Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2019 [LAST 25 KM]

March 06, 2019

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2019 – Merelbeke – Ninove : 200 km

The cobbled Classics begin in earnest with Belgium’s Opening Weekend and the double-header of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. For the purists, these races represent the true start of the European road season, but there have been several prequels across several continents, with riders arriving in Belgium in varying form. It makes predicting the outcome of both races – especially Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with its modified course – even harder to call, but with a number of high-profile Classics stars on the start line, the racing should be as compelling as ever. First up is Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, with a new finish in Ninove replacing last season’s finale in Meerbeke. The race will once again start in Gent, with the riders facing both cobbles and bergs, while the Kapelmuur and the Bosberg will feature as before. In total, riders will tackle nine sectors of cobbles – including the Haaghoeck three times, along with 13 Hellingen. These include three ascents of the Leberg, the Berendries – on which Rolf Sorensen dispatched with Laurent Jalabert before going on to win the 1996 Tour of Flanders – and then the Kapelmuur and Bosberg, which both come inside the final 17km of racing.

Nearly man no more. Zdenek Stybar (Deceuninck-QuickStep) soloed to victory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with a canny attack in the closing kilometres to claim the first Flemish Classic of his career, while Greg Van Avermaet (CCC) won the sprint for second ahead of Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal).

Stybar was part of a five-man break that decided the honours on the approach to Ninove after they had extended their lead over the chasing group to more than half a minute on the final climbs of the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg.

Van Avermaet was, by reputation, the quickest of their number, and the Olympic champion took it upon himself to close down an attack from Wellens with 3km remaining. Stybar had been waiting for this precise moment. As soon as Wellens was caught, the Czech attacked on the opposite side of the road. Van Avermaet, reasoning that he couldn’t be expected to jump on every move, looked for help from Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) and Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida). It wasn’t immediately forthcoming and Stybar suddenly had a winning gap.

“I had a good feeling all day, but of course you never know,” said Stybar, who was prominent all afternoon. “It was a very strong break, but I still had teammates in the group behind, and I could benefit from that.”

In 2018, while QuickStep racked up a remarkable 73 wins, Stybar managed to go the entire season without a victory, though he played a key supporting role in the team’s Classics success. He started 2019 on the right foot last week by claiming the final stage of the Volta ao Algarve, and continued in that vein to win by 6 seconds in Ninove.

For all their dominance in the Flemish Ardennes over the years, QuickStep have often struggled on Belgian cycling’s Opening Weekend. Tom Boonen famously never won Omloop and the team’s last success in the race came back in 2005, when Nick Nuyens won an event that was still known as Omloop Het Volk.

“I only heard the day before yesterday at the press conference that QuickStep hadn’t won Omloop for 14 years, which was amazing,” Stybar said. “I am very happy that I could win here, for the team, but also for me. I was close to a victory like this last year and I’m happy to finally finish it off.”

The winning move had its genesis in the forcing of Jumbo-Visma on the narrow ascent of the Molenberg with 40km remaining, which left 17 riders in front, including Stybar and his Deceuninck-QuickStep teammate Yves Lampaert, as well as Van Avermaet, Lutsenko, Wellens, Daniel Oss (Bora-Hansgrohe), Oliver Naesen (AG2R), Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) and Ian Stannard (Team Sky).

Despite the pursuit of Sunweb behind, it looked a decisive split, and the group was whittled down still further when Benoot crashed with a shade under 30km to go, leaving just six riders – Stybar, Van Avermaet, Lutsenko, Wellens, Teuns and Osss – out in front as they faced into the climb of the Elverenberg.

That sextet combined well to hit the Muur with a lead of 17 seconds on the chasers, and their raw strength told on the slopes of the hallowed climb, as Van Avermaet and Stybar’s pace-making proved too much for Oss and extended their lead over the chasers behind.

Van Avermaet and Stybar were again forceful on the Bosberg, and the five leaders crested the summit with 35 seconds in hand on a chasing group that was being policed by Deceuninck-QuickStep. It was a scenario familiar from last spring, only this time, Stybar found himself out in front rather than caught behind. He didn’t squander the opportunity.

How it unfolded

The break formed early, with Roy Jans (Corendon-Circus), Tom Wirtgen (Wallonie-Bruxelles), Alex Howes (EF-Drapac) and Tom Devriendt (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) forging clear of the peloton shortly after it left the start town of Ghent. The ambling bunch allowed the escapees build up a lead of some 14 minutes by the time they reached first cobbled section of the Haaghoek after 38 kilometres of racing, at which point Deceuninck-Quick-Step stepped forward to beginning paring down their advantage. Indeed, the bunch’s slow early pace had an inadvertent impact on the women’s race, which was briefly neutralised to avoid an overlap between the two events.

