2021 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (World Tour),
Belgium
76th edition: Saturday, February 27, 2021
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad podium history | 2020 edition | 2022 edition | Photos | Start list
Gent - Ninove, 200.5 km
Map of the 2021 course.
Weather at the finish city of Ninove at 1:50 PM, local time: 5C (41F), mostly cloudy, with the wind from the northeast at 8 km/hr (5 mph). There is just a 2% chance of rain.
Davide Ballerini wins a big one. Photo: Getty Sport
The Race: 173 riders started. Two Israel Start-Up Team riders did not begin the race because of positive Covid-19 tests: Reto Hollenstein and Guillame Boivin.
Here's the race report from winner Davide Ballerini's Deceuninck-Quick Step team:
Davide Ballerini netted Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s fourth Omloop Het Nieuwsblad win after the race came down to a bunch sprint, something that had last happened more than a decade ago. This unusual scenario was possible due to the strong headwind and a strong effort of the entire Wolfpack, who flawlessly controlled the race in the last 15 kilometers, drilling the pace and preventing any late attacks that were still possible considering the sizable peloton.
“It’s my second time in Omloop, and to win it after crashing at my debut two years ago is some incredible”, an elated Ballerini said after capping a dominant day from the Wolfpack and becoming just the fifth Italian in history to win the prestigious one-day race.
Comprising 13 hills and nine cobblestone sectors, the race was properly kicked into action once again by our team, who posted Tim Declercq at the head of the bunch for over 100 kilometers, “El Tractor” keeping in check the five escapees and chewing into their advantage. Then Yves Lampaert took over and brought Julian Alaphilippe to the fore, and it didn’t take too long for the World Champion to open up the race with a powerful attack that drew a dozen or so riders with him.
Davide Ballerini and Zdenek Stybar were also there and contributed to the group’s gap, which hit a maximum of 30 seconds ahead of Berendries. It was on this climb that Alaphilippe took off, building a 25-second gap over his former companions, a margin which he kept until the first slopes of the mythical Muur-Kapelmuur, where the strong headwind led to him being reeled in by the chasers, who in turn got caught by the large peloton.
Despite a couple of accelerations on the Muur, the race came back together in the run-in to Bosberg, with the status quo continuing all the way to the finish in Ninove, thanks to Alaphilippe, Lampaert and Kasper Asgreen, who worked tirelessly on the front and set a fast pace, stretching out the group and preventing any late attacks. Under the flamme rouge, Florian Sénéchal came through and delivered an out of this world lead-out that left Ballerini in a perfect position from where the 26-year-old Italian dashed to victory, winning by several bike lengths.
“It wasn’t an easy race, but we kept going and believing in ourselves even when the break was eight minutes clear. Tim was huge again, and then Julian tried his chance and showed his panache, but the headwind worked against him. When he got caught, he told me that it would be my day and the entire team will work for me, and when the World Champion tells you this, it gives you extra strength. Everybody was so committed and believed in me, that the only thing you can do is take your hat off and say a big thank you!”
“I remember watching this team crushing the cobbles when I was a kid, so to win now one of these races while wearing this jersey gives me huge pride, it’s a big dream that came true today. The Opening Weekend is a big deal for Deceuninck – Quick-Step and I’m glad we made a lot of people happy with this win”, continued an emotional Davide. “Today was important also from a technical standpoint, because we raced for the first time with our Hell of the North clincher tires from Specialized and it proved to be the right choice.”
