- Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
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Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Race details Date Late February Region Flanders, Belgium Local name(s) Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Dutch) Discipline Road Competition UCI Europe Tour Type One-day race History First edition 1945 Editions 66 (as of 2011) First winner 
Jean Bogaerts (BEL)Most wins 3 wins:
Ernest Sterckx (BEL)
Joseph Bruyere (BEL)
Peter Van Petegem (BEL)Most recent 
Sebastian Langeveld (NED)
The 2005 edition of Het Volk climbs the Oude Kwaremont (Picture courtesy of Eddy Van Laere of the Official Het Volk Site (http://omloop.sportwereld.be/omloop/nieuws.html).
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (previously known as Omloop Het Volk) is a Flanders Classics single day cycle race held in the Belgian province of East Flanders.
The race was first held in 1945, organised by the newspaper Het Volk in response to Het Nieuwsblad’s Classic Ronde van Vlaanderen. The Omloop, with the start and finish in Ghent, uses many of the climbs in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and is for that reason often used in preparation for the bigger event.
The race was known as Omloop Het Volk until 2008. The newspaper Het Volk stopped publishing in 2008 and was taken over by Het Nieuwsblad, as a result of which the race was renamed to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for the 64th edition in 2009.[1]
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is the opening event on the Belgian cycling calendar and is usually held on the last Saturday in February or the first in March. It is characterised by cold weather and short cobbled climbs and comes as a contrast to the training camps of the Italian Riviera or the south of France.
Since 2006, a women's edition of the race of approximately 130 kilometres distance has also been held.
Contents
The weather
The race has been affected by snow. The organizers rely on weather forecasts and adjust the course if the cobbled climbs are deemed unsafe. Snow fell the night before the 1955, 1974 and 1988 races but they were still run. The 1971 race was postponed due to snow and run three weeks later on Thursday 26 March when the GP Pino Cerami moved to another date. There was a thaw on the afternoon of the original date and the following day's Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne went ahead.
The 1986 edition was cancelled because of snow. It was not run later.
In 2004 race organiser Wim Van Herreweghe said: "The safety of the riders could not be guaranteed, the snow and freezing cold made the route too dangerous." The race was cancelled.
The 1960 race was also cancelled but due to a disagreement between the organisers and ruling body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The UCI had given better dates to other Belgian races and Het Volk abandoned the race in protest.
History
Belgians have dominated the race, aided by large, supportive crowds, and comfortable with cobbles and the cold. In 60 editions, there have been only four winners from outside northern Europe: Italians Franco Ballerini, Michele Bartoli, Filippo Pozzato, and Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha. Another Italian, Fausto Coppi won in 1948 but was disqualified for taking a wheel from the Belgian Walschott, who was not of his team.[2]
The record for wins is three, held by Joseph Bruyère (1974, 1975 and 1980), Ernest Sterckx (1952, 1953 and 1956) and Peter van Petegem (1997, 1998 and 2002). Bruyère has the fastest speed (43.35 km/h) for 1975.
Other winners include Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck, Freddy Maertens and Johan Museeuw. Dutchman Jan Raas won in 1981 after finishing second in 1977, third in 1978, second in 1979 and fourth in 1980.
The route
Het Volk started and finished in Ghent between 1945 and 1995. In 1996 to 2007 the conclusion of the race was at Lokeren, 20 km north east.
