Johansson wins women's Omloop
By Daniel Benson published
Swede sprints to success in Belgian semi-Classic
The women's European racing season began today with a win for Emma Johansson (Red Sun Cycling Team) in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The Swede won a sprint ahead of three break companions. Liesbet de Vocht (Nederland Bloeit) finished second and Grace Verbeke (Lotto Ladies) took third.
"It went perfectly today. We planned it out really well as a team," Johansson said. "We knew what we had to do. I wasn't too confident coming into the last few kilometres and tried to attack. I knew that I was fast but I didn't want to wait for it either."
The first kilometres saw little action, with the initial few climbs causing few casualties within the 164-strong field. The race kicked into life on the ascent of the Kluisberb with four riders going clear. They were Johansson, de Vocht, Verbeke and Sarah Duster. They were quickly joined by Regina Bruins from Cervelo.
"The first and second climbs were not really that hard and the peloton took it easy," said Bruins. "On the third climb, my teammate told me to go, and I tried to reach the group. On the fourth climb, I did reach the group and than we started to ride. It was really hard and I did what I could do, At that point we had a good situation, because I was with Sarah who was also part of the five-rider group."
The group built up over two minutes but Duster was dropped as the riders approached the finished and with Bruins the weakest sprinter in the group and Cervelo's race favourite Kirsten Wild suffering from a crash. The remaining escapees knew that a podium place was within their grasp.
Coming into the final 200 meters, Johansson had the finest kick and took her first win in the race.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Emma Johansson (Swe) Redsun Cycling Team | 3:26:15 |
2 | Liesbet De Vocht (Bel) Nederland Bloeit | |
3 | Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto Ladies Team | |
4 | Regina Bruins (Ned) Cervelo Test Team | 0:00:06 |
5 | Sarah Düster (Ger) Cervelo Test Team | 0:01:48 |
6 | Martine Bras (Ned) Gauss RDZ Ormu | 0:02:45 |
7 | Mirjam Melchers-Van Poppel (Ned) Cervelo Test Team | |
8 | Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) Nederland Bloeit | 0:02:52 |
9 | Sophie Creux (Fra) Esgl 93 - Gsd Gestion | 0:02:54 |
10 | Iris Slappendel (Ned) Cervelo Test Team | |
11 | Mascha Pijnenborg (Ned) Redsun Cycling Team | |
12 | Petra Dijkman (Ned) Redsun Cycling Team | |
13 | Kelly Druyts (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Thompson | |
14 | Catherine Delfosse (Bel) Lotto Ladies Team | 0:03:05 |
15 | Sjoukje Dufoer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Thompson | 0:04:19 |
16 | Loes Markerink (Ned) Nederland Bloeit | |
17 | Lucy Martin (GBr) Great Britain | |
18 | Janneke Kanis (Ned) Nederland Bloeit | |
19 | Kim Schoonbaert (Bel) Lotto Ladies Team | |
20 | Monique Van De Ree (Ned) Leontien.nl | |
21 | Annelies Van Doorslaer (Bel) Lotto Ladies Team | |
22 | Jessie Daams (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Thompson | |
23 | Maria Grandt Petersen (Den) Hitec Products Uck | |
24 | Annie Last (GBr) Great Britain | |
25 | Chantal Blaak (Ned) Leontien.nl | |
26 | Veronica Andreasson (Swe) Lotto Ladies Team | |
27 | Ludivine Henrion (Bel) Redsun Cycling Team | |
28 | Andrea Bosman (Ned) Leontien.nl | |
29 | Lieselot Decroix (Bel) Cervelo Test Team | 0:05:19 |
30 | Julie Beveridge (Can) Vienne Futuroscope | 0:05:45 |
31 | Valentina Carretta (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo - Ghezzi | 0:06:02 |
32 | Roxane Knetemann (Ned) | 0:06:54 |
33 | Laure Werner (Bel) Redsun Cycling Team | |
34 | Emma Silversides (GBr) Redsun Cycling Team | |
35 | Pascale Jeuland (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope | |
36 | Jolien D'hoore (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Thompson | |
37 | Ine Beyen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Thompson | |
38 | Inge Klep (Ned) Redsun Cycling Team | 0:09:31 |
39 | Michelle Geoghegan (Irl) | 0:09:37 |
40 | Karin Aune (Swe) Fenixs - Petrogradets | 0:09:46 |
41 | Lucinda Brand (Ned) Leontien.nl | 0:10:28 |
42 | Hannah Mayho (GBr) Great Britain | 0:10:39 |
43 | Anne Eversdijk (Ned) | 0:11:18 |
44 | Marijn De Vries (Ned) Leontien.nl | |
45 | Gabriela Slamova (Cze) Vienne Futuroscope | |
46 | Sonja Boogaard (Ned) | |
47 | Nathalie Jeuland (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope | |
48 | Lien Lanssens (Bel) Lotto Ladies Team | |
49 | Baukje Doedee (Ned) | |
50 | Elena Berlato (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo - Ghezzi | |
51 | Gloria Presti (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo - Ghezzi | |
52 | Aurore Verhoeven (Fra) Esgl 93 - Gsd Gestion | |
53 | Kaat Hannes (Bel) | |
54 | Anne De Wildt (Ned) Leontien.nl | |
55 | Debby Van De Berg (Ned) | |
56 | Patricia Schwager (Swi) Cervelo Test Team | |
57 | Anne Arnouts (Bel) Redsun Cycling Team | |
58 | Silvia Valsecchi (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo - Ghezzi | |
59 | Sigrid Corneo (Slo) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo - Ghezzi | |
60 | Noortje Tabak (Ned) Nederland Bloeit | |
61 | Kirsten Wild (Ned) Cervelo Test Team | 0:12:11 |
62 | Mélanie Bravard (Fra) Esgl 93 - Gsd Gestion | |
63 | Laura Trott (GBr) Great Britain | |
64 | Jenifer Letue (Fra) Vienne Futuroscope | |
65 | Béatrice Thomas (Fra) Esgl 93 - Gsd Gestion | |
66 | Elodie Hegoburu (Fra) Esgl 93 - Gsd Gestion | |
67 | Hannah Welter (Ned) | |
68 | Suzanne Van Veen (Ned) | |
69 | Fröydis Waerstad (Nor) Hitec Products Uck | |
70 | Eefje Tabak (Ned) | |
71 | Else Belmans (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Thompson | |
72 | Josien Van Den Heerik (Ned) Leontien.nl | |
73 | Roxane Fournier (Fra) Esgl 93 - Gsd Gestion | |
74 | Sofie Van Horik (Ned) |

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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
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