The traditional kampioenendans in Otegem could again this year on all of the big names to count. Toon Aerts if his new Belgian tricolore after a short night show, also Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert lined up at the start. Van der Poel rode yesterday to his fifth consecutive Dutch veldrittitel in the pros, so he was also in Otegem the man to beat.
The start was for Laurens Sweeck in West-Flanders. After a lousy BK had the rider of Pauwels Sauces what is right, but bad luck threw a spanner in the works. Mathieu van der Poel - who else? - took the galant. Though there was not a demarrage. So was the first third of the cross completed by a group of ten cx. Dieter Vanthourenhout certain as the pace.