In 2008 the race finished in Ghent with 11 climbs and 16 km of cobbles in 199 km The start is outside Ghent's Museum of Contemporary Art, the first 70 km is flat before 40 km including five short, sharp climbs and one cobbled sector. Another flat part is followed by 55 km which includes the cobbled sectors of Donderij and Hof ter Fiennestraat and the climbs of the Oud Kruisberg, Taaienberg, Eikenberg and the Wolvenberg. The Molenberg is the final climb 39 km from the finish and this short climb which averages almost 10% in gradient can be the launching point for a winning break. The race finishes in the centre of Ghent on the thoroughfare of Charles de Kerchovelaan in front of the Citadelpark.[3][4]
Men's Winners
Rider Team 1945 Jean Bogaerts (BEL) Alcyon-Dunlop 1946 André Pieters (BEL) Alcyon-Dunlop 1947 Albert Sercu (BEL) Bertin-Wolber 1948 Sylvain Grysolle (BEL) Zircon 1949 André Declerck (BEL) Bertin-Wolber 1950 André Declerck (BEL) Bertin-Wolber 1951 Jean Bogaerts (BEL) 1952 Ernest Sterckx (BEL) 1953 Ernest Sterckx (BEL) 1954 Karel De Baere (BEL) 1955 Lode Anthonis (BEL) 1956 Ernest Sterckx (BEL) L'Avenir 1957 Norbert Kerckhove (BEL) Faema-Guerra 1958 Joseph Planckaert (BEL) Carpano 1959 
Seamus Elliott (IRL) Helyett-Fynsec 1960 No race 1961 Arthur De Cabooter (BEL) Groene Leeuw-Sinalco-SAS 1962 Robert De Middeleir (BEL) Wiel's-Groene Leeuw 1963 René Van Meenen (BEL) Wiel's-Groene Leeuw 1964 Frans Melckenbeek (BEL) Mercier-BP-Hutchinson 1965 Noél De Pauw (BEL) Solo-Superia 1966 Jo de Roo (NED) Televizier-Batavus 1967 Willy Vekemans (BEL) Goldor-Gerka 1968 Herman Vanspringel (BEL) Mann-Grundig 1969 Roger De Vlaeminck (BEL) Flandria-De Clerck 1970 Frans Verbeeck (BEL) Geens-Watney 1971 Eddy Merckx (BEL) Molteni 1972 Frans Verbeeck (BEL) Watney-Avia 1973 Eddy Merckx (BEL) Molteni 1974 Joseph Bruyere (BEL) Molteni 1975 Joseph Bruyere (BEL) Molteni-RYC 1976 Willem Peeters (BEL) Ijsboerke-Colnago 1977 Freddy Maertens (BEL) Flandria-Velda 1978 Freddy Maertens (BEL) Flandria-Velda 1979 Roger De Vlaeminck (BEL) Gis Gelati 1980 Joseph Bruyère (BEL) Marc-Carlos-V.R.D. 1981 Jan Raas (NED) TI-Raleigh 1982 Alfons De Wolf (BEL) Vermeer Thijs 1983 Alfons De Wolf (BEL) Bianchi-Piaggio 1984 Eddy Planckaert (BEL) Panasonic 1985 Eddy Planckaert (BEL) Panasonic 1986 No race due to snow 1987 Teun van Vliet (NED) Panasonic 1988 Ronny Van Holen (BEL) Roland 1989 Etienne De Wilde (BEL) Histor-Sigma 1990 Johan Capiot (BEL) TVM 1991 
Andreas Kappes (GER) Toshiba-Look 1992 Johan Capiot (BEL) TVM-Sanyo 1993 Wilfried Nelissen (BEL) Novemail-Histor 1994 Wilfried Nelissen (BEL) Novemail-Histor 1995 
Franco Ballerini (ITA) Mapei-GB-Latexco 1996 Tom Steels (BEL) Mapei-GB 1997 Peter Van Petegem (BEL) TVM-Farm Frites 1998 Peter Van Petegem (BEL) TVM-Farm Frites 1999 Frank Vandenbroucke (BEL) Cofidis 2000 Johan Museeuw (BEL) Mapei-Quick Step 2001 Michele Bartoli (ITA) Mapei-Quick Step 2002 Peter Van Petegem (BEL) Lotto-Adecco 2003 Johan Museeuw (BEL) Quick Step-Davitamon 2004 No race due to snow 2005 Nick Nuyens (BEL) Quick Step-Innergetic 2006 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Française des Jeux 2007 Filippo Pozzato (ITA) Liquigas 2008 Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Française des Jeux 2009 
Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervélo TestTeam 2010 
Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP) Team Sky 2011 Sebastian Langeveld (NED) Rabobank Winners by Nationality
# of Victories Country 53 Belgium4 Netherlands3 Italy1 Germany1 Ireland1 Norway1 SpainWinners women's race
Rider Team 2006 Suzanne de Goede (NED) AA Cycling Team 2007 
Mie Lacota (DEN) Team Flexpoint 2008 Kirsten Wild (NED) AA-Drink Cycling Team 2009 Suzanne de Goede (NED) Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung 2010 
Emma Johansson (SWE) Red Sun Cycling Team 2011 Emma Johansson (SWE) Red Sun Cycling Team References and footnotes
- European Cycling - The 20 Greatest Races by Noel Henderson (1989) ISBN 0-941950-20-4.
Footnotes
- ^ Cyclingnews.com.
- ^ The rules allowed assistance only from team-mates.
- ^ www.cyclingnews.com. Gives details of new route.
- ^ www.sportwereld.be. Gives details of new route.
External links
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 • 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011
Categories:- Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- Cycle races in Belgium
- Classic cycle races
- UCI Europe Tour
- Recurring sporting events established in 1945
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