Nokere Koerse is a quintessential Belgian one-day cycling race, as riders cover nearly 200 kilometers a winding roads and rough cobbles in the contentious Spring weather. The course takes riders through two distinct laps, starting in the town of Deinze and finishing in the race's namesake town of Nokere in the Flemish countryside approximately 30 kilometers southwest of Ghent.
Five riders began the break from the start, and with under 50 kilometers to the final line, only three riders remained in a break from the peloton, composed of Yohann Offredo of team Wanty-Groupe Gobert, David Boucher of team Tartelleto-Isorex, and Otto Vergaerde of team Correndon-Circus. The three-man-break was swept out long before the finish, however, as 25 kilometers from the finish the pack was pulled back together. As the newly formed peloton began to lead the charge, the group began waiting for a rider, or riders, to take the initiative once again to make a final push for victory on the day.
In the final 3 kilometers, a full line or riders began preparing for the finish, which was inevitably to be an intense bunch sprint. Attacking in the hectic finish, a crash broke out, with multi-time World and European Cyclocross Champion and National Road Race Champion of Belgium in 2018, Mathieu van der Poel, going down hard in the crash.
Cees Bol of Team Sunweb was able to pass Pascal Ackermann of team Bora-Hansgrohe in the final 100 meters ultimately to celebrate in an impressive showing of victory at the 2019 edition of the Nokere Koerse.
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