The Belgian triple header of racing wrapped up on Monday afternoon at the Antwerp Port Epic, a race defined by its relentless string of unpaved sectors—over 30 in total—scattered across the Flemish landscape. Team Picnic PostNL took to the start with the ambition to go for a strong result with Tobias Lund Andresen.
With 88 kilometers to go, confusion struck the race when a portion of the peloton took a wrong turn, forcing organizers to temporarily neutralise the action. Once restarted, the pace immediately lifted, turning the second half into a full-gas battle for positioning and survival. The race split and got back together several times, with Lund Andresen making in the final main bunch that looked like it would contest for the victory. However, by the time the final cobbled sector was behind them, Kielich had a narrow advantage of 16 seconds after attacking at 30km from the finish. In the final kilometers, Wallin bridged across to Kielich, and the two riders managed to cooperate effectively, keeping the peloton at bay. Kielich edged out Wallin in the sprint to take the win. Tobias Lund Andresen showed strong legs throughout the day and remained in the mix right until the finale, crossing the line in 14th place.
After the race Lund Andresen said: “We did well to hit the first sector right at the front as a team and influence the race for as long as we could. Unfortunately, as the race went on, I was on my own for quite a while. In the end, I had to do my own sprint and got blocked against the barrier — a shame, because I felt I had a good sprint in me.”