SBS is the place to watch many of the upcoming classics races, with the women's Strade Bianche (March 5) and men's Paris-Nice March (7-14) coming up on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.
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Van Vleuten shrugs off Vollering non-cooperation to win Omloop het Nieuwsblad
Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) and Demi Vollering (SD-Worx) made the race with attacks on the infamous Muur van Gerardsbergen and then the Bosberg to force their way clear at the front of the race. From there, there was little help from Vollering, sitting on van Vleuten in the hope that her teammates behind would make the catch and outnumber the Movistar rider.
On paper, Vollering is faster than van Vleuten, with several sprint wins in big races from small groups on her palmares already, but van Vleuten made it a different test from normal, launching a very long, dragging sprint where she took the inside line around the corners, ultimately wearing Vollering out in a test of staying power.
"I wanted to fly through the final bend like a kamikaze," Van Vleuten said. "It makes me happy to beat somebody who is intrinsically faster than me. But I also get quicker after a hard race. I saw her come next to me in the sprint, but I was able to add another gear."
Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) completed the all-Dutch podium, with neo-pro Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Team BikeExchange) the top-placed Australian in 12th.
Van Aert lays down ominous marker with stunning solo win
Omloop het Nieuwsblad wasn't an event that Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) had raced before, but he looked right at home as he attacked an elite group on the Bosberg after the race had been softened up by his and teammate Tiesj Benoot's attacks. The 13-kilometre solo move rarely looked in doubt of being the winning one, as he crossed the line with 22 seconds in hand over Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) and Greg van Avermaet (AG2R-Citroen).
The best-placed Australian was Simon Clarke (Israel Start-Up Nation) in 11th, showing off his good form since his late call-up to the WorldTour peloton.
Bastianelli continues 2022 form with sprint from breakaway for the win
The 1.1 UCI-rated race saw a few riders rested from the previous day's Omloop het Nieuwsblad, but it was a similarly attacking spectacle, with the decisive break of ten riders scything clear of the peloton with just under 30 kilometres remaining in the race, with most of the top teams represented in the move.
Further attacks on some tricky climbs at the 20-kilometre mark threatened to split things up, but the group reformed and it was all-in for the sprint finish finale.
Chantal van den Broeck-Blaak (SD Worx) tried a late attack to surprise the superior sprinters, but she was overhauled with just 100 metres left to race, with Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) the quickest in the sprint to win ahead of Emma Norsgaard (Movistar), with Floortje Mackaij (Team DSM) in third.
The win combines with two previous for Bastianelli in the season already, with the former world champion reaping the benefits of some impressive form.
Australia's top performer was again Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Team BikeExchange) in 15th, showing good signs in her early forays in the classics.
Breakaway's hopes dashed on finish line as Jakobsen beats out Ewan in Kuurne
With the early breakaway a serious one and attackers from the peloton joining up with them before the main bunch eventually shit them down with under 20 kilometres to race, it looked all set for a sprint finish. However, early breakaway rider Taco Van der Hoorn (Intermarche Wanty Group Gobert) went once more, attacking in a trio alongside Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) and Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers).
The late move gained a lead and looked destined to repeat some of the stunning breakaway performances in recent years at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, but a determined chase from the sprinters' teams saw the trio of attackers caught just 100 metres from the finish.
Fabio Jakobsen's QuickStep Alpha-Vinyl teammates had expended all their energy in the chase, leaving the Dutchman to navigate his own way in the messy final sprint. He found a way through and launched with Australian Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) on his wheel, and then impressively managed to hold off the prodigiously quick Ewan all the way to the line to claim the victory.
"My mind and my prayers are with the people in Ukraine and the east of Europe," Jakobsen said. "Let's hope it doesn't escalate any further and we get peace over there because for us it's nice to be here and enjoy bike racing again.
"Here, it's 25-year-old guys fighting on a bike for a win and there, it's the 25-year-old guys like me fighting for freedom and their life. It's not a nice time over there and here we enjoy this, but my mind is over there and that puts things in perspective."
Jakobsen's fifth win in the young season has him at the top of the pile of sprinters in 2022, but Ewan wasn't put off, having contracted COVID-19 following the Saudi Tour and making his way towards his major goal of Milan San Remo.
“Obviously, I came into win, not come second, but I have to be happy,” Ewan said. “We haven't won at opening weekend for I think 20 years, so I was really hoping that I could win for the team today but it wasn’t to be. It was a bit of a last-minute call up so I'm happy with the way I performed.”
“The shape is there. I felt really good, especially on the climbs, so yeah, I feel strong, and I feel fast in the sprints. Everything is on track now.
“I’ve got Tirreno coming up so hopefully that's going to be some more chances to win first and then hopefully take the form to another level.”
UAE Tour sees Pogačar claim victory in battle with Adam Yates
The seven-stage UAE Tour was the first WorldTour race for the 2022 season, with the now-familiar climbing set-pieces of Jebel Hafeet and Jebel Jais setting the stage for the battle for overall victory.
On those steep climbs it was Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Adam Yates (INEOS Grenadiers) who were consistently the strongest, with their teammates Joao Almeida and Rafal Majka (both UAE Team Emirates) and young Australian Luke Plapp (INEOS Grenadiers) animating the later stages of the climbs to give their leaders every advantage.
In the end, it was Pogačar's power in the final surges to the line that decided the key stages, along with a strong performance in the flat time trial that secured the overall victory for the Slovenian star. Yates finished 22 seconds behind, with Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) 48 seconds adrift.
It was a good tour for Australian general classification hopefuls Plapp (12th), Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma, 13th) and Jai Hindley (Bora-hansgrohe, 14th) with Seb Berwick (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Damien Howson (Team BikeExchange) also impressing during racing.
The news wasn't all good for Australians competing with neo-pro Jarrad Drizners (Lotto Soudal) requiring surgery on an abdominal injury sustained in a late crash during Stage 6 of the race. It is uncertain the exact nature of the injuries or their severity at this stage, but Drizners will remain in UAE until fit to travel.
SBS is the place to watch many of the upcoming classics races, with the women's Strade Bianche (March 5) and men's Paris-Nice March (7-14) coming up on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.
