In the cutting cold, the classic cycling season was opened in Flanders with the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Team LottoNL-Jumbo had sent both experienced and less experienced riders, of which youngsters Timo Roosen and Amund Grondahl Jansen were the team’s first riders to cross the finish line. They became sixteenth and nineteenth respectively. The win went to Michael Valgren of Astana.

While the temperature barely touched five degrees, sports director Nico Verhoeven said it felt a lot colder for the riders. “The ‘feeling temperature’ was around freezing point. That does not make it any easier for them. We noticed that they became tired sooner than usual.”

According to Verhoeven, that happened to Norwegian rider Grondahl Jansen for example. “He showed us today why we gave him a certain role in the final. He was present in one of the escapes, but he did not manage to join the decisive one. Actually, he emerged in front a little too early. If he had raced among the favourites, he would have had a good opportunity to achieve a top result.”

Jansen was sorry he couldn’t reward his teammates with a better result than the nineteenth place. “They have worked hard today, enabling me to start at the front during the ascend of both Molenberg and Kapelmuur. In the end, I did not have the legs to follow the favourites on that last climb. In the sprint I fought to the best of my ability, but it was chaotic so my chances weren’t optimal”, the Norwegian said.