World Champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) has won the second Superprestige race in Hoogstraten. Albert proved succesful yet again, keeping the young Czech Zdenek Stybar (Fidea) at bay. Belgian champion Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) came across the line in third and therefore surrenders his lead in the Superprestige to Albert.
Albert and Stybar took advantage of a miscommunication between Nys and his pit crew as he changed bikes. The two young guns poured on the pressure and easily distanced the rest of the field. Albert clearly dominated the slick course, citing lower tire pressure as his trick, but couldn’t break the elastic with Stybar. "I couldn’t go any faster. Sometimes I came closer, but than Niels would accelerate. My only chance was that he would make a mistake,” Stybar told Het Nieuwsblad.
Nys spent the remainder of the race clawing back but couldn’t catch back on, ending over a minute back. Nys was followed by Stybar’s Belgian teammate Kevin Pauwels and Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Projob) who, like most of the field, stuggled with the wet conditions.