In the Rick van Steenbergen Memorial Race, Tim Mellier won the Alpecin-Desseuninck sprint race, with Mark Cavendish (Quick Step-Alphavinck) in second and Dylan Groenewegen (Bike Exchange-Jayco ) in third place.

The race, which started and finished in Allendonk on the Belgian-Dutch border, was expected to be a sprinters' race from the beginning of the 174 km, mostly flat course.

A small breakaway of seven riders, including Lotto-Soudal's Sebastien Grignard, stretched to a shallow lead of just under 2 minutes, but pulled away in the last 10 km.

On the approach to the finish, Mark Cavendish attacked on the last curve before the finish straight with around 200m to go.

Alpecin-Desseuninck put Mélière behind Cavendish just before the bend and overtook him with a few meters to go.

"It was a very hectic finish," said Deceuninck. There was still a gentle curve left in the last kilometer and the final straight was very close to the finish."

"My teammate lifted me up and I jumped on the wheel of Mark Cavendish who had gone early. I managed to catch him."

Mellier has won five races this season, including the Belgian national road race title, but missed out on a stage win at the Vuelta a España, complaining that the sprint teams could not chase the breakaway.

The race marked the end of Cavendish's season, and Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl will not participate in the Veneto Classic next Sunday.In the 2022 season, Cavendish won five races, including the British national title.

Both Mellier and Cavendish will see their current contracts expire, with Mellier moving to Quick-Step-Alfa Vinyl. Cavendish, on the other hand, has been linked with a possible move to B&B Hotels and has not yet decided on a new team.