Wightlink-LCM Systems Cycle Race Team rider, Matt Tibbutt travelled to the Netherlands to compete in the 51st edition of the two day Omloop der Peel stage race on Saturday.
The race was based around the town of Someren, which is around 10 miles from Eindhoven. Both stages were around 80 miles in length and consisted of everything from wide well made roads to small cobbled rural lanes.
A quality field of 200 riders signed on with teams from Belgium, Germany and of course the Netherlands. The star rider was the current Belgian national amateur champion.
Stage one set off fast and furious with the first crash occurring in the first kilometer. As soon as the flag went down and the neutralised section finished the pace shot up to over 30 miles per hour. Tibbutt suffered a mechanical problem with his gear shifter, meaning he could only change to lower gears. Gradually drifting off the back of the peloton, he finally managed to correct the problem and set about chasing back to the main field.
Once back in the safety of the peloton Tibbutt set about making his way to the front of the 200 rider group. Once the race hit the open farm lands the race quickly split into echelons due to the brisk cross winds. Tibbutt found himself in the second group on the road which worked well together to eventually bring back the front group.
A break of eight riders went clear leaving a peloton of around 80 riders, after many had retired due to the blistering pace. Tibbutt held his own for the rest of the race and finished towards the front of the peloton in 36th place overall, with the Belgian national amateur champion Ruben Engelen winning the stage.
Day 2 started with less wind and more sunshine. Once again the pace was fast and furious from the start. Numerous crashes caused by tired riders created splits in the field, with one crash causing Wightlink-LCM Systems’ Tibbutt to ride over another rider’s bike at over 25 miles per hour. Many attacks went up the road but with nothing sticking and the big teams controlling it was looking set for a bunch sprint. The race headed to the smaller finishing circuit consisting of three 10 mile laps and a 1 mile long cobbled section. Tibbutt avoided further crashes and remained in the peloton to finish in a similar position to day one completing 80 miles at an average speed of over 27 miles per hour. Piotr Kornafel from Germany took the overall win.
