Laurens Sweeck (Alpecin-Deceuninck) beat Niels Vandeputte (Crelan-Corendon) on the Exact Cross Essen, beating his countryman to the road after a tense closing duel.
The pair led the race on the ultimate lap after breaking away from an elite lead group, with Vandeputte main the way in which into the final part of the circuit. Around the ultimate bend onto the ending straight, Vandeputte slipped momentarily and did not clip into his pedal rapidly sufficient.
Results