2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
| 2015 UCI Europe Tour | |||||||||||||
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Ian Stannard (centre), Niki Terpstra (left) and Tom Boonen on the podium after the race
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| Race details | |||||||||||||
| Dates | February 28, 2015 | ||||||||||||
| Stages | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Distance | 200.2 km (124.4 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 4h 58' 42" | ||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||
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| Winner |
 Ian Stannard (GBR)
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(Team Sky) | |
| Second |
 Niki Terpstra (NED)
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(Etixx–Quick-Step) | |
| Third |
 Tom Boonen (BEL)
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(Etixx–Quick-Step) |
The 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was the 70th edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad road cycling race. The race is traditionally seen as the beginning of the cobbled classics season along with the Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne the following day. It was rated as a 1.HC race as part of the 2015 UCI Europe Tour. The race took place on 28 February 2015, starting and finishing in the city of Ghent.
Ian Stannard (Team Sky), the defending champion from the 2014, won the race in a two-man sprint ahead of Niki Terpstra (Etixx–Quick-Step). Terpstra's teammate Tom Boonen was third.
The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is held over a challenging, hilly course, similar in style to the Tour of Flanders, one of the cycling monuments and the most important cycling race in Flanders. The Het Nieuwsblad is, however, significantly shorter at 200.2 km (124.4 mi). The races share many climbs in the race, such as the Taaienberg, the Valkenberg and the Molenberg; the Het Nieuwsblad also includes the Muur van Geraardsbergen, which was a decisive part of the Tour of Flanders until its removal in 2012. The race is normally won from a small group rather than from a bunch sprint because of the difficult route. The 2015 race included a new climb, the Kaperij, after 120 km (75 mi).
The race is also notable for the weather: it is frequently held in rain and cold conditions, which adds to the difficulty. The weather has caused the cancellation of the race − and also of Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne the following day − on several occasions, and the riders have to pay considerable attention to keeping warm during the race. This is especially true because many of the riders used hot-weather races in the Middle East (such as the Tour of Qatar, the Dubai Tour and the Tour of Oman) to prepare for the European classics season. The importance of this was demonstrated in 2014, when Ian Stannard (Team Sky) beat Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) in a sprint principally because he had managed to keep warmer through the race.
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