Team Sky's Geraint Thomas finished fourth as Katusha's Luca Paolini won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad this afternoon.
This first Belgian Classic of the season was a gruelling 199kms of twelve climbs and eight sections of cobbles in temperatures of -1.
The field which included some very big names including Omega Pharma Quick Step's Tom Boonen, Team Sky's Berni Eisel, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Welshman Geraint Thomas as well as 2012 winner Sep Vanmarcke of Team Blanco, allowed first Andreas Schillinger of Team NetApp-Endura to attack, followed by a new four rider break after fifteen kilometres from Albert Timmer (Argos-Shimano), Benjamin Verraes (Accent Jobs), Jan Ghyselinck (Cofidis) and Blaz Jarc (NEtApp-Endura).
With twenty eight kilometres gone, their time at the front was over and seven riders in Will Clarke (Argos-Shimano), Florian Vachon ( Bretagne-Seche Environnement), Julien Fouchard and Nico Sijmens (Cofidis), Cyril Lemoine (Sojasun), Jérôme Cousin (Team Europcar) and Zak Dempster (NEtApp-Endura) took over at the front, building a lead of 25 seconds.
As we approached the fifty kilometres gone mark, Gatis Smukulis (Katusha) and Preben Van Hecke (Topsport Vlaanderen) joined the escapers to form a nine man break.
After an hour of racing at speeds of 46.1kmph, there was a crash in the peloton with Lotto's Gert Dockx being taken to hospital.
As they reached the first set of cobbles, the nine riders had a lead of five minutes but that started to disappear as the race split on the Elkenburg climb with only forty riders in the first peloton.
Omega Pharma Quick Step's Sylvain Chavanel set off with 45kms to go on a mission to the finish line but a strong group which included Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Geraint Thomas (Sky), Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto-Belisol), Maarten Wynants (Blanco), Sven Vandousselaere (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Egoitz Garcia Etxegibel (Cofidis) and Luca Paolini (Katusha) .
Chavanel was caught just after the final climb on the Molenberg and this created a group of ten riders which now featured Van Avermaet, Thomas, Paolini, Roelandts, Vandenbergh, Vandousselaere, Garcia, Wynants and Bandiera.
As the race approached Ghent, Stijn Vandenbergh on home soil, tailed by Paolini. The duo stayed away and after a bit of cat and mouse, Luca Paolini took the victory in a time of 4.52.15 with Vendenbergh second,
Seventy eight seconds later, the eight riders in the chasing group led by Sven Vandousselaere and Geraint Thomas came home.
The other Brits in the race saw Erick Rowsell finish 114th, with Russ Downing 119th and Jon McEvoy 120th.