For the women's race, see 2016 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (women's race).
2016 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Series2016 UCI Europe Tour
Date27 February 2016
Stages1
Distance200.8
Unitkm
Time4h 54' 12"
FirstGreg Van Avermaet
First natBEL
SecondPeter Sagan
Second natSVK
ThirdTiesj Benoot
Third natBEL
Previous2015
Next2017

The 71st edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was held on 27 February 2016.[1] It was won by Belgian Greg Van Avermaet in a five-man sprint before Peter Sagan and Tiesj Benoot.[2]

The race started and finished in Ghent, Belgium, covering 200.8 km.[3] The Omloop marked the start of the cobbled classics season in Europe and was rated as a 1.HC event of the 2016 UCI Europe Tour.

Preview

Route

The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad started in Ghent, East Flanders, and addressed the Flemish Ardennes in the south of the province, featuring numerous short climbs, before returning to Ghent.[3] This edition, organizers needed to find an alternative for the traditional start and finish location on Sint-Pietersplein.[N 1] In 2016 organizers chose Citadel Park, the site adjacent to the Kuipke velodrome, as the start location. The finish was on Emile Claus thoroughfare, close to the starting place.[4]

At 200 kilometres and with a dozen climbs in the hill zone, the course was challenging and arduous. Additionally, there were several flat stretches of cobbles.[5] The race featured one new climb, Boembekeberg, as a replacement for the Molenberg, which was skipped because of road works.[3][6]

There are thirteen categorized climbs:[3]

Climbs in the 2016 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad[3]
No.NameDistance from finish (km)Road surfaceLength (m)Average gradient (%)Maximum gradient (%)
1Leberg141asphalt9504.2%13.8%
2Berendries137asphalt9407%12.3%
3Tenbosse132asphalt4506.9%8.7%
4Eikenmolen127asphalt6105.9%12.5%
5Muur van Geraardsbergen115cobbles1.0759.3%19.8%
6Valkenberg97asphalt5408.1%12.8%
7Kaperij78asphalt1.0005.5%9%
8Kruisberg67asphalt/cobbles9504.8%9%
9Taaienberg57cobbles5306.6%15.8%
10Eikenberg52cobbles1.2005.2%10%
11Wolvenberg48asphalt6457.9%17.3%
12Leberg38asphalt9504.2%13.8%
13Boembeke[7]32asphalt1.2005%7%

Pre-race favourites

Britain's Ian Stannard, the winner of the previous two editions, was not present in this year's event. World champion Peter Sagan was among the key favourites, together with classics specialists Alexander Kristoff, Tom Boonen, Greg Van Avermaet and Philippe Gilbert.[8][9] Former world time trial champion Tony Martin made a first appearance.[10]

Teams

25 teams were invited: 12 UCI WorldTeams and 13 continental teams.[N 2][N 3][11][12] In total, 199 riders were at the start.[N 4][13]

Race report

Twelve riders, among which Alexis Gougeard, were in the early breakaway, as and held them within range of the peloton. Greg Van Avermaet, Luke Rowe and Tiesj Benoot broke clear on Taaienberg, immediately being joined by Peter Sagan on the descent. The four riders caught the remaining early escapees and dropped them all on the last cobbled sections, except for Gougeard. Powering on to Ghent, the elite group stayed clear until the finish and the race was decided in a five-man sprint. Van Avermaet led out the slightly uphill sprint from afar and sealed his first win of the season. Sagan was second, Benoot third. Jens Debusschere won the sprint for sixth place, nine seconds behind Van Avermaet.[2][14]

Notes

  1. ^ Every seven years, when Easter comes early in the year, Ghent's largest square, Sint-Pietersplein, is booked for the annual Mid-Lent fair.
  2. ^ As a 1.HC event, the race organizers could invite up to 70% UCI WorldTeams as a total of the line-up.
  3. ^ withdrew at the last moment, because they were unable to line up enough riders, after a severe accident in an early-season training camp left several riders injured.
  4. ^ Teams were limited to eight riders, for a maximum field of 200 riders.

References

  1. ^ "Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite 2016 - Classic". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  2. ^ Benson, Daniel & Decaluwé, Brecht. "Van Avermaet wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Roadmap". omloophetnieuwsblad.be. Flanders Classics. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Bekijk hier het gewijzigde parcours van de Omloop Het Nieuwsblad". Het Nieuwsblad. Mediahuis. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite 2016". Cycling News. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  6. ^ Wynn, Nigel. "Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2016 preview". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Boembeek". sport.be. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  8. ^ Clarke, Stuart. "10 riders to look out for at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad". cycling Weekly. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Zij zijn klaar voor de Omloop Het Nieuwsblad" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. Mediahuis. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  10. ^ O'Shea, Sadhbh. "riders to watch for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne - Video". Cycling News. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  11. ^ Clarke, Stuart. "Giant-Alpecin pull out of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Veranda's Willems vervangt Giant-Alpecin in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad". Het Nieuwsblad. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  13. ^ "List of participants Omloop Het Nieuwsblad". official website. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  14. ^ "Van Avermaet schiet meteen raak in de Omloop" (in Dutch). Sporza.be. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.