Stybar takes solo victory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

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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 Oss – 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-QuickStep 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-QuickStep) 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.

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