By the second ascent of the Leberg the break’s lead was down to six minutes. An attack from Kenneth Vanbilsen (Cofidis) forced an early split in the peloton and reduced the break’s lead still further. Vanbilsen was joined by many riders, including Stybar, Naesen Ian Stannard (Sky), Jens Keukeleire (Lotto-Soudal), Jurgen Roelandts (Movistar) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo). The CCC-led peloton had to work hard for 20 kilometres to bring the Stybar group back at the Valkenberg. Meanwhile, Baptiste Planckaert (Wallonie-Bruxelles) bridged across to the lead group.

The first move from the favourites came on the cobbles at Mater, with 50km to go, when Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) made a fierce acceleration. He was marked by Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Greg Van Avermaet (CCC) and Daniel Oss (Bora-Hansgrohe).

Soon afterwards, Jumbo-Visma’s Danny van Poppel hammered up the narrow Molenberg climb on the front, an effort that split the bunch into multiple groups, forming the elite move of 17. They soon caught Baptiste Planckaert, the sole remaining leader, after they hurtled over the cobbles of Haaghoek, 37km from the finish.

After Benoot’s crash, only six riders remained in front. In the reduced peloton, Owain Doull (Team Sky) worked hard to bring the gap back down to 10 seconds at the foot of the Muur, but the power of the men in front proved telling and the margin opened once again. Van Avermaet and Stybar had looked to be the strongest for much of the afternoon, and so it proved, with the Czech winning the day.

Results :
1 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:53:17
2 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team 0:00:09
3 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
4 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
5 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Merida
6 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Bora-Hansgrohe
7 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
8 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
9 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
10 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
11 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal
12 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
13 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
14 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky
15 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First
16 Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-QuickStep
17 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
18 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
19 Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:28
20 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Direct Energie 0:00:29
21 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:30
22 Silvan Dillier (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:32
23 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:44
24 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles 0:01:52
25 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team
26 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky
27 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Corendon-Circus
28 Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky 0:02:51
29 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
30 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
31 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:04:16
32 Benjamin Declercq (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:04:42
33 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
34 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott 0:04:44
35 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:05:54
36 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
37 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates
38 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
39 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
40 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
41 Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
42 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:06:17
43 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Corendon-Circus
44 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
45 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Dimension Data
46 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles
47 Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
48 Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
49 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Direct Energie
50 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
51 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
52 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
53 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
54 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ
55 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team
56 Aime De Gendt (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
57 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ
58 Alex Howes (USA) EF Education First
59 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team Sunweb
60 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
61 Thomas Sprengers (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
62 Taylor Phinney (USA) EF Education First
63 Tom Bohli (Swi) UAE Team Emirates
64 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin
65 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Direct Energie
66 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
67 Kevyn Ista (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
68 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Team Sunweb
69 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team
70 Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct Energie
71 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team
72 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
73 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
74 Damien Touze (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
75 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
76 Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Corendon-Circus 0:06:23
77 Sjoerd van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot-Charles
78 Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
79 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
80 Lars Boom (Ned) Roompot-Charles
81 Antoine Duchesne (Can) Groupama-FDJ
82 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
83 Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team
84 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) CCC Team
85 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
86 Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
87 Alexander Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:06:27
88 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
89 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
90 Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Astana Pro Team
91 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First
92 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Education First
93 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Direct Energie
94 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:08:36
95 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
96 Frederik Backaert (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
97 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
98 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
99 Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
100 Emils Liepins (Lat) Wallonie Bruxelles
101 Lukas Spengler (Swi) Wallonie Bruxelles
102 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
103 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
104 Matti Breschel (Den) EF Education First
105 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
106 Marcel Meisen (Ger) Corendon-Circus
107 Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
108 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
109 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
110 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles
DNF Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Brian van Goethem (Ned) Lotto Soudal
DNF Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Joeri Stallaert (Bel) Corendon-Circus
DNF Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Roy Jans (Bel) Corendon-Circus
DNF Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Jerome Baugnies (Bel) Wanty-Gobert
DNF Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Zico Waeytens (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Rory Sutherland (Aus) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Maarten van Trijp (Ned) Corendon-Circus
DNF Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Tom Wirtgen (Lux) Wallonie Bruxelles
DNF Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
DNF Romain Cardis (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Dimension Data
DNF Rasmus Tiller (Nor) Dimension Data
DNF Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data
DNF Lars Bak (Den) Dimension Data
DNF Mathias De Witte (Bel) Roompot-Charles
DNF Stijn Steels (Bel) Roompot-Charles
DNF Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First
DNF Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Elmar Reinders (Ned) Roompot-Charles
DNF Mads Schmidt Würtz (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Harry Tanfield (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot-Charles
DNF Christopher Lawless (GBr) Team Sky
DNF Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Sky
DNF Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Wesley Kreder (Ned) Wanty-Gobert
DNF Roberto Ferrari (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team
DNF Francisco Ventoso (Spa) CCC Team
DNF Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
DNF Edoardo Affini (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Jan Bakelants (Bel) Team Sunweb
DNF Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data
DNF Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Daniel Hoelgaard (Nor) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Alex Frame (NZl) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Piet Allegaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Movistar Team
DNF Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Juan Sebastian Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates