Going into the Muur van Geraardsbergen, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) was pulling the group of favourites to win the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, just a few seconds behind solo leader Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek).
When push came to shove, however, she couldn’t follow Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), eventual winner Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) on the steepest part of the iconic climb.
As part of a four-rider chase group in the final, the 29-year-old had to settle for seventh place in Ninove. Despite finishing in the chase group, she said she was pleased to see Vos take the victory.
“I made a mistake on the Muur because I just took it from the front. And then, when Lotte came around, I really couldn’t find my rhythm and lost touch with them. I had a high cadence and no legs, but on the Muur, you need the legs to really go for it,” Niewiadoma told Cyclingnews after the race.
Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) was also trying to follow the best on the Muur, but the 21-year-old’s lack of experience of the decisive climb was to her disadvantage in her debut at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
“After the Molenberg, I was in the front all the time. It really exploded on the Muur, and I knew it was a long climb, but it was a bit too long for me, I didn’t know where it ended, so it was really tough to visualise what was to come,” Pieterse admitted after the race.
As it was, Pieterse, Niewiadoma, Thalita De Jong (Lotto Dstny Ladies), and Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) found themselves in a chase group of four after the Muur.
“Kasia and Thalita, and I were rotating really well; nobody skipped a turn. Of course, we knew that Kopecky was in the front for the win, so it was clear that Vollering didn’t go with us,” Pieterse described the dynamic in the group.
At the finish, De Jong won the sprint for fifth place ahead of Vollering and Niewiadoma, with Pieterse bringing up the rear to finish eighth. And despite her own disappointment, Niewiadoma was happy about the performances of her colleagues Vos and Longo Borghini.
“I definitely feel unsatisfied. But to be honest, I’m really stoked for Marianne to take the win, and I’m super stoked for Elisa Longo Borghini to get third place after such a gutsy ride,” Niewiadoma said.
“Considering where she came from after all the bad luck last year, I really love seeing her fight like this,” she said. “And I feel like she’s an inspiration for all of us. From that point of view, it was a great race, but for us, a pity.”