Anna van der Breggen (Rabo Liv) may have won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, but it was the strength of Boels-Dolmans that proved the talking point following the first European race of the season. The Dutch team put two riders on the podium with Ellen van Dijk coming in second place to the race winner in a two-up sprint and Ladies Tour of Qatar overall victor Lizzie Armitstead taking out the chase group sprint for third. Chantal Blaak edged out former Omloop Het Nieuwsblad champion Tiffany Cromwell (Velocio-SRAM) to fourth place.
“Chantal went out early,” noted Cromwell. “With that sprint, I know you can’t go out too early unless you’re trying to surprise. I had to decide if I wanted to react and chase Chantal or if I wanted to wait. I chose to wait.”
“Chloe [Hosking] started her sprint with 300 metres, which is still too early,” Cromwell added. “When Lizzie launched, I managed to get onto that. I don’t think Lizzie wanted to come past Chantal, but she could see me coming, so she accelerated. The three of us were all close across the line. I’m still learning how to sprint. I’ve improved tenfold from where I used to be, so I was happy enough with my finish.”
The two-rider race winning move escaped from an elite front group on the Molenberg, the eighth and final climb of the day. With both Boels-Dolmans and Rabo Liv well-represented amongst the chasers and the strength of the leading duo, much of the chase group resigned themselves to racing for third place.
“I got distanced over the Molenberg,” said Hosking. “When I got back to the front group, which was only about 15 riders at that point – half of them Boels – I asked Elisa [Longo Borghini] who was up there road. She said van Dijk and van der Breggen, and I was like – shit. That’s going to be hard to bring back.”
“It was only Elisa and me,” Hosking added. “Do we chase and then have nothing left and get counter-attacked in the finish? It’s a really difficult position to be in.”
In addition to speaking with Hosking and Cromwell, Ella CyclingTips spoke with Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS), Gracie Elvin (Orica-AIS) and Loren Rowny (Velocio-SRAM). We’ve included their impressions of the spring classic opener in the photo gallery below. Looking for a more traditional race report? We’ve got you covered here.
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![The Liv-Plantur Envies racked up at the start of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in Ghent. Amy Pieter’s bike is amongst the race-ready machines. The 2014 Het Nieuwsblad winner finished in seventh place on Saturday. In the Liv-Plantur race report, Liv-Plantur coach Hans Timmermans said: “I am pretty satisfied with her [Pieter's] seventh place in the end, but more so with her condition today. She was one of the strongest riders in the bunch and showed this when she had a flat at a bad moment but came back to the front group while others were getting dropped – that was nice to see. It looks good for the coming races.](../../../images-sub/content/uploads/2015/03/20150228-091802.jpg)
- The Liv-Plantur Envies racked up at the start of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in Ghent. Amy Pieter’s bike is amongst the race-ready machines. The 2014 Het Nieuwsblad winner finished in seventh place on Saturday. In the Liv-Plantur race report, Liv-Plantur coach Hans Timmermans said: “I am pretty satisfied with her [Pieter’s] seventh place in the end, but more so with her condition today. She was one of the strongest riders in the bunch and showed this when she had a flat at a bad moment but came back to the front group while others were getting dropped – that was nice to see. It looks good for the coming races.
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- The 122 km parcours includes eight climbs and six cobble sections. Riders use stem notes as reminders of exactly where they can expect the various course obstacles.
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- Emma Johansson lined up as a clear pre-race favourite. The Swedish National Champion (road/time trial) has won two of the ten editions of the women’s race and finished on the podium an additional four times. She would find herself isolated in the finale, ultimately crossing the line in 14th place. “I was okay today but still need some races to get in shape,” Johansson said. “Boels is strong as a team, and there’s not much I could do alone. They had six or seven riders in the front group. Velocio, Wiggle and all the other teams in the chase group were not up for too much help, and I could not close alone.”
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![Wiggle Honda started Omloop Het Nieuwsblad off the back of what Chloe Hosking called a “media camp” in Belgium. “I had no personal expectations,” Hosking explained. “We’ve just come off a one week camp, and we didn’t really touch our bikes that much. It was clear from [general manager] Rochelle [Gilmore] that there was no pressure going into this race. We’ve had other commitments this week. That was really good of her to understand that.” Despite the lack of pressure, Hosking admits she had set objectives for herself. “It’s the first European race, and you don’t want to get dropped out the back,” Hosking said. “In the back of my mind, I wanted to make the front group.” Mission accomplished. Hosking made the selection and was well-positioned for the sprint before cramping thwarted her efforts.](../../../images-sub/content/uploads/2015/03/20150228-105557-2.jpg)
- Wiggle Honda started Omloop Het Nieuwsblad off the back of what Chloe Hosking called a “media camp” in Belgium. “I had no personal expectations,” Hosking explained. “We’ve just come off a one week camp, and we didn’t really touch our bikes that much. It was clear from [general manager] Rochelle [Gilmore] that there was no pressure going into this race. We’ve had other commitments this week. That was really good of her to understand that.” Despite the lack of pressure, Hosking admits she had set objectives for herself. “It’s the first European race, and you don’t want to get dropped out the back,” Hosking said. “In the back of my mind, I wanted to make the front group.” Mission accomplished. Hosking made the selection and was well-positioned for the sprint before cramping thwarted her efforts.
