What a thrilling finale! Kielich sprints to victory in sensational and chaotic Antwerp Port Epic

They were looking for a successor to Alexander Kristoff, as the Uno-X sprinter won this race last year but did not show up at the start this year. Merlier, Girmay, Arnaud Démare, Sam Welsford, Arnaud De Lie, Tobias Lund Andresen, and Matteo Malucelli were the sprinters that cycling enthusiasts had tipped for victory in the sprint. However, this race has often not ended in a sprint in recent years, which made the attackers all the more enthusiastic. It was destined to be chaotic, as this year's course included a lot of gravel and cobbled sections.

Filip Maciejuk (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Valentin Retailleau (TotalEnergies) were the first to break away, followed by Tuur Dens (Flanders-Baloise) and Timo de Jong (VolkerWessels) who successfully launched a counterattack. With four riders in the lead, the race headed towards the first sections of the day.

However, things went wrong early on. Welsford was the first major casualty of the day after a heavy crash. The Australian remained on the ground for a long time and could not continue. He was taken away by ambulance. Unfortunately, it was also a DNF for De Lie. The Belgian rider from Lotto, who seemed to have turned the corner the day before with a third place in the Brussels Cycling Classic, crashed. After briefly getting back on his bike, he gave up with a suspected broken elbow.

Not much later, we saw another crash, but at the front. Dutch rider De Jong crashed on a cobbled section and was dropped from the early breakaway. With 105 kilometers to go, the three remaining breakaway riders had a lead of under three minutes. However, things went wrong again shortly afterward, this time for many riders.

The peloton, which seemed to be following a motorcyclist, turned left where it was not supposed to. A few riders quickly realized this and turned back, but most of the peloton had taken the wrong turn. This left the organizers with no choice but to neutralize the race briefly. The race continued after it had been halted for a while, and everyone was back on the right track.

It was a case of twisting, turning, twisting, and twisting again in Belgium. As a result, the peloton rode in a long line for a while, with the attackers at the front. Tibor Del Grosso was also well positioned at the front while the peloton increasingly split up. The gaps were quickly closed again whenever the riders got a little bit of asphalt under their wheels. Meanwhile, the trio at the front was still pushing hard, although their lead was slowly but surely diminishing.

The chaos was far from over, as we also saw Del Grosso hit the ground. The Dutch rider had accelerated to the front of the peloton not long before but ended up in the grass after missing a corner. He could continue quickly, although he had to change a wheel with one of his teammates a little later. In any case, Del Grosso had made it clear that the attackers were determined to win the day.

As so often happens, the peloton came back together on the paved roads, although we also saw Merlier go on the attack on those same roads. He was unable to break away, so the thinned-out peloton stayed together. At the front, a mechanical problem ended Retailleau's adventure in the early breakaway. We saw another crash involving Lev Genov (XDS Astana) in the peloton, although this time at low speed.

In a completely chaotic race, a few more riders crashed without serious consequences, but Timo Kielich went solo with 31 kilometers to go. The Belgian from Alpecin-Deceuninck stayed ahead of the considerably thinned-out peloton long and looked set for a very impressive victory. Behind him, we saw another heavy crash involving several riders.

Rasmus Bøgh Wallin (Uno-X) had jumped to Kielich in the last ten kilometers, leaving them to try to stay ahead of the peloton. In the peloton, Merlier and Girmay, as well as Del Grosso, were preparing for a sprint. Démare came forward with a single teammate, with Alpecin-Deceuninck close behind. In a thrilling finale, Kielich beat Wallin and stayed ahead of the peloton, with Merlier winning the sprint for third place.