Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Stats
Historical stats
– Jean Bogaerts is the first winner of the race; at that time (1945), he made his debut as a pro
– Joseph Bruyere, Ernest Sterckx and Peter Van Petegem are the riders with the most victories, three
– Belgium leads the nations classification, with 54 wins so far
– First rider from outside Belgium to take the victory was Ireland’s Seamus Elliott, in 1959
– Only one Tour de France champion has won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Eddy Merckx, back in 1971 and 1973
– Last cyclist to finish first while wearing the rainbow jersey was Freddy Maertens, in 1977
– This is the only cobbled Classics Tom Boonen has never won
– Walter Planckaert is the rider with the most editions completed, 15
– Sebastien Hinault and Andreas Klier share the record for the most starts, 16
– Juan Antonio Flecha and Jan Raas reached the podium on five occasions, an all-time record
– Highest average speed was recorded in 1975: 43,45 km/h
– Between 1996 and 2009, the race used to finish in Lokeren
– 2011 was the only year without a Belgian rider on the podium
– In 2010, Tyler Farrar (U.S.A.) became the first non-European cyclists to finish in the top three
– The hills of the Flemish Ardennes were added to the route in the ‘50s
– Biggest time gap between first and second was in 1971, when Eddy Merckx finished 1:53 ahead of Roger Rosiers
– Jean Bogaerts is the youngest ever winner (20), while Johan Museeuw (37) is the oldest ever winner
– Only three riders have won Omloop and a cobbled Monument in the same season: Eddy Merckx (1973), Franco Ballerini (1995) and Johan Museeuw (2000)
2017 stats
– 25 teams (15 World Tour, 10 Pro Continental) will line up for this year’s edition
– Of these, nine are winless in 2017: Aqua Blue Sport, Astana, Bora-Hansgrohe, Cannondale, Roompot, Israel Cycling Academy, Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise, Verandas Willems-Crelan and Wanty-Groupe Gobert
– James Callum Shaw (20 years) will be the youngest rider in the bunch, while Svein Tuft (39) will be the oldest one
– Five former winners will be at the start: Philippe Gilbert, Sebastian Langeveld, Ian Stannard, Greg Van Avermaet and Sep Vanmarcke
– Greg Van Avermaet can become the first Olympic reigning champion to win the race
– Tom Boonen is the rider with the most participations, 14
– 20 neo-pros will ride Omloop Het Nieuwsblad: Jenthe Biermans, Ivan Cortina, Kevin Deltombe, Michael Goolaerts, Jon Insausti, Truls Korsaeth, Lawrence Naesen, Domen Novak, David Per, Ben Perry, Edward Planckaert, Mihkel Raim, Elmar Reinders, Hamish Schreurs, James Callum Shaw, Lukas Spengler, Jimmy Turgis, Taco van der Hoorn, Tyler Williams and Aviv Yechezkel
– The cyclists in the 2017 race have won a combined total of 16 Monuments, 8 world titles and more than 50 Grand Tour stages
– 28 countries will have at least one cyclist in the race, with Belgium topping the list (54)
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