Sebastian Langeveld Takes Omloop

66th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Sebastian Langeveld edged out defending champion Juan Antonio Flecha in a finish so close that it had to be decided with a photo, but what nobody needed a photo to decide was that the fans in Belgium had witnessed two of the best individual efforts of the season.

On top of the stiff competition, the riders also had to contest the less than favorable weather conditions and some damp roads.

That made the cobbles and rough Belgian terrain all the more difficult for many of the riders going for the win. It was a true classic today, and the true classics riders came out to play.

While the early breakaway tried their hand, strong riders like Tom Boonen and Thor Hushovd started to pace the peloton and drop the weaker riders.

But what they really did was set up Sebastian Langeveld for a perfectly timed attack.

He chose one of the small cobbled climbs to make his move, and he went off the front alone before any of the chasers had time to organize. An attack on the cobbles makes sense because the riders weren't really focused on marking attacks as much as they were keeping the overall pace as high as possible.

A group with Quinziato in it organized shortly afterwards to try to bring him back, and his teammate Lars Boom was part of another, but neither could make any ground on the determined Dutchman.

But then it was time for Flecha to make his move, and he launched with Niki Terpstra to catch the breakaway group (which had combined into one by that time) and then he went off by himself after Langeveld.

This was truly a clash of the titans, with a determined Langeveld burying himself to fend off Flecha and an equally determined Flecha driving to catch him.

This standoff continued for over 10 kms, until Flecha finally bridged the gap with less than 15km to ride.

The two riders worked together for a while, until Flecha finally decided to attack with 5k to go. He got a bit of separation, and seemed like he would go clear but Langeveld buried himself yet again to mark him and get back onto his wheel.

The two were at a standoff for a while, and made it over the last stretch of cobbles with 2.5km to go, but the real "cat and mouse" games started at 1000m.

Langeveld had the ideal position right on Flecha's wheel, and he was content to keep it no matter how much Flecha tried to swing off. (At one point Flecha tried so hard to get behind Langeveld that he actually swung onto the curb but still ended up in front) But tactics can only go so far, and it simply came down to who wanted it more.

Both men opened up at the same time, and both were so gassed that it really didn't matter who was the better sprinter.

Flecha pulled ahead but Langeveld made one final surge to the line to win the 66th edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad by about the legnth of a spoke on his wheel.

Flecha's teammate Matthew Hayman was the best of the chase group, and he grabbed the final spot on the podium for himself.

I think today was by far one of the most exciting races of the young season and is quite a bit to live up to for the rest of the year.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Classics season has officially begun.

Results

1. Sebastian Langeveld

2. Juan Antonio Flecha

3. Matthew Hayman -1:01

4. Yoann Offredo -1:04

5. Luca Paolini -1:21

6. Niki Terpstra -1:24

7. Martijn Maaskant -1:30

8. Manuel Quinziato

9. Jurgen Roelandts

10. Lars Boom

12. John Degenkolb -1:39

25. Sylvain Chavanel -5:05

33. Thor Hushovd

35. Tom Boonen

41. Edvald Boasson-Hagen

42. Marcus Burghardt

43. Philippe Gilbert

76. Thomas Voeckler -10:41