Reigning world champion Wout Van Aert won the DVV Trophy in Essen for the third straight year Saturday, beating Kevin Pauwels by 18 seconds.
Van Aert, 22, finished in 1 hour, 56 seconds. Tom Meeusen came back from the pack to finish third in 1 hour, 36 seconds.
Halfway through the DVV-Trofee series, Van Aert maintains the overall lead at 4 hours, 3 minutes and 16 seconds. Pauwels is in second 2 minutes and 34 seconds back.
The series continues next Saturday at the Schelecross in Antwerp, Belgium.