There was so much thunder that it finally rained. Most likely, under the "upset" category, Wout Van Aert's name and the entire Visma | Lease a Bike team will now be included: Neilson Powless smiled in the Dwars Door Vlaanderen 2025, ruining the "hornets'" party with a sharp, uncontested sprint. Second for the Belgian, who was outsmarted despite having two teammates available - a tough blow to his morale ahead of the Tour of Flanders. The Belgian race remains an American affair, but this time it's the EF rider raising his arms at the Waregem finish line.

THE RACE. Visma's tactics were almost perfect. The first part was managed by leaving very little space for breakaway attempts, with a group of eight riders - Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ), Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates XRG), Ceriel Desal (Wagner Bazin WB), Taco Van Der Hoorn (Intermarchè-Wanty), Joshua Giddings (Lotto), Fabio Christen (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Petr Kelemen (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) - animating the day without gaining more than a minute. At 73 kilometers from the finish, the "hornets'" action broke the race: Affini's acceleration fractured the peloton, with Benoot, Jorgenson, and Van Aert exploiting the Italian's work and creating a gap. Only Neilson Powless joined the breakaway, and the wind then conditioned the group's work, preventing them from closing the margin.

The three-against-one situation was initially managed perfectly, with the American waiting without attempting any attacks. In the last kilometer, the two domestiques launched Van Aert's sprint, but the EF rider emerged at the right moment, taking an incredible victory and easily overtaking the Belgian. The three Visma riders were desperate at the finish line, having thrown away a golden opportunity.

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Neilson Powless USA (EF Education - EasyPost) in 3h57'14"

2. Wout van Aert BEL (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) s.t.

3. Tiesj Benoot BEL (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) s.t.

4. Matteo Jorgenson USA (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) at 5"

5. Mads Pedersen DEN (Lidl - Trek) in 45"

6. Tibor Del Grosso NED (Alpecin - Deceuninck) s.t.

7. Dries De Bondt BEL (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) at 47"

8. Arjen Livyns BEL (Lotto) s.t.

9. Stefan Küng SUI (Groupama - FDJ) s.t.

10. Alec Segaert BEL (Lotto) s.t.