Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) won the 2024 women's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with a dominant sprint, making it a double day for her team.
Vos came to the line with pre-race favourite and current world champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) and Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek).
The Lidl-Trek duo made the race all the better for spectators with their attacking riding, not to mention Longo-Borghini's seemingly never ending energy reserves, but in the end Vos and Kopecky proved too strong in the closing metres of the race.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024 women's race: How it happened
With a lead group three minutes ahead and the finish line still 35km away, a number of crashes held up the chasing groups. As the road narrowed into a cobbled sector, the squeeze saw a touch of wheels and several riders go down.
It appeared that most riders got back up and most were soon riding again. However, the incident forced the abandon of Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ).
With the peloton back together, the speed went up and the gap to the front of the race was soon below two minutes.
Impetus from Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), and the resulting reaction from behind, saw the lead group's day out front end sooner than they might have hoped. They held 34 seconds with 28km to go, but were almost in sight and had zero chance of lasting until the sharp end of the race.
Pre-race favourite and current world champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) rode to the front, dropped several people then headed off to find the leaders. The front of the race was being driven on by Longo Borghini. Two of the original break stuck with the Italian for a while but had nothing left when she pushed on.
Kopecky dropped back into the chasing group rather than expending all of her energy, with Longo Borghini now 21 seconds clear.
Tucked down low and pushing a big gear, the Italian national champion looked strong, but all the while her advantage was being reduced. She hit the Muur-Kapelmuur alone with a gap of nine seconds and put in a valiant effort to stay away, but was caught before the top.
Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) followed Kopecky over the top and past the chapel, then into the descent. Longo Borghini did remarkably well to stay with the pair, while her teammate Shirin van Anrooij made it a lead group of four.
Kopecky attacked on the upper slopes of the cobbled Bosberg, Vos was alive to it but Longo Borghini was distanced. After initially losing the wheel, Van Anrooij got back to the front of the race.
Then, to Kopecky's clear surprise and frustration, Longo Borghini was back. She rode straight to the front to keep the pace going, the chasing group still a bridgeable 25 seconds back with 10km to go.
Van Anrooij let the wheel go, forcing Vos to chase back on to Kopecky's wheel, who was herself pushing to stay with Longo Borghini. A truce took hold and every rider took their turn, or at least did a good job of pretending.
Van Anrooij broke the accord and attacked. However, all that served to do was drop her own teammate as Vos and Kopecky were quickly on the wheel. Motoring back to them, again, was Longo Borghini. When she got back on she went straight over the top through the 5km to go banner.
With her overshoes recently removed, Kopecky took up the chase. Vos was where she'd been for a while, closer to Kopecky than if they'd been on a tandem.
Playing the numbers, Van Anrooij launched again, Vos jumped straight on and they gapped Kopecky. Longo Borghini followed her back towards the lead pair. Vos put in a turn then slowed up under the 3km to go banner, a lull that played to Kopecky's advantage who herself had hesitated to let the pair get a gap.
Sound tracked by the blaring horns of a row of tractors, Longo Borghini went again, but couldn't get away. In a surprise to no one, Van Anrooij went next. Fair enough to Lidl-Trek for trying to win using their numerical advantage, but Kopecky and Vos both looked too strong to be dropped.
Under the flamme rouge, all four were still together and headed for a sprint.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024 women's race: Results
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, 3:27:15
2. Lotte Kopeky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime, at same time
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, st
4. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Lidl-Trek, st
5. Thalita De Jong (Ned) Lotto Dstny Ladies, at 1:08
6. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, at same time
7. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-Sram Racing, st
8. Puck Pieterse (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, st
9. Loren Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime), at 1:53
10. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek, at 2:08
