Jasper Stuyven has won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. The Belgian was the strongest of a leading group of three in the traditional opening race of the Flemish cycling season.
After 200 kilometers from Ghent to Ninove, Stuyven beat his fellow countryman Yves Lampaert in a sprint-à-deux. Søren Kragh Andersen finished third in seconds and Matteo Trentin had to settle for fourth place shortly afterwards.
Mike Teunissen, who was also part of the leading group, was the best Dutchman in sixth place. The Jumbo-Visma rider was caught by the peloton just before the finish, but still sprinted for a place of honor.
For 27-year-old Stuyven, the win in the Omloop is one of his biggest victories in his career. Earlier, the rider of Trek-Segafredo won Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (2016) and a stage in the Vuelta a España (2015).
Mathieu van der Poel would initially also be at the start of the Omloop, but he had to let the WorldTour match pass him by because of a high fever.
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Teunissen is part of the leading group
In the 75th edition of the Omloop, Trek-Segafredo and Team INEOS tried to set up fans in the opening phase, but those attempts were in vain. The demarrages by Wout van Aert and Greg Van Avermaet also failed.
At 70 kilometers from the finish, Teunissen and six others managed to get away. The Dutchman was accompanied by Lampaert, Stuyven, Tim Declercq, Frederik Frison, Matteo Trentin and Kragh Andersen.
The septet was given the space and built up a three-minute lead. A group with, among others, Pascal Eenkhoorn went in pursuit, but after a demarrage by Van Aert at the Berendries they were caught by the peloton at 22 kilometers from the finish.
On the Wall of Geraardsbergen, Teunissen soon had to let go of the leading group and Lampaert, Stuyven and Kragh Andersen drove away from the rest. The trio had a small lead on Trentin and a minute on the peloton.
At 2 kilometers from the finish, Lampaert attacked, which forced Kragh Andersen to release. The two Belgians were allowed to sprint in the streets of Ninove for the win and Stuyven was by far the strongest.
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