Previous winner Jacky Durand was in an early breakaway with Michael Rich, Thomas Liese and Vincent van der Kooij. They were caught by a group of eight, consisting only of Italians, at 60 km from the finish, before the peloton returned at 30 km. Peter Van Petegem attacked on Tenbosse, followed by 10 others, heading to the Muur van Geraardsbergen. On the Muur, 16 km before the finish, Van Petegem broke clear with Frank Vandenbroucke, pushing on to the finish. Van Petegem beat his fellow Belgian in a two-man sprint. Australian Stuart O'Grady won the sprint for third place.[3]