4 riders who could take a maiden cobbles victory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
For the puritans among cycling fans, the season officially begins with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The pre-season 'friendly' races are all but done and attention is turned to the spring one-day and stage races.
We were expecting bright, warm conditions after the summery spell at the beginning of the week. But the weather has all of a sudden remembered it's supposed to be cold and wet for the Classics season, and has so graciously reduced to an acceptable temperature just in time for the Opening Weekend - not to mention an expected westerly headwind all day.
14 bergs over 200km are in store for the peloton on Saturday - the last two being the famous Muur-Bosberg duo that used to form the finale of the Tour of Flanders - before a new finish in Ninove: a couple of kilometres away from the 2018 finish in Meerbeke.
In spite of a stacked roster of former winners and Classics specialists due to take to the start line in Merelbeke, here are four riders who could make their spring breakthrough with a maiden victory over the cobbles of East Flanders.
Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates)
Neo-pro Philipen has been one of the major beneficiaries of a change in management at UAE Team Emirates. The former Lampre sports directors that delivered so few results last season have gone and in their place are Allan Peiper (formerly of BMC Racing) and Neil Stephens (formerly of Mitchelton-Scott).
The 21-year-old Belgian (coincidentally it's his birthday today) had a pretty successful 2018 riding for Axel Merckx's ProConti outfit Hagens Berman Axeon, coalescing a notable track record in the lesser category classics; 3rd behind Pascal Ackermann and Elia Viviani at De Panne, 11th and 4th at the Junior editions of Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix respectively, and a series of top 10 finishes in the late autumn one-day races; Primus Classic, Rondom Leuven, Tour de l'Eurometropole and Grand Prix d'Isbergues.
He kicked off his 2019 in style too, claiming a stage win at the Tour Down Under after Caleb Ewan was relegated for a headbutt in the finale.
Philipsen is a rank outsider to win Omloop, and rightly so with such a lack of experience at WorldTour level, but with such a good run of results in similar races under his belt it's not too far fetched to suggest he could go well.
Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe)
When Bora-Hansgrohe announced their squad for the opening weekend of spring races there was one glaring omission: three time world champion, 2018 Paris-Roubaix winner, three-time Gent-Wevelgem winner, Tour of Flanders winner, Peter Sagan. In his place is the prodigious 25-year-old German champion, Ackermann, who is complemented by an entire team of domestiques; Jempy Drucker, Daniel Oss, Lukas Pöstlberger, Juraj Sagan, Michael Schwarzmann and Rudiger Selig.
There are two explanations for this. Firstly, and most obviously, Sagan is focusing on the more prestigious cobbled races and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and therefore is delaying his training program to facilitate a peak in form for late April.
Secondly, but equally valid, is Ackermann has had a stellar 12 months in one-day races; recording 3rd, 2nd and 2nd at Handzame Classic, De Panne, and Scheldeprijs respectively. Most recently Pascal won the Spanish one-day race, Clasica de Almeria, in mid-February where he beat his compatriot Marcel Kittel.
While there won't be huge expectations of Ackermann in his first Omloop - he'll have far better chances of winning Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday - he still has on his shoulders the responsibility of filling Sagan's shoes as leader of a very purpose built Bora squad.
Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott)
Trentin had a poor 2018, which is somewhat of a contradiction when you consider he won the European Championships on a tough course amid typically grizzly weather conditions in Glasgow.
The versatile Mitchelton-Scott sprinter only tallied two wins last season (the aforementioned European Championships and a stage at the Tour of Guangxi) but has already notched three wins in 2019; stage two of the Vuelta Valenciana, and two stages of the Ruta del Sol.
An ever present in the top 20 of the Classics in the last couple of years, Trentin hasn't yet been able to find a breakthrough. He came closest at Gent-Wevelgem in 2018, claiming seventh, having left Quick-Step in the winter of 2017 to take a leading role with Mitchelton-Scott.
His abilities are unquestionable, and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad presents the perfect opportunity for him to capitalise on his early season form.
Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Merida)
Colbrelli is another, like Trentin, who's often up there competing for sprint victories throughout the season, but doesn't deliver many wins.
The Bahrain Merida man is prolific in the autumn Italian semi-classics, but again like Trentin, hasn't been able to breach the podium in the cobbled spring races: his best result is seventh at E3 Harelbeke in 2017.
For a rider who spends his entire season sprinting, he's actually seen his best spring results come in the hilly classics; winning De Brabantse Pijl in 2017 and coming third at Amstel Gold Race in 2016.
He's carrying such good form from Oman it's difficult to ignore his chances at Omloop, especially given the makeup of the Bahrain Merida team for the race; experience in Kristijan Koren, Grega Bole and Valerio Agnoli; and blossoming talent in Dylan Teuns and Ivan Garcia Cortina.
