Runner-up Dehairs explains why Alpecin-Deceuninck didn’t let Del Grosso ride: "Going solo isn’t easy"

Dehairs would have loved to win, as he was racing in his own region. "It's a shame I couldn't win," he said in the flash interview afterward. Fortunately, he was able to put the loss into perspective. "It's a race close to home, so I would have liked to win today. But finishing second isn't bad for me either because it's my first podium of the year. I'm pretty satisfied."

The Belgian was also asked about the tactical choices made by Alpecin-Deceuninck. Was it the plan to catch up with Del Grosso? "That wasn't the case," he said resolutely. "We didn't want to close the gap to Tibor, but maybe it's not a bad thing to make the jump to him because it's not easy to solo with the wind at your back to the finish. It was the right choice but didn't work out in the final."

Ultimately, Fretin will not lose sleep over his competitors' tactics. He won, even though he had a flat tire 20 kilometers from the finish. "I had a flat tire at a very bad moment. Luckily, I had Stan (Aniolkowski, ed.) with me, who wasn't feeling well today. Normally, we would have sprinted with two men, but I don't think he had recovered from Paris-Roubaix. He helped me well, which saved me a lot of energy. I felt very strong today. This is my home race, so I was very motivated and delighted to win here."

It was the third victory for the strong Belgians from Cofidis after winning in Spain and Portugal in the early spring. It's wonderful for the team to have such a fast man: the French team already has more victories than last year (six to five). "It's very important. It's great to have won here as a sprinter, especially for my confidence and the team." Fretin only competed in his second race after a hard crash in the Classic Brugge-De Panne. "I started the year very well but was always fourth or fifth after that. I wanted to finish on the podium today, and to win is even better."