Complete Results:
200.5 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.501 km/hr
| 1 | BALLERINI Davide | Deceuninck-Quick Step | 4hr 43min 3sec |
| 2 | STEWART Jake | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 3 | VANMARCKE Sep | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 4 | HAUSSLER Heinrich | Bahrain-Victorious | s.t. |
| 5 | GILBERT Philippe | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 6 | ARANBURU Alex | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 7 | SENECHAL Florian | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 8 | TRENTIN Matteo | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 9 | GENIETS Kevin | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 10 | POLITT Nils | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 11 | GARCIA Iván | Movistar | s.t. |
| 12 | CAPIOT Amaury | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 13 | LAPORTE Christophe | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 14 | DILLIER Silvan | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 15 | TURGIS Anthony | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 16 | COQUARD Bryan | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 17 | BEULLENS Cédric | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 18 | VAN ASBROECK Tom | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 19 | NAESEN Oliver | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 20 | DE BONDT Dries | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 21 | SERRANO Gonzalo | Movistar | s.t. |
| 22 | DOULL Owain | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 23 | ANDERSEN Søren | Team DSM | s.t. |
| 24 | WELLENS Tim | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 25 | WARLOP Jordi | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 26 | NAESEN Lawrence | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 27 | HALLER Marco | Bahrain-Victorious | s.t. |
| 28 | DE GENDT Aimé | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 29 | BENOOT Tiesj | Team DSM | s.t. |
| 30 | CLAEYS Dimitri | Qhubeka-Assos | s.t. |
| 31 | BARTHE Cyril | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 32 | WISNIOWSKI Lukasz | Qhubeka-Assos | s.t. |
| 33 | VAN AVERMAET Greg | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 34 | TOUZE Damien | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 35 | RUTSCH Jonas | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 36 | JANSEN Amund | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 37 | GOGL Michael | Qhubeka-Assos | s.t. |
| 38 | KUNG Stefan | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 39 | NARVAEZ Jhonatan | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 40 | TEUNS Dylan | Bahrain-Victorious | s.t. |
| 41 | ROOSEN Timo | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
| 42 | IZAGIRRE Gorka | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 43 | LIVYNS Arjen | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 44 | DURBRIDGE Luke | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 45 | MOSCON Gianni | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 46 | VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan | Jumbo-Visma | @ 7sec |
| 47 | BYSTRØM Sven | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 48 | CAMPENAERTS Victor | Qhubeka-Assos | s.t. |
| 49 | ASGREEN Kasper | Deceuninck-Quick Step | @ 15sec |
| 50 | SUTER Joel | Bingoal-WB | @ 17sec |
| 51 | EENKHOORN Pascal | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
| 52 | VLIEGEN Loïc | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 53 | JACOBS Johan | Movistar | @ 22sec |
| 54 | ALLEGAERT Piet | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 55 | PIDCOCK Thomas | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 56 | LAMPAERT Yves | Deceuninck-Quick Step | @ 40sec |
| 57 | ALAPHILIPPE Julian | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 58 | KRISTOFF Alexander | UAE-Team Emirates | 1:33 |
| 59 | POSTLBERGER Lukas | Bora-hansgrohe | 2:44 |
