2011 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad took place on 26 February 2011. It was the 66th edition of the international classic Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. This year's Omloop started and ended at St. Peter's Square in Ghent
, Belgium
and spanned 203 kilometers in the province of East Flanders
. The race was the first 1.HC event in the 2011 UCI World Ranking.
This year's edition of the race featured more cobblestones when compared to previous editions, as it crossed a 2 kilometer cobblestone
section three times. Former rider and race organizer Peter Van Petegem
also decreased the number of climbs from twelve to nine, notably omitting the infamous Muur van Geraardsbergen
. According to the race organization, the race course was "slightly tough[ened] overall".
Rabobank's
Sebastian Langeveld
(NED) beat Team Sky's
Juan Antonio Flecha
of Spain after a breakaway of 53 kilometers. Langeveld beat Flecha in a two-man sprint under wet and cold conditions. The other pre-race favourites Tom Boonen
, Stijn Devolder
and Thor Hushovd
finished 5 minutes after Langeveld.
1.HC event, the organizers, the Flanders Classics Federation, were allowed to invite UCI ProTeams (max 80% of the total field), UCI Professional Continental teams, and UCI Continental teams.
Non ProTeams teams are indicated by an asterisk below. Each of the 22 teams were permitted up to eight riders, for a total of 176 riders.
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**
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Champion, 2 time Tour of Flanders
Champion - 2 time Tour of Flanders
Champion - 2 time Giro di Lombardia Champion, 2010 Amstel Gold Race
Champion, 2 time Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Champion - 2005 Omloop Het Volk Champion - 2009 Gent–Wevelgem Champion - 2010 UCI World Road Race Champion, 2009 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Champion - 2010 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Champion - 2006 Milan – San Remo Champion, 2007 Omloop Het Volk Champion - 2008 UCI World Cyclo-Cross Champion
Classics riders Fabian Cancellara
and Heinrich Haussler
decided to skip the race in order to focus on three of cycling's monuments: Milan - San Remo, Tour of Flanders
, and Paris-Roubaix
.
with 173 riders under wet and cold conditions.
A breakaway of eight riders gained a maximum of 8 minutes and 30 seconds over the peloton
. At about 65 kilometers to go, pre-race favorite Tom Boonen
attacked the peloton on the Taaienberg climb - also known as the Boonenberg. Boonen was quickly chased down by World Champion Thor Hushovd
. At this time the peloton was 38 seconds behind the breakaway. With 55 kilometers remaining, the last riders from the breakaway were caught. At this point, eventual race winner Sebastian Langeveld
attacked solo on the Eikenberg climb. With 37 kilometers remaining, Langeveld held a minute advantage to a group of ten riders that included Juan Antonio Flecha
, Matthew Hayman, Luca Paolini
, Niki Terpstra
, Martijn Maaskant
, Manuel Quinziato
, Jurgen Roelandts
, Lars Boom
, Frédéric Amorison
, and John Degenkolb
and held a two minute advantage to many of the pre-race favorites.
Juan Antonio Flecha
(ESP), taking advantage of a crash between Luca Paolini
and Martijn Maaskant
, attacked on the Paddestraat to chase after solo leader Langeveld. When Flecha came within 13 seconds of Langeveld, Langeveld waited for the Spaniard. The duo started working together with 13 kilometers to go. Fearing a sprint finish with Langeveld, Flecha attacked with 5 kilometers to go, however, Langeveld quickly responded. With the finish line in sight, Langeveld opened up the sprint and beat Flecha by centimeters. Flecha's Team Sky
teammate, Matthew Hayman, won the sprint for third place, as many of the race favorites finished 5 minutes behind.
introduced a ban on radio communication between team management and riders at all races (besides those belonging to the UCI World Tour) starting January 1st 2011. Because the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is an 1.HC event, riders planned to protest the ban by wearing earpieces at the start of the race.
The planned protest was called off by the AIGCP
after the UCI threatened to remove the UCI race commissaries from the race. This would have cancelled the race since commissaries are required for the race's insurance policies.
