80th (Men's) Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - Saturday, March 1, 2025

[tobydawq]

Anyone know what happened to Rex? He was in the front group after Muur but has a DNF?

He and Tim van Dijke have now been included in the results. They both finished midpack.

 

[jmdirt]

"Hammering" the cobbles? I didn't see anyone hammering any cobbles.

Neither a bunch sprint nor a long solo... Hm... Perhaps a dynamic race with groups forming and merging and splitting? Y'know like one of those cobbled classics in Flanders, people keep talking about... That'd be nice.

"Hammering" the cobbles? I didn't see anyone hammering any cobbles.

You should watch the last 20 K again then.

 

[E_F_]

You should watch the last 20 K again then.

Nah man. You should watch some different races including the Muur-Bosberg.

 

[11-34]

I thought it was a good and entertaining bike race. Nothing sensational for sure though. With van Aert out of form no aliens were present and in this day, of course, no celebrities equals "boring"..

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Honestly, it was a pretty boring race. It's not necessarily an entertaining race just because you don't know the winner beforehand, and it's not necessarily an entertaining race if you get a surprising winner. There was just no real attacks, none of the usual cobbled classics racing and dynamics. Omloop is usually one of my favorite races of the year, but this one was a let down.

 

[nightowl]

Now that Ninove is confirmed for the next 3 years too, can they please revamp the route? That's two bunch sprints in 5 years and it's not like the three editions in between were all that selective either. Absolutely the worst of the main cobbled classics right now.

They need to add a few more cobbled hills leading up to the Molenberg. That would create more opportunity for splits to form and gaps to grow before the finale.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I think Narváez did try to sprint but I don't know what happened to him.

Anyway, of course you should try to sprint. It's not like they don't go for points usually, either.

They don't care about points. They are by far the best team (when we talk about wins), they don't need to collect minor places (top10).

 

[E_F_]

They need to add a few more cobbled hills leading up to the Molenberg. That would create more opportunity for splits to form and gaps to grow before the finale.

Molenberg is quite isolated, is the problem.

 

[Peyroteo94]

If this is a good race, some people really have low standards. What a letdown, specially due to Omloop being the first real race of the season.

 

[tobydawq]

They don't care about points. They are by far the best team (when we talk about wins), they don't need to collect minor places (top10).

That just isn't true. It should be, but it isn't.

 

[nightowl]

Molenberg is quite isolated, is the problem.

It is but at the moment there is almost no difficulty before Eikenberg. You could easily chain more climbs before that and it would improve improve the parcours signifocantly.

Even the last few years have been better than this year, with the hill zone starting at the Katteberg instead of waiting this late.

 

[Brullnux]

They don't care about points. They are by far the best team (when we talk about wins), they don't need to collect minor places (top10).

UAE love farming placings, that was their whole vibe in one day races last year (sans Pogacar). I remember several races where some iteration of Hirschi/Christen/Ulissi would all finish top 10

 

[Peyroteo94]

UAE love farming placings, that was their whole vibe in one day races last year (sans Pogacar).

They like to win, even small races. They don't care about a 8th place just to gain points.

 

[Salvarani]

If this is a good race, some people really have low standards. What a letdown, specially due to Omloop being the first real race of the season.

Agreed, and it is pretty clear what they really mean. It is not about the "racing" in reality. That is just a mask. It is other opinions and views. Because this was not aggressive racing or entertaining. It was truly boring.

 

[Brullnux]

They like to win, even small races. They don't care about a 8th place just to gain points.

But like I said, they were farming placings. Those weren't just wins they were also races where they came 3rd, 4th, 8th, 9th etc. They were victory oriented (of course they were, they often had the best riders) but they also hauled top 10s a la 2025 Astana. Even at E3 last year (eg), you had Politt sprinting for 7th. It may well be a new approach to ignore placings but it doesn't match with past years.

They literally came 2nd through 4th at Milano-Torino; 1st, 9th, 10th at San Sebastian; 9th, 12th, 15th at Eschborn; 1st, 2nd, and 4th at Appennino. I'm sure there's more, these are just the ones that I remember more vividly

 

[Coffeeplanter]

The whole point of UAE sending riders all the way to frigging Timbuktu is to win the UCI Team Ranking, which is not won by wins but by points.

 

[Peyroteo94]

The whole point of UAE sending riders all the way to frigging Timbuktu is to win the UCI Team Ranking, which is not won by wins but by points.

They just need to be average in WT races to win UCI Team Ranking. Pogacar alone gives them enough points to be better than most teams.

 

[Brullnux]

They just need to be average in WT races to win UCI Team Ranking. Pogacar alone gives them enough points to be better than most teams.

Yeah but... they did farm points in 2023/2024 with an obscene number of placings, often multiple guys in the top 10. Maybe it's changed this year, but they definitely did race for 6th etc last year

 

[Brullnux]

Actually, scrap that, they've had several two or three riders in the top ten in the early season one day races already. Just not true that they only race for the win and not top tens. Even in Faun Ardeche, McNulty was leading out a group in the final km in which UAE would realistically have come maybe 5th

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I will never feel sorry for someone who doesn't like to race and just waits for the sprint. It is like feeling sorry for Roglic in the 2020 Tour when all he did, was killing the race with his superb team pacing all day and him waiting for an uphill sprint.
I will never feel sorry for those who don't attack and ride passively

 

[Peyroteo94]

Yeah but... they did farm points in 2023/2024 with an obscene number of placings, often multiple guys in the top 10. Maybe it's changed this year, but they definitely did race for 6th etc last year

Maybe in some races they sprinted for minor places but I don't believe it is different from other teams. A lot of teams sprint for 10 places in monuments, important classics like E3, GW, etc. For example, in KBK (last year) they didn't sprint for minor places (they had Wellens in the front though). I don't believe they are really trying to win points like 2025 Astana.
But I think we agree to disagree.

 

[zlev11]

damn, that race stunk!

here's my idea for the route of this race: alternate this route with the old one every other year
then alternate the Ronde's current route with its old route as well

 

[Brullnux]

Maybe in some races they sprinted for minor places but I don't believe it is different from other teams. A lot of teams sprint for 10 places in monuments, important classics like E3, GW, etc. For example, in KBK (last year) they didn't sprint for minor places (they had Wellens in the front though). I don't believe they are really trying to win points like 2025 Astana.
But I think we agree to disagree.

Yeah but they sprinted for minor places in E3, Omloop, RVV, etc. At best, they are just like other teams, which still makes your initial claim a bit moot. When you look at smaller races, then they absolutely sprint for minor placings. They even sprinted today, I am fairly sure Politt tried to go earlyish but didn't have the legs. I don't think there's much to agree/disagree here – they do go for minor placings.

 

[kn0s]

Yeah but they sprinted for minor places in E3, Omloop, RVV, etc. At best, they are just like other teams, which still makes your initial claim a bit moot. When you look at smaller races, then they absolutely sprint for minor placings. They even sprinted today, I am fairly sure Politt tried to go earlyish but didn't have the legs. I don't think there's much to agree/disagree here – they do go for minor placings.

Yeah UCI ranking is bought and paid for, but they still need to collect the points.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Yeah but they sprinted for minor places in E3, Omloop, RVV, etc. At best, they are just like other teams, which still makes your initial claim a bit moot. When you look at smaller races, then they absolutely sprint for minor placings. They even sprinted today, I am fairly sure Politt tried to go earlyish but didn't have the legs. I don't think there's much to agree/disagree here – they do go for minor placings.

You're right but I think it is not different with other teams.