Groenewegen is defeated by own lead-out Walscheid in Omloop het Houtland

The organization of the Flemish race could count on a pretty nice group of participants, especially in terms of sprinters. Thus, in addition to Groenewegen, fast men such as Biniam Girmay, Vito Braet, defending champion Gerben Thijssen (all Intermarché-Wanty), Fabio Jakobsen (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) were at the start.

The sprinters were getting ready for a fierce day at the Omloop van het Houtland. After all, in West Flanders, it can get pretty hectic at any time, with or without fans. A small breakaway group consisting of seven riders tried to anticipate the action: Michiel Lambrecht (Bingoal WB), Bogdan Zabelinskiy (training team Soudal Quick-Step), Tijmen Eising (BEAT Cycling Club), Gianni Marchand, Alex Vandenbulcke (both Tarteletto - Isorex), Adam Lewis (Team Skyline) and Max Kroonen (VolkerWessels Cycling Team) quickly created a gap of more than three minutes.

However, it was not meant to be for the front seven because as the race progressed, their lead steadily diminished. Of course, the sprinters' teams were keen on this flat 1.1 race in Belgium, so they skillfully formed a chase pact. Intermarché-Wanty, dsm-firmenich PostNL, and Jayco AlUla picked up pace in the finale.

In the final 10 kilometers, Luca Mozzato punctured his tire, depriving Démare of his crucial man for the lead-out. Thanks to Lidl-Trek and Lotto Dstny, the pace was kept high in the absolute last phase. Hence, the adventure of the breakaway riders was over with five kilometers to go: the combative Lambrechts remained as the last of the seven, but alone he was hopeless. And so, as expected, it was sprinting in Lichtervelde. A crash by Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Deceuninck) eliminated him from a chance to win, but fortunately, the rest stayed on their feet. Groenewegen's team kept Groenewegen perfectly in the front of the race. The preparation for the sprint went so well that Groenewegen had to battle it out with his lead-out man, Max Walscheid, for the win. A photo at the finish line eventually designated the German as the surprising winner. After the two teammates, Barbier finished third.