Nils Eekhoff powers to surprise Nokere Koerse 2025 win as Jasper Philipsen crashes hard in the finale

Team Picnic PostNL's Nils Eekhoff has powered to the win in a brutal uphill sprint at Nokere Koerse 2025 after pre-race favourite Jasper Philipsen had crashed hard in the finale.

After a four-man breakaway formed relatively early, the peloton kept the attackers on a tight leash, not allowing the advantage of the break to ever get much more than a minute and a half. That was still the case the race reached the final 50km too, with the break holding a tentative lead of just a minute. Just outside the final 40km, the peloton then exploded by a big acceleration from Alpecin-Deceuninck and Jasper Philipsen. The biggest casualty of that move ended up being Belgian national champion Arnaud De Lie who completely detached out of contention.

In a big relief for De Lie and Lotto though, things calmed back down again soon after, with the majority of the peloton regrouping ahead of the final 30km, with only two from the original breakaway remaining out ahead by just 30 seconds. By 20km to go, just one of the original break remained, Uno-X Mobility's Rasmus Bøgh Wallin. 

Although Wallin was still looking strong, another acceleration from Alpecin-Deceuninck behind signalled the end of the Danish rider's time out front at around 11.5km to go, simultaneously jettisoning De Lie back out of the back of the bunch. In a stark contrast to his compatriot though, Philipsen was looking like a man on a mission at the front of the race, drawing a 10-man group clear in the process.

At 3km to go though, that 10-man group were reeled back by the peloton, with attentions turning towards a bunch sprint finale in Nokere. Unlike the traditional cobbled climb to the line, things were a little different this year, with a long drag of a sprint settling the day. Sadly for Jasper Philipsen, a late crash ended any hopes he had of victory, leaving Nils Eekhoff to take the win ahead of Matteo Moschetti.