| 60 | MARCATO Marco | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 61 | SCOTSON Miles | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 62 | BARDET Romain | Team DSM | s.t. |
| 63 | KIRSCH Alex | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 64 | PASQUALON Andrea | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | 2:45 |
| 65 | KOCH Jonas | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | 3:00 |
| 66 | HAYTER Ethan | INEOS Grenadiers | 3:07 |
| 67 | VAN ROOY Kenneth | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 68 | MEURISSE Xandro | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 69 | TERPSTRA Niki | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 70 | RIESEBEEK Oscar | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 71 | OLDANI Stefano | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 72 | MENTEN Milan | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 73 | SCHMIDT Mads | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 74 | BACKAERT Frederik | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 75 | BARBERO Carlos | Qhubeka-Assos | s.t. |
| 76 | HOLLMANN Juri | Movistar | s.t. |
| 77 | CARVALHO Andre | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 78 | NIEUWENHUIS Joris | Team DSM | s.t. |
| 79 | KRON Andreas | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 80 | LUDVIGSSON Tobias | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 81 | LANGEVELD Sebastian | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 82 | DRUCKER Jempy | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 83 | STUYVEN Jasper | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 84 | SMITH Dion | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 85 | WILLEMS Thimo | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | 4:26 |
| 86 | THEUNS Edward | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 87 | WIRTGEN Tom | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 88 | BOHLI Tom | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 89 | KOOIJ Olav | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
| 90 | VAN GESTEL Dries | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 91 | MULLEN Ryan | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 92 | WYNANTS Maarten | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
| 93 | LEYSEN Senne | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 94 | NORSGAARD Mathias | Movistar | s.t. |
| 95 | DECLERCQ Benjamin | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 96 | VAN DER HOORN Taco | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 97 | MCLAY Daniel | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 98 | HAGEN Edvald | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 99 | PERRY Benjamin | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 100 | NOPPE Christophe | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 101 | STANNARD Robert | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 102 | VAN POUCKE Aaron | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 103 | DUCHESNE Antoine | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 104 | KEUKELEIRE Jens | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 105 | SWIFT Connor | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 106 | FELLINE Fabio | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 107 | LIENHARD Fabian | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 108 | EDMONDSON Alex | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 109 | OSS Daniel | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 110 | MORA Sebastián | Movistar | s.t. |
| 111 | VAHTRA Norman | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 112 | PEDERSEN Mads | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 113 | GOLAS Michał | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 114 | BASSO Leonardo | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 115 | PETIT Adrien | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 116 | LEMOINE Cyril | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 117 | DEBUSSCHERE Jens | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 118 | VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 119 | COLMAN Alex | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 120 | GAMPER Patrick | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 121 | ARMEE Sander | Qhubeka-Assos | s.t. |
