The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was won by Ian Stannard. The Briton was in a sprint with two faster than Greg Van Avermaet. Niki Terpstra was for Omega Pharma-Quick Step fifth. Styby became 29th. “It was so cold that I had cramps.”
“We came with a strong team to Ghent this morning. The expectations were high. Leading up to the finals went smoothly. I looked forward to it when it really began. When we were close to the final I gave my raincoat and gloves off at the car”.
And then it started to rain. “Can you believe it? Five kilometers later the rain fell and it never stopped till the end. The peloton started to ride very nervous. It was about five or six degrees. I got cramps on the duration of the cold. First the feet, then the rest of the body…”
“At some times I thought about Milano-Sanremo last year. Our team leader Tom Boonen had the same problem as I had. It is unfortunate that we cannot perform better, because Iljo Keisse has worked a lot in the beginning of the race.”
Styby finished 29th at almost four minutes of Stannard. “Great performance from the man from Sky. In these circumstances it is very nice to win,” concluded our favorite, which will fly to Mallorca tomorrow.