A protest was previously executed at Challenge Mallorca's
Trofeo Palma Mallorca race on February 6th, 2011. The UCI commissaries refused to officiate the race, however the race continued. Tyler Farrar's
win was not entered into the UCI's record books.
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and spanned 203 kilometers in the province of East Flanders
East Flanders
East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant , of Hainaut and of West Flanders...
. The race was the first 1.HC event in the 2011 UCI World Ranking.
This year's edition of the race featured more cobblestones when compared to previous editions, as it crossed a 2 kilometer cobblestone
Cobblestone
Cobblestones are stones that were frequently used in the pavement of early streets. "Cobblestone" is derived from the very old English word "cob", which had a wide range of meanings, one of which was "rounded lump" with overtones of large size...
section three times. Former rider and race organizer Peter Van Petegem
Peter van Petegem
Peter van Petegem is a former professional road racing cyclist. Van Petegem last rode for Quick Step-Innergetic, in 2007. He lived in Horebeke. He was a specialist in spring classics, one of ten riders to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix in the same season...
also decreased the number of climbs from twelve to nine, notably omitting the infamous Muur van Geraardsbergen
Muur van Geraardsbergen
The Muur van Geraardsbergen is a steep narrow road with cobblestones located in Geraardsbergen, Belgium. It is also known as Kapelmuur, Muur-Kapelmuur or simply Muur. The hill starts near the river Dender at 18 m and reaches the top of the Oudenberg at 110 m...
. According to the race organization, the race course was "slightly tough[ened] overall".
Rabobank's
Rabobank (cycling team)
Rabobank is a professional bicycle racing team, sponsored by the Rabobank. The team consists of three sections: ProTeam , Continental , and Cyclo-cross...
Sebastian Langeveld
Sebastian Langeveld
Sebastian Langeveld is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Rabobank. His biggest win is Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2011. On the 17 of August 2011, Langeveld was confirmed to be riding for Australian team GreenEdge in 2012.- Palmarès :2006...
(NED) beat Team Sky's
Team Sky
Team Sky is a British professional road bicycle racing team that competes in international road bicycle races. The creation of the team was announced on 26 February 2009 and the team began competition in January 2010....
Juan Antonio Flecha
Juan Antonio Flecha
Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni is an Argentine-born Spanish professional road bicycle racer for the UCI ProTour team .-Career:...
of Spain after a breakaway of 53 kilometers. Langeveld beat Flecha in a two-man sprint under wet and cold conditions. The other pre-race favourites Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...
, Stijn Devolder
Stijn Devolder
Stijn Devolder is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He rides for UCI ProTeam , having ridden for Discovery Channel between 2004 and 2007 and from 2008 to 2010. Devolder won his first professional race at the 2004 Four Days of Dunkirk, winning stage 4...
and Thor Hushovd
Thor Hushovd
Thor Hushovd is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer riding . He has signed for from 2012 onwards. He is known for sprinting and time trialing and is the 2010 Norwegian and world road champion. He is the first Norwegian to lead the Tour de France, and first Scandinavian to win the road...
finished 5 minutes after Langeveld.
Teams
As this was a UCIUCI
UCI usually refers to the Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling.UCI may also refer to:* United Cinemas International* United Kennel Clubs International...
1.HC event, the organizers, the Flanders Classics Federation, were allowed to invite UCI ProTeams (max 80% of the total field), UCI Professional Continental teams, and UCI Continental teams.
Non ProTeams teams are indicated by an asterisk below. Each of the 22 teams were permitted up to eight riders, for a total of 176 riders.
****
**
**
***
Pre-Race Favorites
Pre-race favorites included: - 2005 UCI World Road Race Champion, 3 time Paris-RoubaixParis-Roubaix
Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France near the Belgian frontier. Since its beginning in 1896 until 1967 it started in Paris and ended in Roubaix ; since 1968 the start city is Compiègne , whilst the finish is still in Roubaix...
Champion, 2 time Tour of Flanders
Tour of Flanders
The Tour of Flanders is a Flanders Classics road cycling race held in Belgium every spring, a week before the Paris–Roubaix road race. It is part of the UCI World Tour and one of the so-called monuments of the European professional calendar. It is the most important cycling race in Flanders...