| 122 | VAN HOECKE Gijs | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 123 | FEDOROV Yevgeniy | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 124 | PHILIPSEN Jasper | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 125 | STYBAR Zdeněk | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 126 | VAN DEN BERG Julius | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 127 | SCHELLING Ide | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 128 | LAENGEN Vegard | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 129 | DE BACKER Bert | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 130 | DOCKER Mitchell | EF Education-Nippo | 9:15 |
| 131 | MARTINELLI Davide | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 132 | LECROQ Jérémy | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 133 | ROBEET Ludovic | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 134 | SCULLY Tom | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 135 | ERVITI Imanol | Movistar | s.t. |
| 136 | GIBBONS Ryan | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 137 | SCOTSON Callum | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 138 | GAUDIN Damien | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 139 | SAJNOK Szymon | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 140 | LOUVEL Matis | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
Photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:
Before the race, the team presentation. Here's Trek-Segafredo.
The guys to beat, Team Deceuninck-Quick Step.
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Hitting the Haaghoek cobbles
On the Haaghoek cobbled sector, Sebastiaan Langeveld
Deceunicnk-Quick step
The Cofidis rider should be Christophe Laporte.
Miles Scotson
The legendary Grammont (or Muur van Geraardsbergen or Kapelmuur)
World Champion Julian Alaphilippe on the Grammont.
Greg Van Avermaet
Gianni Moscon
Looks like Stefano Oldani is going deep on the Grammont.
Mads Pedersen
Adrien Petit
Davide Ballerini is the day's best.
The podium, from left: Jake Stewart (2nd), Davide Ballerini (1st) & Sep Vanmarcke (3rd)
Start list with backnumbers, February 26, 2021:
| TREK-SEGAFREDO | |
| DS | DE JONGH Steven |
| 1 | STUYVEN Jasper |
| 2 | PEDERSEN Mads |
| 3 | THEUNS Edward |
| 4 | MULLEN Ryan |
| 5 | EGHOLM Jacob |
| 6 | QUARTERMAN Charlie |
| 7 | KIRSCH Alex |
| DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP | |
| DS | PEETERS Wilfried |
| 11 | ALAPHILIPPE Julian |
| 12 | ASGREEN Kasper |
| 13 | BALLERINI Davide |
| 14 | DECLERCQ Tim |
| 15 | LAMPAERT Yves |
| 16 | SENECHAL Florian |
| 17 | STYBAR Zdenek |
| LOTTO SOUDAL | |
| DS | FRISON Herman |
| 21 | GILBERT Philippe |
| 22 | FRISON Frederik |
| 23 | KRON Andreas |
| 24 | OLDANI Stefano |
| 25 | VAN MOER Brent |
| 26 | VERMEERSCH Florian |
| 27 | WELLENS Tim |
| INTERMARCHÉ-WANTY-GOBERT MATÉRIAUX | |
| DS | VAN DER SCHUEREN Hilaire |
| 31 | DE GENDT Aimé |
| 32 | KOCH Jonas |
| 33 | VAN DER HOORN Taco |
| 34 | PASQUALON Andrea |
| 35 | VAN POPPEL Boy |
| 36 | VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter |
| 37 | VLIEGEN Loïc |
| AG2R CITROEN | |
| DS | JURDIE Julien |
| 41 | VAN AVERMAET Greg |
| 42 | GOUGEARD Alexis |
| 43 | NAESEN Lawrence |
| 44 | NAESEN Oliver |
| 45 | DUVAL Julien |
| 46 | TOUZÉ Damien |
| 47 | VAN HOECKE Gijs |
| ASTANA-PREMIER TECH | |
| DS | ZANINI Stefano |
| 51 | FELLINE Fabio |
| 52 | ARANBURU Alex |
| 53 | BOARO Manuele |
| 54 | FEDOROV Yevgeniy |
| 55 | IZAGIRRE Gorka |
| 56 | MARTINELLI Davide |
| 57 | PERRY Benjamin |
| BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | |
| DS | ALDAG Rolf |
| 61 | TEUNS Dylan |
| 62 | COLBRELLI Sonny |
| 63 | PADUN Mark |
| 64 | HALLER Marco |
| 65 | HAUSSLER Heinrich |
| 66 | SIEBERG Marcel |
