Mathieu van der Poel solos to victory in Ninove
Mathieu van der Poel immediately made a statement during his first participation in Omloop het Nieuwsblad. The Dutchman accelerated on the Muur van Geraardsbergen and rode solo all the way to the finish in Ninove. He therefore adds the opening classic to his palmares at the first attempt. Tim van Dijke and Florian Vermeersch joined him on the podium.
At 11:05, the race started in Ghent for a 207 km journey towards Ninove. An early breakaway formed with Krijnsen (Team Jayco AlUla), De Jong (Team Picnic PostNL) and Lambrecht (Team Flanders-Baloise). The latter two later crashed out of the lead group. After 30 km, Krijnsen was joined by Renard (Cofidis), Alleno (Burgos-Burpellet-PH), Van Hemelen (Team Flanders-Baloise) and Brunel (TotalEnergies). The early breakaway was established and built a maximum lead of 3’30”.
On the slopes of the Eikenberg, Alleno was dropped from the front group. In the peloton, Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) began to struggle, while Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) had to change bikes. Meanwhile, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) suffered a puncture just as Kasper Asgreen (EF Education - EasyPost) launched an acceleration on the Wolvenberg.
Asgreen was unable to bridge across to the leaders. On the Molenberg, Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates XRG) attacked from the peloton, with Van der Poel and Tim van Dijke (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) following. They bridged across to the leaders, forming a seven-rider front group entering the final phase with nearly one minute on the peloton.
Lotto Intermarché took control of the chase behind. The leaders worked well together as the Muur loomed ahead. Tension was high in the peloton. Several crashes had already occurred, and with 18 km to go, another crash involved key riders including Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Intermarché) and Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike).
Meanwhile, the leaders began the ascent of the Muur van Geraardsbergen. Van der Poel crested the climb first with an advantage of around 18 seconds over Van Dijke and Krijnsen. The early breakaway riders were caught, leaving Van Dijke and Vermeersch alone in pursuit of the Dutchman.
At the top of the final climb, the Bosberg, Van der Poel’s lead had grown to nearly 36 seconds. He never relinquished it. With a 16 km solo effort, he claimed victory in the opening classic on his first attempt. In the sprint for second place, Van Dijke beat Vermeersch.