Champion - 2 time Tour of Flanders
Tour of Flanders
The Tour of Flanders is a Flanders Classics road cycling race held in Belgium every spring, a week before the Paris–Roubaix road race. It is part of the UCI World Tour and one of the so-called monuments of the European professional calendar. It is the most important cycling race in Flanders...
Champion - 2 time Giro di Lombardia Champion, 2010 Amstel Gold Race
Amstel Gold Race
The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup , the UCI ProTour , UCI World Ranking and from 2011 the UCI World Tour...
Champion, 2 time Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Champion - 2005 Omloop Het Volk Champion - 2009 Gent–Wevelgem Champion - 2010 UCI World Road Race Champion, 2009 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Champion - 2010 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Champion - 2006 Milan – San Remo Champion, 2007 Omloop Het Volk Champion - 2008 UCI World Cyclo-Cross Champion
Classics riders Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist...
and Heinrich Haussler
Heinrich Haussler
Heinrich Haussler is an Australian road racing cyclist with German heritage. Haussler races for UCI ProTeam .-Early life:...
decided to skip the race in order to focus on three of cycling's monuments: Milan - San Remo, Tour of Flanders
Tour of Flanders
The Tour of Flanders is a Flanders Classics road cycling race held in Belgium every spring, a week before the Paris–Roubaix road race. It is part of the UCI World Tour and one of the so-called monuments of the European professional calendar. It is the most important cycling race in Flanders...
, and Paris-Roubaix
Paris-Roubaix
Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France near the Belgian frontier. Since its beginning in 1896 until 1967 it started in Paris and ended in Roubaix ; since 1968 the start city is Compiègne , whilst the finish is still in Roubaix...
.
Race Overview
The race started at about 11:45 AM Central European TimeCentral European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
with 173 riders under wet and cold conditions.
A breakaway of eight riders gained a maximum of 8 minutes and 30 seconds over the peloton
Peloton
The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...
. At about 65 kilometers to go, pre-race favorite Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen
Tom Boonen is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint...
attacked the peloton on the Taaienberg climb - also known as the Boonenberg. Boonen was quickly chased down by World Champion Thor Hushovd
Thor Hushovd
Thor Hushovd is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer riding . He has signed for from 2012 onwards. He is known for sprinting and time trialing and is the 2010 Norwegian and world road champion. He is the first Norwegian to lead the Tour de France, and first Scandinavian to win the road...
. At this time the peloton was 38 seconds behind the breakaway. With 55 kilometers remaining, the last riders from the breakaway were caught. At this point, eventual race winner Sebastian Langeveld
Sebastian Langeveld
Sebastian Langeveld is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Rabobank. His biggest win is Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2011. On the 17 of August 2011, Langeveld was confirmed to be riding for Australian team GreenEdge in 2012.- Palmarès :2006...
attacked solo on the Eikenberg climb. With 37 kilometers remaining, Langeveld held a minute advantage to a group of ten riders that included Juan Antonio Flecha
Juan Antonio Flecha
Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni is an Argentine-born Spanish professional road bicycle racer for the UCI ProTour team .-Career:...
, Matthew Hayman, Luca Paolini
Luca Paolini
Luca Paolini is an Italian road bicycle racer who rides for UCI ProTeam . Paolini's home was searched in a doping investigation which was called Operazione Athena - however it appears that no evidence was found that led to any conviction of involvement in doping.- Major achievements...
, Niki Terpstra
Niki Terpstra
Niki Terpstra is a Dutch racing cyclist with UCI ProTeam . He is the silver medal winner of the team pursuit in the 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, together with Levi Heimans, Jens Mouris and Peter Schep...
, Martijn Maaskant
Martijn Maaskant
Martijn Maaskant is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist currently riding for . Garmin's directeur sportif, Jonathan Vaughters was able to lure Maaskant to his team away from Dutch UCI ProTour team Rabobank...
, Manuel Quinziato
Manuel Quinziato
Manuel Quinziato is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam .- Palmares :19972001...
