Mathieu Van der Poel showcased his form ahead of the World Championships with victory at the GP de Wallonie after a leg-sapping effort on the road up to the Citadel de Namur.
The Dutchman closed down a late attack from Dylan Teuns and Gonzalo Serrano before springing from the saddle out of the final bend and crossing the line with head in his handlebars, such was his exhaustion.
Biniam Girmay, whose Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert teammates had dominated much of the 2.2km final climb to the Citadel, came back at Van der Poel but had to settle for second in the pair's latest battle.
Serrano, who sat on Teuns' wheel when the Belgian attacked inside the final kilometre, sprinted to third place, with Teuns fourth.
"This finish is honest, I think. The strongest normally wins on a finish like that and I'm happy to be first," Van der Poel said.
"I didn't feel very very good, to be honest. I said to Jasper that I'd do the lead-out for him, but I think he didn't feel great either. On the final bend, I just did my sprint, I didn't know if they he was still in my wheel, but I still had the strength to go to the line, and it was a nice victory for the team."
While Alpecin-Deceuninck were prominent throughout, it was Girmay's teammates who dominated the twisting, cobbled final climb, until Teuns threw their train off track with a strong attack on the steepest section just inside the final kilometre.
Van der Poel waited patiently as Girmay's last man Loic Vliegen ground out the last of his reserves, before pulling them back just ahead of a 90-degree left-hand bend with 200 metres to go. Once through it, he rose from the saddle and burst through to the front, managing to hold off Girmay in a gruelling slow-speed sprint.
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