| 67 | WILLIAMS Stephen |
| BORA-HANSGROHE | |
| DS | HEYNDERICKX Jean-Pierre |
| 71 | OSS Daniel |
| 72 | BODNAR Maciej |
| 73 | BURGHARDT Marcus |
| 74 | GAMPER Patrick |
| 75 | SCHELLING Ide |
| 76 | POLITT Nils |
| 77 | POSTLBERGER Lukas |
| COFIDIS | |
| DS | MARICHAL Thierry |
| 81 | LAPORTE Christophe |
| 82 | ALLEGAERT Piet |
| 83 | BOHLI Tom |
| 84 | CARVALHO André |
| 85 | DRUCKER Jean-Pierre |
| 86 | MORIN Emmanuel |
| 87 | SAJNOK Szymon |
| EF EDUCATION-NIPPO | |
| DS | KLIER Andreas |
| 91 | KEUKELEIRE Jens |
| 92 | HOFLAND Moreno |
| 93 | DOCKER Mitchell |
| 94 | LANGEVELD Sebastian |
| 95 | RUTSCH Jonas |
| 96 | SCULLY Thomas |
| 97 | VAN DEN BERG Julius |
| GROUPAMA-FDJ | |
| DS | GUESDON Frederic |
| 101 | KUNG Stefan |
| 102 | DUCHESNE Antoine |
| 103 | GENIETS Kevin |
| 104 | SCOTSON Miles |
| 105 | LIENHARD Fabian |
| 106 | LUDVIGSSON Tobias |
| 107 | STEWART Jake |
| INEOS GRENADIERS | |
| DS | KNAVEN Servais |
| 111 | BASSO Leonardo |
| 112 | DOULL Owain |
| 113 | HAYTER Ethan |
| 114 | MOSCON Gianni |
| 115 | NARVAEZ Jhonatan |
| 116 | PIDCOCK Thomas |
| 117 | GOLAS Michal |
| ISRAEL START-UP NATION | |
| DS | VAN LANCKER Eric |
| 121 | VANMARCKE Sep |
| 122 | BIERMANS Jenthe |
| 123 | HOLLENSTEIN Reto |
| 124 | VAHTRA Norman |
| 125 | SCHMIDT Mads |
| 126 | BOIVIN Guillaume |
| 127 | VAN ASBROECK Tom |
| JUMBO-VISMA | |
| DS | BOVEN Jan |
| 131 | KOOIJ Olav |
| 132 | AFFINI Edoardo |
| 133 | EENKHOORN Pascal |
| 134 | MARTENS Paul |
| 135 | ROOSEN Timo |
| 136 | VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan |
| 137 | WYNANTS Maarten |
| MOVISTAR | |
| DS | GARCIA Jose |
| 141 | ERVITI Imanol |
| 142 | GARCIA Ivan |
| 143 | HOLLMANN Juri |
| 144 | JACOBS Johan |
| 145 | JØRGENSEN Mathias |
| 146 | SERRANO Gonzalo |
| 147 | MORA Sebastian |
| TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE | |
| DS | LAPAGE Laurenzo |
| 151 | DURBRIDGE Luke |
| 152 | EDMONDSON Alexander |
| 153 | JANSEN Amund |
| 154 | JENSEN Christopher |
| 155 | SCOTSON Callum |
| 156 | SMITH Dion |
| 157 | STANNARD Robert |
| TEAM DSM | |
| DS | REEF Marc |
| 161 | BENOOT Tiesj |
| 162 | BARDET Romain |
| 163 | MÄRKL Niklas |
| 164 | ANDERSEN Søren |
| 165 | NIEUWENHUIS Joris |
| 166 | PEDERSEN Casper |
| 167 | SÜTTERLIN Jasha |
| QHUBEKA-ASSOS | |
| DS | MICHAELSEN Lars |
| 171 | BARBERO Carlos |
| 172 | CAMPENAERTS Victor |
| 173 | CLAEYS Dimitri |
| 174 | GOGL Michael |
| 175 | ARMEE Sander |
| 176 | VINJEBO Emil |
| 177 | WISNIOWSKI Lukasz |
| UAE TEAM EMIRATES | |
| DS | PEIPER Allan |
| 181 | KRISTOFF Alexander |
| 182 | BYSTROM Sven |
| 183 | GIBBONS Ryan |
| 184 | LAENGEN Vegard |
| 185 | MARCATO Marco |
| 186 | TRENTIN Matteo |
| 187 | TROIA Oliviero |
| ALPECIN-FENIX | |
| DS | CORNELISSE Michel |
| 191 | DE BONDT Dries |
| 192 | DILLIER Silvan |
| 193 | LEYSEN Senne |
| 194 | MEURISSE Xandro |
| 195 | RIESEBEEK Oscar |
| 196 | PHILIPSEN Jasper |
| 197 | VERGAERDE Otto |
| BINGOAL-WB | |
| DS | DETILLOUX Christophe |
| 201 | DE BIE Sean |
| 202 | LIVYNS Arjen |
| 203 | MENTEN Milan |
| 204 | PEYSKENS Dimitri |
| 205 | ROBEET Ludovic |
| 206 | SUTER Joel |
| 207 | WIRTGEN Tom |
| SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE | |
| DS | PLANCKAERT Walter |
| 211 | BEULLENS Cedric |
| 212 | COLMAN Alex |
| 213 | GHYS Robbe |
| 214 | VAN POUCKE Aaron |
| 215 | VAN ROOY Kenneth |
| 216 | WARLOP Jordi |
| 217 | WILLEMS Thimo |
| B&B HOTELS | |
| DS | ENGOULVENT Jimmy |
| 221 | DEBUSSCHERE Jens |
| 222 | BACKAERT Frederik |
| 223 | BARTHE Cyril |
| 224 | DE BACKER Bert |
| 225 | COQUARD Bryan |
| 226 | LECROQ Jérémy |
| 227 | LEMOINE Cyril |
| ARKÉA-SAMSIC | |
| DS | HINAULT Sebastien |
| 231 | CAPIOT Amaury |
| 232 | DECLERCQ Benjamin |
| 233 | LOUVEL Matis |
| 234 | NOPPE Christophe |
| 235 | MCLAY Daniel |
| 236 | GRONDIN Donovan |
| 237 | SWIFT Connor |
| TOTAL DIRECT ENERGIE | |
| DS | ARNOULD Dominique |
| 241 | TERPSTRA Niki |
| 242 | BOASSON HAGEN Edvald |
| 243 | LAWLESS Christopher |
| 244 | PETIT Adrien |
| 245 | GAUDIN Damien |
| 246 | TURGIS Anthony |
| 247 | VAN GESTEL Dries |