but it is not by fault. It was Jan's."

Van Aert who is still only 20 years old, impressed on the Koppenberg.

"My coach had made a schedule that would make me reach my first peak for the Koppenbergcross. When I broke my collarbone, I was a bit behind the plan but apparently not much. I am very happy with this victory. I had really not imagined this. I felt that I got better and better on the climb and I was able to ride near the front. In the final lap, I knew that Sven [Nys] would launch a big attack and even though it hurt, I could happily hold his wheel. This feels great."