The round of 190.7 kilometers with start and finish in Legnano seemed to be the perfect fit for the sprinters with a 30 km run-up to the finish.
But not everyone just resigned themselves to that scenario. On one of the climbs a group with roaring names jumped out of the pack. Julian Alaphilippe, Marc Hirschi, Matteo Trentin and Miguel Angel Lopez, among others, could not keep their legs still.
Alaphilippe then shook the tree again and got teammate Ilan Van Wilder as company. Together with Marc Hirschi and Jhonatan Narvaez, among others, they did everything they could to stay out of the grip of the peloton.
With more than 10 kilometers from the finish, Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl had to change the gun after all and count on Ballerini’s sprint. With success, the Italian was launched by Mauri Vansevenant and held off fellow countryman Trentin, among others.
Ballerini, last year’s winner of the Omloop, succeeds his teammate Remco Evenepoel on the honors list. The world champion chose not to start this year.
