Anna van der Breggen wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite Women

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World champion Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) secured a solo victory at the 1.Pro Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite Women on Saturday. Danish national champion Emma Cecile Norsgaard of Movistar took the sprint from the reduced bunch with van der Breggen’s SD Worx teammate, Amy Pieters, rounding off the podium in third.

Race favourite Lotte Kopecky (Liv Racing) just missed out on third after covering attacks earlier in the race.

"I'm really happy, of course, because it's the best way to start the season," Van der Breggen said in a post-race interview. "Especially when the team is riding like this, it gives a lot of confidence for the upcoming races, and also for the rest of the season."

After the cancellation of earlier races, the women’s peloton finally got their 2021 season underway at the 13th edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite Women for 126km of racing.

It was the 53rd solo win of Van der Breggen's career, after an aggressive final 50km, which saw multiple attacks from her SD Worx teammates. 

Van der Breggen established her gap on the decisive Bosberg climb, Kopecky and Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) were the only riders able to attempt to follow but the double world champion rode away over the top of the climb. 

How it unfolded

On a dry and relatively warm spring day in Flanders it was a return to the SD Worx of old, with the once-unbeatable team again using their strength in numbers to wear down the competition. 

After just 4km, a break of three formed with Elizabeth Bennett (Drops-Le Col), Kylie Waterreus (Multum Accountants LSK Ladies Cycling Team), and Claudia Jongerius (Bingoal Casino - Chevalmeire Cycling Team) getting a gap which at its largest stretched to over five minutes. 

However, with 38km to go SD Worx harnessed their collective strength — including Anna van der Breggen — to bring back the leaders just before the Leberg climb. 

The climb caused splits in the bunch which caught out two pre-race favourites; Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) and Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) as well as Deignan’s teammate Ellen van Dijk. 

After the damage caused by the Leberg, a leading group was established which saw SD Worx, Liv Racing and Jumbo-Visma well represented as well as Canyon-SRAM and Ale BTC City Lubljana with a second chasing group one minute behind. 

As the bunch reached the next climb, the Berendries, it was Demi Vollering of SD Worx driving the pace which saw the winner of the 2020 WorldTour Youth jersey, Liane Lippert, distanced. Anna van der Breggen attacked over the top with Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) on her wheel but both were quickly reeled back to the group. 

With 30km to go, Vollering put in a strong attack on the Elverenberg Vosssenhol, which saw her form a gap which she then sustained. Hannah Barnes (canyon-SRAM), Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Trek-Segaferdo) and Lotte Kopecky (Liv Racing) tried to force a chase but were soon neutralised by Vollering’s teammates, after which the peloton seemed to sit up, allowing Vollering’s lead to extend to 30 seconds. 

Liv Racing, with Soraya Palladin and Jeanne Korevaar, were the only team willing to take up the chase as SD Worx used their strength in numbers to marshal the bunch and chase down attacks. 

As the bunch approached the Kappelmuur, Vollering’s gap began to come down and Longo Borghini saw her moment to attack, taking Kopecky with her. Unfortunately for the pair, Van der Breggen also followed and the gap was closed. 

Van der Breggen’s efforts failed to stop the group from catching Vollering and the 24-year-old was caught at the bottom of the descent by the reduced group comprised of favourites including Longo Borghini, Kopecky, Niewiadoma, Pieters, and Uttrup Ludwig and Cavalli (both FDJ). 

The world champion then put in an attack of her own with Lotte Kopecky the only rider able to follow, however the two were soon reeled back in. A lull followed during which some of those who were distanced returned to the front group including Lisa Brennauer. 

With 15km to go, Longo Borghini put in another attack with Vollering and Kopecky following. The trio got a small gap on the group however Marlen Ruesser of Ale BTC City Lubjlana rode hard on the front for her teammate Marta Bastianelli to bring the three riders back just before the Bosberg. 

The Bosberg proved to be the decisive climb of the race for the women as van der Breggen chose the steep, cobbled climb to launch the attack which ultimately won her the race. In an impressive show of strength, the double world champion attacked the climb, riding everyone else off her wheel, carrying her move over the top and establishing a gap which stuck to the end. 

Meanwhile, behind van der Breggen the peloton split into two groups again with one minute between them, but with 11km to go the two groups merged. Once again it was Liv Racing taking up the lion’s share of the chasing with Uttrup Ludwig also coming to the front. 

The remaining riders may have hoped that the headwind to the finish might slow van der Breggen down, however with Pieters and Chantal van den Broek-Blaak covering moves it was impossible for anyone to escape the group. 

Grace Brown of Team BikeExchange attempted a flier with 8km to go, which Pieters immediately followed, the two managed a small gap, however the group ultimately came back together to contest a bunch kick for second. 

Emma Norsgaard of Movistar won the sprint and Pieters — after spending the race covering moves — came third. Kopecky narrowly missed the podium having burned most of her matches earlier in the race.