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- Anna van der Breggen adjusts her power meter before the race start.
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- Lizzie Armitstead had every reason to smile before the start of Omloop Het Nieuwsbald. Following her team’s success at Ladies Tour of Qatar, Armitstead and the rest of the Boels-Dolmans riders were collectively the team to watch in Belgium. Although they missed out on the win, they proved worthy of the hype. “Boels hands-down had the best numbers and were the most organised throughout the day,” said Cromwell. Hosking concurred: “The big takeaway today is – how are we going to counteract the strength of Boels? I’m almost certain they had seven riders in that front group, so – what do you do with that? We need to figure that out. All the teams do. They’re just crazy strong, and it’s somewhat intimidating.”
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- Stem notes on a Boels-Dolmans Specialized Amira.
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- The Boels-Dolmans team car awaits the race start from the team caravan.
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- The start of the race is always the most nervous and chaotic before the nature of the course thins out the field. “With so many club teams coming to this race, the start of the race can be the most dangerous,” said Gracie Elvin. “It’s nervous and it’s flat. There was a headwind. You have 180 riders on the road. It’s important to stay safe and be patient.”
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- Romy Kasper was part of her team’s show of strength at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. She finished with the first chase group in 13th place. In his team’s post-race report, Boels-Dolmans director Bram Sevens said: “I saw an impressive race of my riders today. When a group of thirty was in the front of the race, we had seven out of eight riders present there.”
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- Fresh off winning two rainbow jerseys at the 2015 Track World Championships, Nettie Edmondson joined road teammate Dani King to cheer on Wiggle Honda. The duo would later don sumo suits, which did not go unnoticed by the peloton.
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- Tiffany Cromwell and Trixi Worrack represent Velocio-SRAM on the front of the elite group that has taken shape over the cobbles and climbs. “I’m really happy with how I went, but we’re always striving for more,” said Cromwell. “I’m always striving for me. I want to have a big spring. I can say where we need to improve and what we could have done differently, but I felt strong. It’s a nice feeling. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like that. I’m motivated, and the team can tell that.
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- Omloop Het Nieuwsblad became a race of attrition with each obstacle causing more riders to lose contact. Gracie Elvin called it one of the hardest spring classics she’s raced. “I’m so stuffed,” she said in a post-race phone call. “I think I’m fitter than I’ve ever been and that’s harder than it ever was. The level is higher than ever before. Everyone has good off-season and pre-season now with training camps, and the Boels team is so strong. It’s forcing everyone to up their game.”
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- Ellen van Dijk and Anna van der Breggen quickly established an advantage over their chasers. The duo were evenly matched. Whilst van der Breggen is stronger on the hills, the roads to the finish were flat. Van Dijk, has won multiple world titles against the clock – in both the individual time trial and the team time trial – and is typically the stronger sprinter of the two.
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- Emma Johnasson, shown on the front of Lange Munte, the sixth and final cobbled sector, was one of the only riders willing to commit to the chase. “I tried to close a bit on the Paddestraat and the Lippenhove,” she said. “I had them on 20 or 30 seconds.”
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- Anna van der Breggen attacked Ellen van Dijk once, on the Padestraat, but was unable to get any distance. Van Dijk reportedly was confident in winning the sprint so felt comfortable taking van der Breggen to the line. In her team’s race report, van Dijk said: “Maybe this just isn’t my race when it comes to sprinting with a rival. Two years ago I lost the sprint against Loes Gunnewijk and now the same thing happened with van der Breggen. I felt confident I could win here - otherwise I never would have gone to the finish line with her - but Anna appeared to be stronger today.”
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- Anna van der Breggen was delighted with her first big classics victory. The win is made even more impressive because Omloop Het Nieuwsblad marks van der Breggen’s return to racing following a terrible crash, resulting in a broken pelvis, in the team time trial at the 2014 Road World Championships. In her team’s race report, van der Breggen said: “I trusted my sprint. No, I was not sure. In a sprint of two, you can never be, but I could maneuver myself into a good position, and in the final stretch, I did not look back.”
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- It was a hotly contested spring for third place with Lizzie Armitstead ultimately securing the final spot on the podium ahead of her teammate Chantal Blaak. Ella CyclingTips columnist Chloe Hosking suffered from cramps just as she opened her sprint: “Elisa really buried herself to set me up for the sprint. Unfortunately, I cramped like nothing before in the last 300 metres. My hands were cramping to my handlebars and my legs were just exploding. This is something I really need to figure out. It happened last year as well, so I really need to try and fix this. If I can be in the position to be on the podium at a spring classic, I don’t want to throw that opportunity away. We were still racing for third place, you know? I’m frustrated and annoyed at my body but at the same time, I’m happy to see where I’m at compared to all the other girls. “
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- Lizzie Armitstead hugs Ellen van Dijk at the finish. Although Boels-Dolmans missed out on the top step of the podium, they had plenty of reasons to feel proud of their performance on Saturday.
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- Anna van der Breggen acknowledges the crowd as she walks onto the podium. In her team’s race report, she said: “Winning this race is very special. It was high on my list. Everyone here is very motivated at the start. It is a beautiful course. Winning is very special, with or without a crash in Ponferrada.”
