The 39th edition of the 'Strandcross' in Vlissingen was won by World MX2 competitor Liam Everts, who finished well ahead of his competition. The main 500cc race was brought to an early end following an accident involving a rider who required medical attention.
Everts, who, two weeks prior, helped Belgium secure the MXoN in Ernée, France, demonstrated total dominance on the Vlissingen sands. In both the qualifying heat and the majority of the final race, he took the lead early on and built a substantial gap. By the time race officials were forced to intervene, the outcome was effectively already decided.
According to the rules, if more than half of a race's scheduled duration has elapsed, the standings at the moment of the stoppage are considered the final results. This was the case in Vlissingen: 13 of the planned 22 minutes had been completed when the red flag was shown. As a result of this decision, the riders did not have to restart, and the standings remained unchanged. For Everts, this meant a convincing victory; he finished well ahead of his closest rivals, leaving him plenty of time afterward to give interviews and sign autographs.
In the first heat, Yentel Martens—also from Belgium and the defending champion, took the holeshot, but Everts seized control during the second lap and immediately pulled away. Only Sven van den Mierden and Martens managed to stay within the same lap for part of the race; the rest of the field was lapped once or twice.