Outnumbered, outplanned – Ineos rue early Turner crash as Jumbo race on front foot at Omloop

Tom Pidcock might have come into Saturday's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as one of the hot favourites following his impressive show of form at the recent Volta ao Algarve, but with less than a quarter of the race underway, Ineos Grenadiers' plans went sideways when Ben Turner crashed, forcing him to abandon with a fractured elbow. 

A strong showing from Jumbo-Visma, which saw Dylan Van Baarle romp to victory with teammate Christophe Laporte joining him on the podium, forced the outnumbered British outfit onto the back foot for the duration of the race. 

"They were very, very strong," Connor Swift succinctly summarised before ruing a couple of his team's decisions. "I think there's a couple of moments where maybe if we'd have taken it on instead of them, then, you know, but they got the advantage taking it on in the front of the race. So a couple of times, we were behind them. 

“I think moving forward into the future races, maybe some different tactics, but also, we were a man down today with Ben Turner having a crash. I think that affected things too."

Early crosswinds saw Jumbo attack as a unit, getting six of the team into a group of 14 at around 100km to go. The race had mostly come back together by the time the riders hit the Molenberg at 40km to go, and it was here where Pidcock burnt his biggest match, following a move from Tim Wellens, alongside Arnaud De Lie and Dylan Van Baarle. 

However, it proved to be one effort too soon, and once splits from these attacks came back together, Van Baarle went again, launching his decisive move. 

"Honestly, when Dylan attacks, it's like he's invisible," Pidcock exclaimed, almost in disbelief. "He just goes, and then you let him go, even though you know how strong he is."

Van Baarle's personal strength was bolstered somewhat by Jumbo's strength as a team, which proved a key factor in the outcome of the race.

After his attack, Van Baarle's group contained Florian Vermeesch (Lotto-Dstny), Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious) and Mathis Le Berre (Cofidis), but in the second group on the road, Christophe Laporte sat comfortably, while more options again remained in what was left of the peloton. 

"I think it was really difficult to actually make a difference in the end," Pidcock lamented. "I mean, okay, I think I could have attacked, but for sure, a Jumbo guy would have followed me. And then what am I gonna do, let him sit on me?"

Earlier, when Swift found himself at the head of the race at around 90km to go after the Jumbo-heavy move splintered into a smaller group containing just six riders – two of whom were from Jumbo-Visma – he was also feeling the pressure of numerical disadvantage. 

"It was quite a tough day," he explained. "Obviously, when Jumbo hit it, I covered that move but didn't want to do too much there just because I was outnumbered with two guys," he continued, referring to Jan Tratnik and Nathan Van Hooydonck.

"The leader today was Tom, so then after that, it was just a case of making sure he was in position, but again, yeah, a little bit outnumbered."

Pidcock, whose season preparation has been spent predominantly in warmer climates with a stint at the Syncrosfera altitude-simulation hotel in Spain before a week in Algarve, was brought back down to earth with somewhat of a bump as Belgian weather took its toll. 

"When Jumbo went in the crosswinds after the rain, I was so cold I couldn't even pedal basically. It was a tricky day."

With rising star Ben Turner set to be out for at least three weeks with a fractured elbow, Pidcock will be hoping to get his right-hand man back in time for Paris-Roubaix in early April.