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This Saturday, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad opens the road cycling season on Belgian soil. Flanders will soon come alive to the rhythm of the Classics.
The recipe is familiar: cobblestones, hills that are narrow and short, but steep, wind, and finally riders with hard looks and broad shoulders.Between 1945 and 2008, Belgian riders lost only eight times.
Since the change of name in 2009 (the Omloop Het Volk became the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad), foreign representatives have won seven times against three Belgian victories.
The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is no longer simply the first big meeting of the Belgians. For the third time, this race will be part of the World Tour. Among the top ten in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix 2018, only one racer will be missing on Saturday: Peter Sagan. The triple World Champion prefers an intense training block at altitude. His return to competition is planned for Tirreno-Adriatico. The Slovak finished second twice (2016 and 2017, each time beaten by Greg Van Avermaet) out of three participations.
The podium of the last 10 editions:
2009 : 1. Thor Hushovd - 2. Kevyn Ista - 3. Juan Antonio Flecha
2010 : 1. Juan Antonio Flecha - 2. Heinrich Haussler - 3. Tyler Farrar
2011 : 1. Sebastian Langeveld - 2. Juan Antonio Flecha - 3. Mathew Hayman
2012 : 1. Sep Vanmarcke - 2. Tom Boonen - 3. Juan Antonio Flecha
2013 : 1. Luca Paolini - 2. Stijn Vandenbergh - 3. Sven Vandousselaere
2014 : 1. Ian Stannard - 2. Greg Van Avermaet - 3. Edvald Boasson Hagen
2015 : 1. Ian Stannard - 2. Niki Terpstra - 3. Tom Boonen
2016 : 1. Greg Van Avermaet - 2. Peter Sagan - 3. Tiesj Benoot
2017 : 1. Greg Van Avermaet - 2. Peter Sagan - 3. Sep Vanmarcke
2018 : 1. Michael Valgren - 2. Lukasz Wisniowski - 3. Sep Vanmarcke
The speedwear you will see often this weekend
