Soren Waerenskjold (Team Uno-X) wins the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad , the first 197km classic on stones of the season, from Gent to Ninove.

In the early stages, a seven-man breakaway formed by Epis, Reinders, Leijnse, Van Den Berg, Deweirdt, Vercouillie and De Vries took off, acquiring a maximum advantage of 5'.

The race comes to life on the Molenberg thanks to the action of the Alpecin: the group splits into two sections, with De Lie, Narvaez and Van Aert remaining in the second part.

With 30 km to go, the group regroups and the breakaway is reabsorbed. The Kapelmuur-Bosberg duo makes a selection, with 18 riders in the lead, but no one manages to make the difference on the climbs.

In the final kilometers, the trailing men also come back into play, with only Kung in command of the race, thanks to an attack on the flat. The Swiss time trialist is caught 1 km from the end and the Omloop is decided by a sprint between about forty riders.

The final sprint was launched only in the last 300 metres, with Van Aert staying closed and Waerenskjold starting near the barriers and beating Magnier and Philipsen .

ORDER OF ARRIVAL:

1 WÆRENSKJOLD Søren Uno-X Mobility 4:37:53

2 MAGNIER Paul Soudal Quick-Step ,,

3 PHILIPSEN Jasper Alpecin - Deceuninck,,

4 VAN MOER Brent Lotto ,,

5 WATSON Samuel INEOS Grenadiers,,

6 KUBIŠ Lukáš Unibet Tietema Rockets,,

7 ALLEGERT Piet Cofidis ,,

8 ALBANIAN Vincenzo EF Education - EasyPost ,,

9 VAN DEN BERG Marijn EF Education - EasyPost ,,

10 ASKEY Lewis Groupama - FDJ ,,