"Honestly, for a second I thought Evenepoel was returning the favor to van Aert for the Olympic road race. But no!"

"I don't really know if I'm surprised by Remco's win," Sergeant starts his story. "We know he's a phenomenon from which you can always expect something. On the other hand, beating a Wout van Aert in top form in a sprint is quite impressive. And it was pretty clear. Let's say that Remco sprinted faster than expected and that Wout's sprint was not as good as we are used to seeing from him. Because even though Wout didn't win, he still finished fourth in both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix."

"Honestly, for a moment, I thought Remco was pushing hard and wanted to repay Wout for what he did for him in the Olympic road race. After all, Wout reacted quickly to van der Poel a few times. But no!" writes Sergeant. "I also think everyone assumed that Wout would win in the sprint. But we forgot how hard the race was. Van Aert's problem was that he was head and shoulders above the rest, so he could never take advantage of the slipstream. He had to go out to keep up with Evenepoel; Remco exhausted him in that last lap."

"While Wout was gasping for breath, Remco didn't seem to be struggling. Of course, this is a triumphant return, a victory that will give him a lot of confidence. Remco was still a little cautious at the start, but that will no longer be the case after today," predicts the former sports director.

"Look at Wout van Aert's spring: fourth in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Second in Dwars door Vlaanderen and now again in the Brabantse Pijl. Then you're just good," said Seregant. "But when you have to race against guys like Pogacar, Van der Poel, and now Evenepoel again, you know you can expect anything. Wout lost in a sprint for the second time, where he started as his favorite. Wout's sprint needs work."

"Remco started incredibly hard and didn't give Wout a chance. It was only two bike lengths. Wout said he wasn't disappointed, but this must weigh heavily on him. It's almost inevitable. Perhaps Wout's greatest achievement was that he made it to the sprint. Evenepoel would have beaten them all otherwise. So it didn't come to that," Sergeant analyzed.

"We are already looking forward to the Amstel Gold Race. And especially in the duel between Evenepoel and Pogacar. Remco's chances? You can compare the Amstel a bit to the Brabantse Pijl. The final is one of twists and turns, with many intervals. That's how Remco likes it."