Just like the men, the women in Ghent also kicked off their Flemish cycling spring. Over the past 3 years, the Omloop has always been a prey for the Dutch women, but now Lotte Kopecky – for the first time with her new team SD Worx – had different ideas about this.
It wasn’t until the Leberg that the race really started. Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) placed an attack there. Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo), Liane Lippert (Team DSM) and Anna Henderson (Jumbo-Visma) made the connection.
Some teams had no pawns in the leading group and so work had to be done. In the service of Katia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), her teammate Shari Bossuyt took charge. The Belgian did an excellent job for her new team.
Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) were still hidden in the peloton, but they showed up on the Kapelmuur. Van Vleuten immediately accelerated.
After the climb, Van Vleuten and Demi Vollering were able to connect with the leading group. In the background Lotte Kopecky, Vollering’s teammate, tried to ride alone towards the front runners and she succeeded.
Later, Katia Niewiadoma, Grace Brown and Elisa Longo Borghini also joined.
On the Bosberg, Van Vleuten put pressure on the leading group. Only her compatriot Vollering dived into her wheel. With 2 they drove towards the finish in Ninove.
Van Vleuten took the lead, but Vollering was annoyed because she refused to take over. In the last kilometer the SD Worx rider did that anyway, but she was outwitted by her 39-year-old compatriot.
Van Vleuten started the sprint from afar and Vollering could no longer trump her. The Movistar rider wins the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for the second time and completes the list of record holders.
Lorena Wiebes completed the Dutch podium by winning the sprint from the chasers, not Lotte Kopecky (27th) but Jesse Vandenbulcke (20th) as best Belgian.
