Bert ROESEMS won the 61st edition of Nokere Koerse. He was the strongest from a breakaway group of 17 riders. He escaped in the final local lap and finished solo. Finally, a Belgian winner in Nokere again. Wouter Weylandt, another rider from a ProTour team, finished 2nd. 3rd place went to Jeremy Hunt.

In recent years, Nokere Koerse was consistently held under a radiant sun. This year, winter weather was feared, but nevertheless, there was a radiant sun at the start in Oudenaarde and a decent 9 degrees. Many people gathered on the Grote Markt for a race with 25 participating cycling teams. The question of the day was whether the replacement for the absent Steven De Jongh would come from one of the pro tour teams:: Rabobank, Quickstep, Davitamon-Lotto, Cofidis, or Bouygues Telecom. A few days before Milan-San Remo, the ProTour teams did not send their strongest riders to Nokere. Therefore, much was also expected from the strong Belgian formations Chocolade Jacques, Landbouwkrediet, and Unibet.com, who brought some eye-catchers to the start of the still young Belgian cycling season with Niko Eeckhout, Bert Dewaele, and Matthe Pronk (winner 2003) respectively.

Mayor Demeulemeester of Oudenaarde was allowed to give the starting signal at 12:30 PM on the Grote Markt, after Frank Vandenbroucke had attracted the most attention during the presentation of the riders. Vandenbroucke has his main supporters’ club (the Frankyboys) in Oudenaarde, and he rode his first race of the season on Belgian roads in Nokere Koerse. The Skil-Shimano riders started in the front row as a tribute to their recently deceased teammate Arno Wallaard (NED).

The race itself. A 193 km race with a 45 km approach lap featuring 2 climbs (Edelareberg and Vossenhol), followed by 10 local laps with a finish on Nokereberg, a 6% cobbled climb. Although Nokere Koerse was described by journalists 30 years ago as a “mini Walloon Arrow”, in recent years, sprinters like Aurelien Clerc, Max Van Heeswijk, and Steven De Jongh were consistently celebrating victory. Staying as quiet as possible during the race seems to be the best guarantee for success in Nokere.

Despite this observation, early in the race, we noted an attack by 16 riders who would build up a maximum lead of 1 minute 30 seconds: Preben Vanhecke, Kevin De Weert, Sebastien Minard, Frederik Veuchelen, Jeremy Hunt, David Boucher, Jonas Ljungblad, Lubor Tesar, Lars Wackernagel, Rene Weissinger, Kevin Van Der Slagmolen, Tim Meeusen, Floris Goesinnen, Marco Wesseling, Martin Vestby, and Jens Mouris. However, after 76 kilometers of racing, a regrouping occurred at the front.

Tyler Farrar (USA – Cofidis) seized his moment to escape solo. The peloton did not react, allowing Farrar to stay ahead for some time.

In the 5th local lap, another serious breakaway formed. 11 escapees quickly built up a lead of 50 seconds: Kevin De Weert, Mathieu Heyboer, Frederik Willems, Gorik Gardeyn, Laurens Ten Dam, Marcel Sieberg, Piet Rooyakkers, Sergey Lagutin, David O Loughlin, Michael Blanchy, and Frederik Christiaans.

Due to a crash, the peloton split into pieces. A first chasing group of 30 riders joined the leading group of 11, from which a new leading group emerged, including Bert Roesems, Wouter Weylandt, Kevin Hulsmans, Mathieu Claude, Anthony Ravard, Frederik Willems, David Boucher, Matthe Pronk, Jonas Ljungblad, Piet Rooijakkers, Rene Weissinger, O Loughlin, Marcel Beima, Markus Eichler, Jeremy Hunt, Geert Steurs, and Wouter Mol.

Bert Roesems proved to be the strongest by escaping from the leading group 6 km from the finish and winning solo. Wouter Weylandt finished 2nd at 27 seconds, ahead of Jeremy Hunt. Kevin Hulsmans wins the mountain classification, which comes with a prize of 250 euros.

With this victory, Roesems hopes to secure his place in the permanent team for the major races. “If you win Nokere Koerse, that already means something,” Roesems declares. Nokere Koerse was the 25th victory of the 33-year-old Roesems’ career.

RESULTS (193.2 km – time: 4 hours 32 minutes).

1. Bert ROESEMS
2. Wouter WEYLANDT at 27 seconds
3. Jeremy HUNT
4. Markus EICHLER
5. Wouter MOL
6. David BOUCHER
7. Frederik WILLEMS
8. Geert STEURS
9. Mathieu CLAUDE
10. Anthony RAVARD
11. Rene WEISSINGER
12. Yoann LE BOULANGER
13. Piet ROOIJAKKERS
14. Marcel BEIMA
15. Matthe PRONK at 40 seconds
16. Jonas LJUNGBLAD at 44 seconds
17. Marvin VAN DER PLUIJM at 1 minute 28 seconds
18. Kevin HULSMANS
19. Johan COENEN
20. Ward BOGAERT

188 STARTED – 97 riders classified