Vanmarcke's aggression thwarted by headwind and tactics at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Belgian settles f﷽or podium after attack on Muur van Geraardsbergen




168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is a race that has been dominated by Belgian🍌s – with 56 wins in 71 editions – bꦰut the riders from the heartland of the Classics were all left frustrated on Saturday at two common enemies: a stiff headwind and a decided lack of cooperation.
168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Sep Vanmarcke (168澳洲5最新开奖结果:EF Education First-Drapac) was th♉e one who did most to try and break down those barriers but in the end he was hamstrung in a finale where tactics counted for more than physica💙l strength.
The 29-year-o🤡ld was part of a strong group that formed after the Berendries climb, but the easterly wind meant the bunch would arrive as one at the foot of the Muur van Geraardsbergen, the focal point of a𒁃 new race route that revived the old Tour of Flanders course.
Vanmarkce was the chief ag𒁏gressor on the Muur, going clear over the top, but the headwind made it impossible to maintain an advantage – even between there and the Bosberg, never mind the 12km run to the finish line in Meerbeke.
"On the Muur I knew I had tꦑo go full gas to split the peloton and sudd𒉰enly I was alone, but it was too difficult to stay away with the headwind," Vanmarcke told reporters in Meerkbeke.
"Even though [Zdenek] Stybar came across, ⛎it was still too hard against 10🌄 guys."
On the run to♓ the line, Vanmarcke found himself in a group with favourites such as Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) and Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale) but, crucially, three riders from Astana in Michael Valꦛgren, Alexey Lutsenko, and Oscar Gatto.
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Astana duly started attacking and Valgren made the winning move with two kilometres remaining. Vanmarkce must𓆏ered up one final roll of the dice and set off in d𝓰oomed pursuit, but had to settle for third as Lukasz Wisniowski (Team Sky) pipped him at the line, just ahead of the peloton.
"Afterwards, the cooperation wasn't great. There were t♔oo many guys from Astana. They immediately attacked and it became tactical," Vanmarcke♉ said.
"I decided in the l𝕴ast𒀰 kilometres to give it a few shots and not wait for the sprint. I hoped they would wait for a second and I could be gone, but Stybar immediately came to my wheel then after that I think Valgren attacked immediately and they stopped. And he was gone. I knew immediately – it was like 'ok that's it'. I couldn't go again because I just went. Then I waited for a second and when I recovered I went again, and they were waiting a little bit but I was dying because I hadn't recovered from the previous attacks."
For Vanmarcke, it's another podium placing to add to the collection. If Van Avermaet has th🥂rown off the🌳 tag of 'Belgian nearly-ma'’ in the past couple of years then perhaps its Vanmarcke taking up the mantle.
He has twice finished on the podium at the Tour of Flanders a๊nd three times in the top four at Paris-Roubaix as well as a host of other near misses in the spring Classi🌜cs. His one major scalp remains his victory at the 2012 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and he was third here last year, too, along with fifth and fourth in his two previous participations.
"One guy from Sk🅰y caught me on the line but that's all right," he said. "Second or third, it's all right. Either it's winning or it's being on the podium, and I'm on the podium so🍨 that's ok."
After giving an anti🐬-doping sample Vanmarcke left Meerbeke in a team car with a smile, but podiums are unlikely to continue to provide consolatio꧅n deeper into the spring.
Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in moder🌄n languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews♍ for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.