Chantal Blaak triumphs in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Dutch champion Chantal Blaak won the 1.1-rated Women’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday, attacking both on and after the dreaded Muur to take her first title after coming runner-up twice and third once. It was a fine victory for Boels Dolmans after the new Trek-Segafredo squad’s success in the first two months of the season.

The Course

Both editions of the race had the same start and finish, with the women facing 10 hills, four of which were cobbled, and three additional cobbled sections over 122.9-km.

#OHN19 #OHNWomen They’re off! Here’s what’s coming up for the women’s team??

Don’t forget you can now watch the race live here ? https://t.co/38FH32pw2t pic.twitter.com/egSt4IHIXv

— Mitchelton-SCOTT (@MitcheltonSCOTT) March 2, 2019

Hold Up There!

The men’s and women’s races shared the first 40-km of their respective routes, and with the women starting only 10-minutes after the men, and the men’s peloton moving slowly, the women’s race had to be stopped and neutralized at a railroad crossing in Sint-Denijs-Boekel before it entered the first Haagoek cobbles and Leberg climb. A solo rider led at that point and she looked pretty nonplussed having to wait.

?? #OHNwomen

The race has been neutralised and come to a stop after 35km of racing, with @NicoleHanselmaa out in front. pic.twitter.com/YVgQN2K0uo

— Bigla – KATUSHA (@BiglaKatusha) March 2, 2019

With 50-km to go, and after a couple of crashes, the race had split, with aces Anna van der Breggen (The Netherlands/Boels-Dolmans) and Annemiek van Vleuten (The Netherlands/Mitchelton-Scott) in the front bunch. Before the Rekelberg climb, the race reformed. Six hills including the taxing Bosberg/Muur one-two punch and one section of cobbles remained.

The Final 35-km

A torrid pace on the Berendries streamlined the leading group once more, but again the pace slackened and the bunch swelled. Several riders tried surges on the Tenbosse to no avail.

Trek-Segafredo was well represented at the business end of the field heading onto the Muur, the infamous cobbled climb of just under a kilometre, with grades up to 20%. It was the penultimate climb.

Into the final 23kms and we have come to the front to establish some order.#OHN19 #OHNwomen pic.twitter.com/K8ZzneiudK

— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) March 2, 2019

Blaak attacked on the Muur, creating a high-powered group of eight. Blaak went again on the flat between the Muur and the Bosberg. Tipping over the Bosberg alone, Blaak had 34-seconds over a chasing septet containing Van der Breggen and Van Vleuten with 10-km to go.

Chantal Blaak flying on this terrain + Anna van der Breggen controlling everything in the chasing group = another Classic in the bag for @boelsdolmansct . #OHNWomen pic.twitter.com/FuuYnbuc9g

— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) March 2, 2019

The chasing seven were caught by a larger group inside the final 1.5-km. Marta Bastianelli (Italy/Team Virtu Cycling) was second and Blaak’s teammate and compatriot Jip Van Den Bos rounded out the podium.

Leah Kirchmann, the lone Canadian entrant, was 45th

The Women’s WorldTour kicks off next Saturday with the Strade Bianche.

2019 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad-vrouwen Elite
1) Chantal Blaak (The Netherlands/Boels-Dolmans) 3:20:58
2) Marta Bastianelli (Italy/Team Virtu Cycling) +1:09
3) Jip Van Den Bos (The Netherlands/Boels-Dolmans) s.t.
45) Leah Kirchmann (Canada/Sunweb) +4:23