Omloop Het-Volk podium history | 2007 edition | 2009 edition

Race story | Complete results | Course map

Ghent-Ghent, 199 km / 40.417 km/hr
199 starters / 143 classified finishers

Winner Philippe Gilbert (shown winning the 2006 edition of Omloop Het Volk)

The race: It was a nice, sunny day for a bicycle race.

Not very long after the start six riders were off the front. The pack wasn't too worried about the sextet and after 56 kilometers the group had an 8min 30sec lead.

Along the way, several crashes marred the racing. Among the fallen were Rik Verbrugghe and Frederik Veuchelen.

Though there were several attacks from the chasing field, it was on the Eikenberg climb, with fifty kilometers remaining, that the decisive move occurred. 2006 Omloop Het Volk winner Philippe Gilbert blasted off the front. Cofidis rider Nick Nuyens, a strong racer, tried to catch Gilbert's wheel, but couldn't.

Gilbert was enjoying a period of extraordinary fitness and strength. He was able to use the next climb, the Wolvenberg, to increase his lead.

A chase group with Fabian Cancellara, Thor Hushovd, Nick Nuyens and others formed and tried to catch the fleeing Gilbert. Up front, Gilbert had caught the early break and now had some help.

With 22 kilometers remaining, Gilbert dropped everyone and was now off the front, alone with the Cancellara group chasing a full minute back.

And that's the way the race finished, with the powerful Gilbert finishing alone, a minute ahead of the first chaser, Nick Nuyens.

It was an extraordinary performance. Bravo.

Complete results:

