Van der Breggen victorious in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Anna van der Breggen got her final season as a pro off to a grand start as she took her second Omloop Het Nieuwsblad victory on Saturday, attacking on the Bosberg to win solo. The Flemish race was the highly anticipated start to the women’s season, although the women’s WorldTour is still a week away at the Strade Bianche.

The women’s race contained five cobbled sectors and eight bergs, three of which were cobbled, over 126 km. The 900 metre, 7.9 percent Kapelmuur (17 km to go) and the 1.3 km, 5.7 percent Bosberg (13 km to go) peaked 17 km and 13 km before the finish in Ninove respectively.

It was the first 2021 assembly of the big names in women’s cycling, with reigning champ Annemiek van Vleuten debuting for her new Movistar squad; world champion van der Breggen heading up SD Worx, the new incarnation of Boels-Dolmans; and Lizzie Deignan and Elisa Longo Borghini in the nattily-clad Trek-Segafredo team.

#WheresLizzie? #OHN21 #OHNWomen pic.twitter.com/pnvAqDUrrp

— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) February 27, 2021

A trio dashed away early. The peloton was delayed by a passing train.

#OHNwomen First 50 km covered and time for the first cobbled section ?! The gap of the leaders has increased by 1 minute because the peloton was standing still in front of the train tracks. The time difference has even grown to 5'30" now! #OHN21 pic.twitter.com/wKpNpctXCN

— OmloopHetNieuwsblad (@OmloopHNB) February 27, 2021

Eventually the peloton got on even terms with the escapees before the Haaghoeck cobbles and the final passage of the Leberg.

It's been a fast pace so far, with the bunch splitting into a group of around 30 riders with 34km to go. @LianeLippert and @JulietteLabous are both up there for us!??#OHNWomen pic.twitter.com/vBWDIhl97I

— Team DSM (@TeamDSM) February 27, 2021

Van der Breggen’s teammate and compatriot Demi Vollering bolted with 29 km to go. Lotte Kopecky’s Liv Racing squad chased.

Vollering hit the Muur with a 25-second gap. Longo Borghini set out to track her down, and van der Breggen and a handful of others went with the Italian. Vollering survived and scampered down the cobbled descent, but she was nabbed with 17 km remaining. Longo Borghini bounced away again with one SD Worx rider and one Liv rider, but they were only a couple of seconds clear by the Bosberg.

Van der Breggen attacked at the foot of the Bosberg and went solo.

Again, Liv did the chasing, the pursuit group 14 strong, but containing no van Vleuten or Deignan. Although they pulled the world champion to within 16 seconds, the gap opened up on the way to Ninove. Van der Breggen would not be denied.

Danish champion Emma Cecilie Norsgaard of Movistar pipped van der Breggen’s teammate and compatriot Amy Pieters for second place.

2021 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
1) Anna van der Breggen (The Netherlands/SD Worx)
2) Emma Cecilie Norsgaard (Denmark/Movistar)
3) Amy Pieters (The Netherlands/SD Worx)