As in the previous year, the French cycling star Julian Alaphilippe took the title of road world champion.
The 29-year-old prevailed on Sunday in the title fights in Flanders after 267.7 kilometers from Antwerp to Leuven ahead of the Dutchman Dylan van Baarle and the Dane Michael Valgren.
The German professional cyclists around captain Nils Politt went empty-handed on the hilly classic course with many poisonous climbs.
Politt presented himself aggressively, but did not make it into the top ten.
Classic specialist John Degenkolb retired after a fall and was taken to hospital as a precaution.
The 32-year-old “suffered abrasions and bruises” and “fell on his head”, wrote a spokeswoman for the Association of German Cyclists (BDR).
The German champion Maximilian Schachmann also had to give up prematurely after connecting very early to the field that was racing through Flanders.
Alaphilippe had already prevailed last year at the World Cup in Imola, Italy.
Again he won after a courageous attack as a soloist and thwarted the hosts' hopes for a home win.
In cycling-crazy Belgium, hundreds of thousands of fans flocked to the streets on Sunday to watch the most important race of the week of the World Cup.