Remco Evenpoel, who had held out hope of defending his Belgian National Time Trial title, crashed on a slippery corner. Lemko Evenpoel was able to rejoin the race and complete the course, but had to settle for fourth place.

"I went into the corner a little too fast, but I was confident and wanted to take the risk," Evenpoel said, according to Het Laatste Nieuws. It was the corner with the least chance of crashing. I might have pushed my limits a little bit."

The continuous rain in Herzegre added complexity to the 42-km course, and Evenpoel was unable to recover from his early mistakes, finishing the day 1:22 behind Van Aert. Alec Segert (Lotto Danti) and Rune Hellegotts (Intermarque Wantigovert) rounded out the podium, with Evenpoel finishing 16 seconds behind the medal.

"I was already 50 seconds behind at the first intermediate point. At the first halfway point I was already 50 seconds behind. From that moment on, I knew I wasn't going to be in contention for the win," Evenpoel said.

"On the second lap they told me the podium was still there, getting closer and closer, on the second lap they told me the podium was still there, on the second lap they told me the podium was still there, on the second lap they told me the podium was still there, on the second lap they told me the podium was still there.

Evenpoel injured his right hip, but he indicated that the crash would not affect his participation in Sunday's road race.

"I'm looking forward to Sunday. Sunday will be drier than today. I want to keep the jersey on the team." It will be a fair race, but the start will be very tough. With Lampaert, myself and Merlier, we have some weapons."

Evenpoel, who was eliminated by COVID-19 while wearing a maglia rosa at the Giro d'Italia, has already confirmed that he will not compete in the Tour de France. The world champion returned last week at the Tour de Suisse, winning the final stage and finishing second overall, and will train at high altitude in Val di Fassa in July to prepare for the Glasgow World Championships.