Greg Van Avermaet wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

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Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) successfully defended his Omloop Het Nieuwsblad crown when he saw off world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Sep Vanmarcke (Cannondale-Drapac) with a powerful sprint in Ghent.

The winning move was formed in installments, beginning with Sagan’s fierce accelerations on the climb of the Wolvenberg and the cobbles that followed at Haaghoek, efforts that helped peg back the early leaders and whittle down an already reduced group of favourites.

Only Sagan and Van Avermaet could then respond when Vanmarcke attacked on the final climb of the Molenberg, and the trio quickly established a lead of 30 seconds over the chasers. They would scarcely hand back an inch of that advantage thereafter, despite the efforts of Sky and Quick-Step in the group of twelve riders that formed behind them.

In truth, the three leaders looked a rung or two above everyone else in the opening race of the Belgian season, though it must be noted that a number of contenders, including Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), were eliminated by a crash ahead of the Taaienberg, traditionally the true starting point of hostilities among the favourites.

Sagan was forced to lead the break into the final kilometre, though it was Vanmarcke, winner of Omloop in 2012, who opened the sprint from distance. Van Avermaet was quick to respond. He swiftly moved past Vanmarcke and put a length into Sagan, and the world champion was never able to get back on terms.

Van Avermaet once had the reputation as a nearly man, but he began to shake off that tag following his victory in similar circumstances at Omloop a year ago. After winning Olympic gold in Rio last summer, Van Avermaet clearly no longer has any inhibitions in the biggest races, and he will be encouraged, too, by his fine head-to-head record against Sagan.

“It’s an amazing feeling. Last year I started my year with a big victory. It’s always nice to come back and win your first race on home ground. For me it’s the perfect start of the season," Van Avermaet said. Asked if it was a good omen for the Tour of Flanders, he added: “Hopefully, it’s my biggest goal, but it will be a hard race.”

Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo) clipped off the front of the chase group to finish fourth, 44 seconds down, while just behind him, Oscar Gatto (Astana) won the sprint for fifth ahead of Luke Rowe (Sky).

Felline’s directeur sportif Dirk Demol complained afterwards that the three leaders had ignored a directive that threatened riders with exclusion if they rode along the pavements at the side of the road instead of along the course proper. He was joined in his protest by Lotto Soudal manager Marc Sergeant, but the commissaires quickly confirmed that the result of the race stood. Van Avermat was the winner.

There was no celebration for Tom Boonen, meanwhile, in his final tilt at Omloop, the one major cobbled race that has eluded him during his illustrious career. The Belgian crashed twice, and his race was effectively ended by the second incident on the cobbles at Donderij. Although he gamely gave chase, Boonen eventually abandoned inside the final 50 kilometres, but is expected to start Sunday's Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.

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How it unfolded

After a fast first hour of racing, Justin Jules (Veranclassic) and Gediminas Bagdonas (AG2R La Mondiale) managed to get away. The pace in the peloton picked up when approaching the first passage over the cobbles of the Haaghoek. A first crash occurred soon afterwards, with Tom Boonen being one of the casualties, though the Belgian star was quickly able to bridge back up to the peloton. Lukas Spengler (Veranclassic) had less luck and was transferred to the hospital.

Brian van Goethem (Roompot), Mike Teunissen (Team Sunweb), former Belgian champion Preben Van Hecke (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise) and Leigh Howard (Aqua Blue Sport) caught the two leaders right after tackling the Eikenmolen climb, with 127 kilometres still to race. The pace in the peloton slackened, meanwhile, and by the Muur van Geraardsbergen, the six leaders suddenly had a lead of eight minutes.

Katusha-Alpecin accelerated in the peloton when approaching the Haaghoek for the second time, and on the cobbles there was a crash that took out Sam Bewley (Orica-Scott). A few moments later Zakk Dempster (Israel Cycling Academy) crashed out of the race after riding against the sidewalk.

On returning into the province of East Flanders, the battle for positions started in earnest in the peloton. The ascent of the cobbled Kruisberg and the cobbles of the Donderij preceded the always important climb of the Taaienberg, and this was where the race really took shape. Alexis Gougeard (AG2R La Mondiale), Andrei Grivko (Astana) and track specialist Thomas Boudat (Direct Energie) anticipated the big moves with a counter-attack, while the bunch trailed the break by four minutes.

On the cobbles at Donderij, there was a massive crash in the first rows of the peloton, and the biggest names involved in the incident were Alexander Kristoff, Tony Martin (Katusha), Jens Debusschere, Tiesj Benoot, (Lotto-Soudal), Jens Keukeleire (Orica-Scott) and Tom Boonen. Although Boonen changed bikes and gave chase, it was a doomed effort, and he abandoned soon afterwards, meaning that the Omloop will remain a rare gap on his palmarès. The Belgian will retire after Paris-Roubaix on April 9.

At the Taaienberg, usually the scene of Boonen’s first major effort, Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) unleashed an acceleration. Greg Van Avermaet marked his wheel, with Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo), Sep Vanmarcke and Peter Sagan coming up soon afterwards. The group later swelled as Matti Breschel, Oscar Gatto (Astana), Stefan Küng (BMC), Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale) closed the gap, while Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard (Team Sky) joined them on the following ascent of the Eikenberg, where the main group also picked up Gougeard, Grivko and Boudat.

At 50 kilometres from the finish, on the Wolvenberg, Sagan accelerated again, and this time only Vanmarcke, Van Avermaet, Grivko, Gougeard and Boudat were able to keep up. At that point, they were one minute behind the five remaining leaders, as Howard had been dropped. In the main chase group Sky kept the pace high with Gianni Moscon but they quickly lost half a minute on the Sagan-Van Avermaet group.

When tackling the cobbles of the Haaghoek for the third and final time, Sagan’s powerful effort saw him link up with the five survivors from the early break, with only Vanmarcke, Van Avermaet and Gougeard left on his wheel. This group of nine riders had forty seconds on the Moscon-led peloton.

At 35 kilometres from the finish, the cobbled Molenberg was the final climb of the day, and Vanmarcke, Sagan and Van Avermaet showed their class by forging clear at the head of the race and forming an elite group of three. Further back, Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors) attacked on the Molenberg, an effort that eventually saw a twelve-man group form and give chase to Sagan, Vanmarcke and Van Avermaet.

Through the cobbles of Lippenhovestraat and the Lange Munte, Van Avermaet, Sagan and Vanmarcke continued to collaborate smoothly, and they maintained a lead of 30 seconds over the chasing group, where Quick-Step had Stybar, Matteo Trentin and Philippe Gilbert forcing the pace. Try as they might, they barely clawed back so much as a second of the leaders’ advantage, which then stretched out towards a minute on the fast run-in to Ghent.

In the final 10 kilometres, it was clear that the winner would come from the three leaders, but despite some tactical manoeuvring from Vanmarcke, no attack was forthcoming and they fought out a keenly-contested sprint.

As in 2016, Van Avermaet had Sagan’s number in the slightly uphill sprint, but on this evidence, it won’t be the last time the Olympic and world champions lock horns on the cobbles this spring.

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