Max Walscheid led home a stunning Team Jayco AlUla one-two at Omloop van het Houtland as the German pipped his teammate Dylan Groenewegen to victory in Belgium.
The win is the 31-year-old’s second triumph at the race, but his first in GreenEDGE Cycling colours, while a second-place finish for Groenewegen marks a remarkable return to racing after an operation to stabilise a broken collarbone less than one month ago.
The duo finished off a brilliant team performance following a strong lead out from Elmar Reinders in what was a typically hectic finish to the race. With clear air in front of him, Walscheid opened up his sprint in sight of the line, with Groenewegen negotiating the heavy traffic to jump onto his teammate’s wheel.
With his rivals unable to match the raw power and speed, Walscheid streaked away inside the final 300 metres, with only Groenewegen able to challenge him as the pair crossed the line to take a memorable one-two finish.
Max Walscheid:
“I started the sprint because I didn’t see Dylan when I turned around, then I felt a rider on my right side coming very close to me on the finish line and then when I looked to my right I saw him, so it was a perfect outcome for us and a great day.
I’m super happy to take the victory today, but it’s also great to work with Dylan. I think next year we will have some nice goals together where we will hope to deliver him to the victory, but today is just great for the team in general.”
Tristan Hoffman (Sport Director):
“It’s been one week in Belgium where we’ve done four races, and we’ve had ups and downs. We had Dylan coming back from injury, but he finished one time eighth and one time fourth, so we could see he was back in business.
Today was the last day of this block in Belgium and in the end, we finished first and second, so for us it’s fantastic to finish like this.”
2024 Omloop van het Houtland – Results:
1. Max Walscheid (Team Jayco AlUla) 4:21:23
2. Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla) ST
3. Pierre Barbier ST
Photo: Sprint Cycling
