The opening round of the Superprestige was another demonstration of power for Wout van Aert. The 21-year-old vice world champion scored his fourth win in four races. Van Aert rode solo to the line in the north of the Netherlands. Lars Van der Haar and Tim Merlier joined him on the podium while Sven Nys battled back from bad luck to take fourth.

Van Aert has won all races that he has done in this season and was also the top favorite at the start. The others were all watching him and it was David van der Poel who initially benefited from the game. The brother of world champion Mathieu got a gap at the start of the third lap and quickly got a 16-second advantage.

Van Aert and Van der Haar got up to speed and managed to catch young Dutchman. Van der Poel's story ended there and the two favorites stormed away from the rest.

Just at the time of Van Aert's and Van der Haar's acceleratiom, Sven Nys was taken out by a mechanical. He had to chase back after a blistering start.

Up front, Van der Haar and Van Aert worked well together. The Dutchman seemed to be able to stay with Van Aert, but at a new attack in the sand section ended the day for van der Haar.

From there, it was evident that it would be four out of four for Van Aert. Van der Haar and Tim Merlier completed the podium Nys finished fourth and Klaas Vantornout fifth.

Reactions:

Wout van Aert: "Because of my previous victories I was relaxed at the start. I got away pretty early and with Lars van der Haar it was the ideal companion. We both went for it and suddenly I got a gap. I made another acceleration and did not wait again."
Lars van der Haar: "During the second increase in pace, I made ​​a small mistake by not goining first into the sand section. Wout benefited and then rode away. He is currently simply too strong."

Tim Merlier: "I did not exactly expect to be on the podium, but this really shows that I have a good sprint and I have made ​​use of it to secure my first top 5 in one of the major series. It feels good."
Sven Nys: "I am satisfied with my fourth place, but more was possible. At the time of the acceleration of Van Aert and Van der Haar, I just had a flat tire. It was impossible to close the gap. In the sprint I unclipped so I lost the podium. "

Result:

1. Wout van Aert 56.34

2. Lars van der Haar +0.21

3. Tim Merlier +0.55

4. Sven Nys

5. Klaas Vantornout

6. Gianni Vermeersch +0.59

7. Kevin Pauwels +1.05

8. Vincent Baestaens +1.06

9. Rob Peeters

10. Julien Taramarcaz