, Jurgen Roelandts
Jurgen Roelandts
Jürgen Roelandts is a Belgian road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam team .-Palmares:20012002Jürgen Roelandts is a Belgian road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam team .-Palmares:2001...
, Lars Boom
Lars Boom
Lars Anthonius Johannes Boom is a professional cyclo-cross and road racing cyclist who was born in Vlijmen in the Netherlands. Boom rides for UCI ProTeam Rabobank cycling team, having previous ridden for the junior and continental teams. Boom won the cyclo-cross world championships in 2008...
, Frédéric Amorison
Frédéric Amorison
Frédéric Amorison is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team Landbouwkrediet.-Palmares:2002-External links:* at Landbouwkrediet...
, and John Degenkolb
John Degenkolb
John Degenkolb is a German professional road bicycle racer riding for the UCI ProTeam . In 2010 he won his first stage race, the Thüringen Rundfahrt and finished second in the under 23 race at the Road World Championship...
and held a two minute advantage to many of the pre-race favorites.
Juan Antonio Flecha
Juan Antonio Flecha
Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni is an Argentine-born Spanish professional road bicycle racer for the UCI ProTour team .-Career:...
(ESP), taking advantage of a crash between Luca Paolini
Luca Paolini
Luca Paolini is an Italian road bicycle racer who rides for UCI ProTeam . Paolini's home was searched in a doping investigation which was called Operazione Athena - however it appears that no evidence was found that led to any conviction of involvement in doping.- Major achievements...
and Martijn Maaskant
Martijn Maaskant
Martijn Maaskant is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist currently riding for . Garmin's directeur sportif, Jonathan Vaughters was able to lure Maaskant to his team away from Dutch UCI ProTour team Rabobank...
, attacked on the Paddestraat to chase after solo leader Langeveld. When Flecha came within 13 seconds of Langeveld, Langeveld waited for the Spaniard. The duo started working together with 13 kilometers to go. Fearing a sprint finish with Langeveld, Flecha attacked with 5 kilometers to go, however, Langeveld quickly responded. With the finish line in sight, Langeveld opened up the sprint and beat Flecha by centimeters. Flecha's Team Sky
Team Sky
Team Sky is a British professional road bicycle racing team that competes in international road bicycle races. The creation of the team was announced on 26 February 2009 and the team began competition in January 2010....
teammate, Matthew Hayman, won the sprint for third place, as many of the race favorites finished 5 minutes behind.
Results
| Cyclist | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5h 18' 03" | ||
| 2 | s.t. | ||
| 3 | + 1' 01" | ||
| 4 | + 1' 04" | ||
| 5 | + 1' 21" | ||
| 6 | + 1' 24" | ||
| 7 | + 1' 30" | ||
| 8 | s.t. | ||
| 9 | s.t. | ||
| 10 | s.t. |
Race Radios Protest
The UCIUCI
UCI usually refers to the Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling.UCI may also refer to:* United Cinemas International* United Kennel Clubs International...
introduced a ban on radio communication between team management and riders at all races (besides those belonging to the UCI World Tour) starting January 1st 2011. Because the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is an 1.HC event, riders planned to protest the ban by wearing earpieces at the start of the race.
The planned protest was called off by the AIGCP
AIGCP
AIGCP is an association that groups together many professional cycling teams. Its offices are based in Lannion, France....
after the UCI threatened to remove the UCI race commissaries from the race. This would have cancelled the race since commissaries are required for the race's insurance policies.
A protest was previously executed at Challenge Mallorca's
Vuelta a Mallorca
The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca is a series of five professional one day road bicycle races held on the Spanish island of Mallorca in early February. The event is used as an early season preparatory event by many of the top teams in readiness for the bigger races later in the season...
Trofeo Palma Mallorca race on February 6th, 2011. The UCI commissaries refused to officiate the race, however the race continued. Tyler Farrar's
Tyler Farrar
Tyler Farrar is an American professional road racing cyclist since 2003.-Cycling career:Farrar started racing at 13, and rode for in 2003, in 2004, and in 2006 and 2007. In April 2006 he crashed near the finish of the Circuit de la Sarthe and broke his collarbone and missed most of the season...
win was not entered into the UCI's record books.