Yeah he's ridiculously good, helpen by weird tactics from the others but still impressive when youre only 19y old.
Hagenes already was among the Jumbo riders who pulled the peloton apart in the crosswinds. In fact his pulls forced the selection. He then countered Campenaerts attack out of the front group with roughly 15 kilometres to go. Initiating the breakaway with Vermeersch and eventually jumped clear with 2 kilometres to go. Vermeersch instantly reacted, but simply wasn't able to reel Hagenes in.
Hagenes attacked 3 times, forcing a selection on each occasion until he took the win. Strong performance indeed.
It was a nice race overall. At least the final 25 kilometres with the crosswinds, rain and small, twisty roads led to exciting racing. Personally I didn't really miss crossing VAM-berg twice more.
Very tough conditions. Riders were covered with mud. Still ended up being a beach day though!
