Belgian Bonanza '23: 18th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad WWT + 18th Omloop V/H Hageland + 12th Le Samyn Dames (Feb 25-26 + 28)

[Samu Cuenca]

After some racing in Australia, UAE and Spain, the women's peloton is now getting ready to tackle the Belgian roads in three races over the next few days. First up is the mythical Omloop, which has joined the World Tour for the first time this season. 132.2 km await the riders en route from Gent to Ninove. 5 pavés and 8 hellingen, including the Kapelmuur-Bosberg combo, will provide the main challenges on the course.

Last year saw Annemiek van Vleuten tow Demi Vollering to the finish, where she crushed her younger compatriot with an impressive sprint. Van Vleuten, now in her final season, has the opportunity to win the race for a record third time, but with fierce opposition from the likes of Trek (Balsamo/Longo Borghini), FDJ - SUEZ (Brown/Cavalli/Uttrup Ludwig) and SD Worx (Kopecky/Reusser/Vollering/Wiebes), among others, it won't necessarily be an easy task. She will however be part of a strong team herself with Mackaij, Lippert, Norsgaard and Sierra alongside her. Time will tell whether a team will be able to play the numbers game perfectly, if one rider will simply stomp the others or if it will be held together for a sprint in a reduced group.

Omloop is one of the races where the women finish after the men (at approx. 17:15 CET), so you won't miss the finish if you sleep in.

Spoiler: Map

Start list: https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=9181&y=2023&k=8

Former winners: Annemiek van Vleuten 2, Anna van der Breggen 2, Emma Johansson 2, Suzanne de Goede 2, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, Amy Pieters, Christina Siggaard, Lucinda Brand, Lizzie Deignan, Tiffany Cromwell, Kirsten Wild, Loes Gunnewijk and Mie Bekker Lacota

 

[BR2]

Thanks for the thread, but could you please shorten the title a bit?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Thanks for the thread, but could you please shorten the title a bit?

It's a bit shorter now.

 

[AkaiD]

Puck Pieterse riding on Sunday. Event of the weekend.

 

[Monte Serra]

Will SD Worx ride for Wiebes, Kopecky or Vollering, or will they ride against each other?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Will SD Worx ride for Wiebes, Kopecky, Vollering or will they ride against each other?

We'll probably see a bit of both.

 

[BR2]

I have yet to see SD Worx using their team strength cleverly. If they win they do so because they have the strongest rider, at least in the races that I saw...

 

[Wyndbrook]

Been around a long time but to me this weekend is still the real start of the season.

 

[Dk one]

Gcn coverage starts 16.30 so approx. 45 min coverage? Buuuhh!

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Gcn coverage starts 16.30 so approx. 45 min coverage? Buuuhh!

It is only the minimum requirement for a WWT race, and it doesn't look liek there will be a Belgium stream that starts earlier. Flanders Classics do provide longer coverage for some of their other races though.

It looks like the stream from Hageland will cover more than two hours of that race.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

They've ridden the first 20 km. A group had a small gap for a while, but it's now been caught again.

 

[BR2]

From what I'm reading in the ticker this sounds like a pathetic race again. Damn, I hate it for women's cycling. Hopefully they will at least do something now that the men's race is over.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

From what I'm reading in the ticker this sounds like a pathetic race again. Damn, I hate it for women's cycling. Hopefully they will at least do something now that the men's race is over.

To be fair there was not a whole lot to be gained from making the race incredibly hard before the broadcast starts. The final is tough enough for the best to make a difference.

 

[BR2]

To be fair there was not a whole lot to be gained from making the race incredible hard before the broadcast starts. The final is tough enough for the best to make a difference.

Sure. But this is so often the case, and I guess it's a mixture of lack of broadcasting, topography, lack of depth in the peloton, and riders not used to ride offensively unless they are actually among the very strongest. Sure, there isn't a real incentive, but on the other hand there is no real incentive to broadcast more if people feel you don't miss anything if you don't show the first 2/3rds.
It's a vicious cycle and I just want it to be broken in whatever way...

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Sure. But this is so often the case, and I guess it's a mixture of lack of broadcasting, topography, lack of depth in the peloton, and riders not used to ride offensively unless they are actually among the very strongest. Sure, there isn't a real incentive, but on the other hand there is no real incentive to broadcast more if people feel you don't miss anything if you don't show the first 2/3rds.
It's a vicious cycle and I just want it to be broken in whatever way...

At least it seems like things are beginning to kick off now. JV has split the peloton on Molenberg, and only about 20 riders have survived.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Crash for Gasparrini. I've once again managed to curse a rider by picking her in the prediction game.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Sure. But this is so often the case, and I guess it's a mixture of lack of broadcasting, topography, lack of depth in the peloton, and riders not used to ride offensively unless they are actually among the very strongest. Sure, there isn't a real incentive, but on the other hand there is no real incentive to broadcast more if people feel you don't miss anything if you don't show the first 2/3rds.
It's a vicious cycle and I just want it to be broken in whatever way...

But the problem is, the main reason for those BOTD exploits has traditionally been TV time and coverage for your sponsors. For many years there was no TV time to be gained from that, and the stages were short enough that by the time the break established, endgame was ready to begin. In stage races we see more BOTD exploits, especially in later stages in the Giro where the GC has large time gaps in it and so the bunch may allow some baroudeuses to fight out the stage win, but in other races - one day races and flatter stage races where smaller gaps can be crucial - you still see a few of these races where the bunch stays together. The Women's Tour is particularly notable for this - ever since the miscalculation in 2017 that gave Niewiadoma an insurmountable GC lead on the flat-to-mildly-hilly parcours, every opening stage has followed that format - ride as a bunch until reaching the finishing circuit, then a random rider from a domestic team will attack solo for a bit before being reeled back in time for the sprint.

The women - and even more so their DSes - need to realise the way the game has changed regarding coverage and that this makes BOTD exploits a more attractive proposition.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

And now when they finally do attack, we have to watch all the pre-race interviews for about half an hour.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Sierra off the front now has put pressure on the other teams. 25 km left.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Looks like they might be underestimating Sierra here. They want to save their legs for Kapelmuur and Bosberg, but the Cuban is not a bad rider at all, so giving her this kind of gap isn't exactly clever.

 

[Monte Serra]

Sporza commentator Ruben Van Gucht showing his ignorance once again, by completely discounting Sierra as some no name escapee.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Where's Van Vleuten?

Kopecky is strong today. SD Worx are in a great position.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

AVV also had a bad day here two years ago where Norsgaard began her run of top results.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I think Kopecky has this. No one is going to tow Wiebes to the line.

 

[Monte Serra]

Where's Van Vleuten?

Kopecky is strong today. SD Worx are in a great position.

Van Vleuten had a bike change, according to Sporza.