The 2020 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was a

road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...

one-day race that took place on 29 February 2020 in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, starting in

Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent (Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghent ** .gent, a ...

and finishing in

Ninove Ninove () is a city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. It is situated on the river Dender, and is part of the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Ninove proper and since the 1976 merger of ...

. It was the 75th edition of the

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and ...

and the fourth event of the

2020 UCI World Tour The 2020 UCI World Tour was a series of races that was scheduled to include thirty-six road cycling events throughout the 2020 cycling season. However, some of races were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour started with the opening ...

. Belgian rider

Jasper Stuyven Jasper Stuyven (born 17 April 1992) is a Belgian professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Juniors Born in Leuven, Stuyven had a successful career as a junior rider. In 2009, at age 17, he won the UCI Junior Wo ...

of beat fellow Belgian rider

Yves Lampaert Yves Lampaert (born 10 April 1991) is a Belgian road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Lampaert practiced judo from the age of six, earned a black belt, but at the age of 17 started training in cycling. He rode at the 2014 ...

of in a two-up sprint to take the victory. Danish rider

Søren Kragh Andersen Søren Kragh Andersen (born 10 August 1994) is a Danish cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is the younger brother of Asbjørn Kragh Andersen, who was also a professional cyclist, until his retirement in 2022. Career He joined in ...

of , who had been dropped by the Belgian duo within the last three kilometers, finished solo to take third place.

Teams

Twenty-five teams were invited to the race, which included all nineteen

UCI WorldTour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ...

teams and six

UCI Professional Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

teams. Each team started with seven riders for a total of 175 riders; of these, only 69 riders finished. UCI WorldTeams * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * UCI Professional Continental Teams * * * * * *

Pre-race favourites

Mathieu van der Poel Mathieu van der Poel (born 19 January 1995) is a Dutch cyclist who rides for the UCI ProTeam . He competes in the cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, gravel cycling, and road bicycle racing disciplines of the sport and is best known for winning ...

was the favourite to win, but was forced to withdraw through illness. The 2016 and 2017 winner,

Greg Van Avermaet Greg Van Avermaet (born 17 May 1985) is a Belgian professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling, Van Avermaet is a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also ...

, was the subsequent favourite for victory. The 2019 winner,

Zdeněk Štybar Zdeněk Štybar (; born 11 December 1985) is a Czech professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . While best known as a cyclo-cross racer, in 2011 Štybar began his professional road career while continuing to race cyclo-cross. ...

, also returned to defend his title.

Result

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, 2020 2020 UCI World Tour

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...