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Jan Tratnik posts up as he wins a two-up sprint for the 2024 Het Nieuwsblad.

Men’s OHN report: Visma dominates with depth

Jan Tratnik sneaks away late for the surprise win from an unsurprising team at the opening race of the Classics season.

Joe Lindsey
by Joe Lindsey 24.02.2024 Photography by
Cor Vos
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The team many expected to dominate the cobbled Classics season did exactly that at the traditional season-opening Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. But it wasn’t Visma-Lease a Bike star Wout van Aert, European Champion Christophe Laporte, or last year’s winner, Dylan van Baarle, who came away with the win. Instead, Visma delivered its result with Jan Tratnik, who slipped away late with UAE Team Emirates’ Nils Politt and easily took a two-up sprint for what he called “maybe the biggest [win] in my life, for sure.

“[I was surprised] a little bit because we have such a strong team for the Classics,” Tratnik said immediately after the finish. “In the past I didn’t do much in the Classics.”

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A pack of riders ascends a cobbled climb in the 2024 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The sky is grey and cold, and the riders are bundled up against it as they ride past green fields and red brick buildings.
It’s that time again!

Opening Weekend analysis

Matteo Jorgenson climbs the Muur van Geraardsbergen (aka the Kapelmuur) in the 2024 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. He's shown alone, off the front, grimacing as he powers up the cobbles.
For a while it looked as though it would be Visma’s new signee Matteo Jorgenson who would emerge victorious, but a furious chase spelled the end of his hopes just after the summit of the Bosberg.

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