Prediction: Jasper Philipsen
Greg Van Avermaet is rightly the overwhelming favourite for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, but I'm overruling my head with my heart and picking Philipsen to cross the line first in Ninove. He's already shown he can get results against the best sprinters at Tour Down Under, and his track record in smaller one-day races suggests he could register a win at either of the races on the Opening Weekend.
We were expecting bright, warm conditions after the summery spell at the beginning of the week. But the weather has all of a sudden remembered it's supposed to be cold and wet for the Classics season, and has so graciously reduced to an acceptable temperature just in time for the Opening Weekend - not to mention an expected westerly headwind all day.
14 bergs over 200km are in store for the peloton on Saturday - the last two being the famous Muur-Bosberg duo that used to form the finale of the Tour of Flanders - before a new finish in Ninove: a couple of kilometres away from the 2018 finish in Meerbeke.
In spite of a stacked roster of former winners and Classics specialists due to take to the start line in Merelbeke, here are four riders who could make their spring breakthrough with a maiden victory over the cobbles of East Flanders.
Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates)
 |
| Philipsen (left) finished second into Strathalbyn but was award the stage after Ewan was relegated for a headbutt Photo credit: velonews.com |
The 21-year-old Belgian (coincidentally it's his birthday today) had a pretty successful 2018 riding for Axel Merckx's ProConti outfit Hagens Berman Axeon, coalescing a notable track record in the lesser category classics; 3rd behind Pascal Ackermann and Elia Viviani at De Panne, 11th and 4th at the Junior editions of Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix respectively, and a series of top 10 finishes in the late autumn one-day races; Primus Classic, Rondom Leuven, Tour de l'Eurometropole and Grand Prix d'Isbergues.
He kicked off his 2019 in style too, claiming a stage win at the Tour Down Under after Caleb Ewan was relegated for a headbutt in the finale.
Philipsen is a rank outsider to win Omloop, and rightly so with such a lack of experience at WorldTour level, but with such a good run of results in similar races under his belt it's not too far fetched to suggest he could go well.
Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe)
 |
| Ackermann wins Clasica de Almeria by just edging out Kittel Photo credit: thebikecomesfirst.com |
There are two explanations for this. Firstly, and most obviously, Sagan is focusing on the more prestigious cobbled races and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and therefore is delaying his training program to facilitate a peak in form for late April.
Secondly, but equally valid, is Ackermann has had a stellar 12 months in one-day races; recording 3rd, 2nd and 2nd at Handzame Classic, De Panne, and Scheldeprijs respectively. Most recently Pascal won the Spanish one-day race, Clasica de Almeria, in mid-February where he beat his compatriot Marcel Kittel.
While there won't be huge expectations of Ackermann in his first Omloop - he'll have far better chances of winning Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday - he still has on his shoulders the responsibility of filling Sagan's shoes as leader of a very purpose built Bora squad.
Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott)
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Trentin takes his third victory of the season
at the Ruta del SolPhoto credit: thebikecomesfirst.com |
The versatile Mitchelton-Scott sprinter only tallied two wins last season (the aforementioned European Championships and a stage at the Tour of Guangxi) but has already notched three wins in 2019; stage two of the Vuelta Valenciana, and two stages of the Ruta del Sol.
An ever present in the top 20 of the Classics in the last couple of years, Trentin hasn't yet been able to find a breakthrough. He came closest at Gent-Wevelgem in 2018, claiming seventh, having left Quick-Step in the winter of 2017 to take a leading role with Mitchelton-Scott.
His abilities are unquestionable, and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad presents the perfect opportunity for him to capitalise on his early season form.
Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Merida)
 |
| Colbrelli won a stage in Oman ahead of fellow Classics specialist Greg Van Avermaet Photo credit: cyclingweekly.com |
The Bahrain Merida man is prolific in the autumn Italian semi-classics, but again like Trentin, hasn't been able to breach the podium in the cobbled spring races: his best result is seventh at E3 Harelbeke in 2017.
For a rider who spends his entire season sprinting, he's actually seen his best spring results come in the hilly classics; winning De Brabantse Pijl in 2017 and coming third at Amstel Gold Race in 2016.
He's carrying such good form from Oman it's difficult to ignore his chances at Omloop, especially given the makeup of the Bahrain Merida team for the race; experience in Kristijan Koren, Grega Bole and Valerio Agnoli; and blossoming talent in Dylan Teuns and Ivan Garcia Cortina.
Prediction: Jasper Philipsen
Greg Van Avermaet is rightly the overwhelming favourite for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, but I'm overruling my head with my heart and picking Philipsen to cross the line first in Ninove. He's already shown he can get results against the best sprinters at Tour Down Under, and his track record in smaller one-day races suggests he could register a win at either of the races on the Opening Weekend.
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