1	Philippe Gilbert	FDJ	4hr 55min 25sec
2	Nick Nuyens	Cofidis	@ 58sec
3	Thor Hushovd	Crédit Agricole	@ 1min 6sec
4	Yuriy Krivtsov	Ag2r-La Mondiale	s.t.
5	Aleksandr Kuschynski	Liquigas	1min 12sec
6	Nicolas Jalabert	Agritubel	1min 1sec
7	Leif Hoste	Silence-Lotto	s.t.
8	Allan Johansen	Team CSC	1min 16sec
9	Jan Kuyckx	Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner	1min 53sec
10	Arnaud Gérard	FDJ	s.t.
11	Sébastien Minard	Cofidis	s.t.
12	Michael Friedman	Garmin-Chipotle	1min 58sec
13	Fabian Cancellara	Team CSC	2min 7sec
14	Markus Eichler	Team Milram	4min 26sec
15	Maarten Tjallingii	Silence-Lotto	4min 31sec
16	Wouter Weylandt	Quick Step	4min 37sec
17	Nico Sijmens	Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner	s.t.
18	Murilo Antonio Fischer	Liquigas	s.t.
19	Anders Lund	Team CSC	s.t.
20	Roy Sentjens	Silence-Lotto	s.t.
21	Steven Caethoven	Agritubel	s.t.
22	Floris Goesinnen	Skil-Shimano	s.t.
23	Kevyn Ista	Agritubel	4min 49sec
24	Max Van Heeswijk	Willems Veranda's	s.t.
25	Koen Barbe	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
26	Geert Verheyen	Mitsubishi-Jartazi	s.t.
27	Ralf Grabsch	Team Milram	s.t.
28	Filip Meirhaeghe	Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner	s.t.
29	Lloyd Mondory	Ag2r-La Mondiale	s.t.
30	Huub Duyn	Garmin-Chipotle	s.t.
31	Dmitriy Muravyev	Astana	s.t.
32	Christophe Laurent	Garmin-Chipotle	s.t.
33	Andy Cappelle	Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner	s.t.
34	Kevin Neirynck	Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner	s.t.
35	William Bonnet	Crédit Agricole	s.t.
36	Sylvain Chavanel	Cofidis	s.t.
37	Laszlo Bodrogi	Crédit Agricole	s.t.
38	Mathieu Ladagnous	FDJ	s.t.
39	Tom Veelers  à 6'32"	Skil-Shimano	6min 32sec
40	Wilfried Cretskens	Quick Step	s.t.
41	Kurt Hovelynck	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
42	Steffen Wesemann	Collstrop	s.t.
43	Mathieu Criquielion	Mitsubishi-Jartazi	s.t.
44	Stijn Ennekens	Willems Veranda's	s.t.
45	Roger Hammond	High Road	s.t.
46	Michael Schär	Astana	s.t.
47	Evert Verbist	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
48	Mauro Da Dalto	Liquigas	s.t.
49	Jimmy Casper	Agritubel	s.t.
50	Preben Van Hecke	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
51	Emilien-Benoît Bergès	Agritubel	s.t.
52	Staf Scheirlinckx	Cofidis	s.t.
53	Jurgen Roelandts	Silence-Lotto	s.t.
54	Arnaud Labbé	Bouygues Telecom	s.t.
55	Martin Elmiger	Ag2r-La Mondiale	s.t.
56	Jason Donald	Garmin-Chipotle	s.t.
57	Gabriel Rasch	Crédit Agricole	s.t.
58	Gerben Löwik	Rabobank	s.t.
59	Sébastien Hinault	Crédit Agricole	s.t.
60	Mathew Hayman	Rabobank	s.t.
61	Martin Müller	Team Milram	s.t.
62	Enrico Poitschke	Team Milram	s.t.
63	Stijn Vandenbergh	Ag2r-La Mondiale	6min 35sec
64	Frédéric Guesdon	FDJ	s.t.
65	Enrico Franzoi	Liquigas	s.t.
66	Joost Posthuma	Rabobank	s.t.
67	Mickaël Delage	FDJ	s.t.
68	Guennadi Mikhailov	Mitsubishi-Jartazi	s.t.
69	Stijn Devolder	Quick Step	s.t.
70	Serguei Ivanov	Astana	s.t.
71	Gorik Gardeyn	Silence-Lotto	s.t.
72	Anthony Geslin	Bouygues Telecom	s.t.
73	Steven De Jongh	Quick Step	s.t.
74	Kevin De Weert	Cofidis	s.t.
75	David Boucher	Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner	s.t.
76	Lars Bak	Team CSC	s.t.
77	Frank Höj	Cofidis	s.t.
78	Juan Antonio Flecha	Rabobank	s.t.
79	Tom Stubbe	FDJ	s.t.
80	Gianni Meersman	FDJ	s.t.
81	Gregory Rast	Astana	s.t.
82	Johan Van Summeren	Silence-Lotto	s.t.
83	Rik Verbrugghe	Cofidis	s.t.
84	Frederik Willems	Liquigas	s.t.
85	Tom Boonen	Quick Step	s.t.
86	Niki Terpstra	Team Milram	s.t.
87	Bram Tankink	Rabobank	6min 38sec
88	Sebastian Langeveld	Rabobank	s.t.
89	Kevin Hulsmans	Quick Step	s.t.
90	Paolo Bettini	Quick Step	s.t.
91	Koen De Kort	Astana	6min 51sec
92	Kenny Van Braeckel	Willems Veranda's	6min 54sec
93	Steven Cozza	Garmin-Chipotle	s.t.
94	Dieter Cappelle	Willems Veranda's	s.t.
95	Marco Marcato	Collstrop	s.t.
96	Mirko Selvaggi	Collstrop	s.t.
97	Tomas Buchacek	PSK Whirlpool	s.t.
98	Aurélien Clerc	Bouygues Telecom	s.t.
99	Sven Nevens	Mitsubishi-Jartazi	s.t.
100	Alexandre Pichot	Bouygues Telecom	s.t.
101	Tom Steels	Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner	s.t.
102	Robert Wagner	Skil-Shimano	s.t.
103	Sebastian Lang	Gerolsteiner	s.t.
104	Paul Martens	Rabobank	s.t.
105	Bart Van Heule	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
106	Mathieu Heijboer	Cofidis	s.t.
107	Erki Pütsep	Bouygues Telecom	s.t.
108	Jarno Van Mingeroet	Mitsubishi-Jartazi	s.t.
109	Vytautas Kaupas	Mitsubishi-Jartazi	9min 12sec
110	Jens Mouris	Mitsubishi-Jartazi	s.t.
111	Renaud Dion	Ag2r-La Mondiale	12min 33sec
112	Harald Starzengruber	Elk Haus-Simplon	s.t.
113	Frederik Veuchelen	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
114	Jimmy Engoulvent	Crédit Agricole	15min 10sec
115	Servais Knaven	High Road	s.t.
116	Martin Velits	Team Milram	s.t.
117	Rony Martias	Bouygues Telecom	s.t.
118	Manuel Quinziato	Liquigas	s.t.
119	Stéphane Poulhiès	Ag2r-La Mondiale	s.t.
120	Sven Renders	Topsport Vlaanderen	18min 19sec
121	Sjef De Wilde	Willems Veranda's	s.t.
122	Jochen Summer	Elk Haus-Simplon	s.t.
123	Steffen Radochla	Elk Haus-Simplon	s.t.
124	Vicente Reynes	High Road	s.t.
125	Daniel Musiol	Team Volksbank	s.t.
126	Fabien Bacquet	Skil-Shimano	s.t.
127	Tyler Farrar	Garmin-Chipotle	s.t.
128	Léopold König	PSK Whirlpool	s.t.
129	Vincent Jérôme	Bouygues Telecom	s.t.
130	Aaron Kemps	Astana	s.t.
131	Fumiyuki Beppu	Skil-Shimano	s.t.
132	Bernhard Eisel	High Road	s.t.
133	Sebastian Siedler	Skil-Shimano	s.t.
134	Matti Breschel	Team CSC	s.t.
135	Albert Timmer	Skil-Shimano	s.t.
136	Kristof De Zutter	Willems Veranda's	s.t.
137	Lucas Persson	Collstrop	s.t.
138	Carlo Westphal	Gerolsteiner	s.t.
139	Marcus Ljungqvist	Team CSC	s.t.
140	Marc De Maar	Rabobank	s.t.
141	Thomas Fothen	Gerolsteiner	s.t.
142	David Kopp	Collstrop	s.t.
143	André Greipel	High Road	s.t.

2005 Omloop Het Volk map: