Dylan Van Baarle's highest finish in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad prior to his victory was 14th in 2019 ©Getty Images

Dutchman Dylan Van Baarle, representing Jumbo-Visma, won the annual Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for the first time in his career during the International Cycling Union (UCI) World Tour.

The 30-year-old is also a winner of the Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2018 and the Paris-Roubaix Monument in 2022.

"The team told me to use my instinct and that’s what I did," said Van Baarle in an interview with Eurosport.

"I saw a moment, it was quite a hard section of the race, and I decided to go."

Van Baarle finished with a total time of 4hours 54:49min ahead of second place Arnaud De Lie of Belgium, who was representing Lotto Dstny.

De Lie had already won the Trofeo Luis Puig earlier this year.

In third was Van Baarle's Jumbo-Visma colleague Christophe Laporte of France, who helped his teammate by slowing the other competitors down, and yet securing a podium finish.

Lotte Kopecky became the first Belgian woman to win the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad ©Getty Images
Lotte Kopecky became the first Belgian woman to win the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad ©Getty Images

In the women's side, Lotte Kopecky became the first Belgian woman to win the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Kopecky secured her first classic win of the season, clocking 3:33:55.

Lorena Wiebes of the Netherlands, who won the European Championship road race last year, finished second.

In third place was Italy's Marta Bastianelli, who finished second in the event in 2019 and 2020.

This was the 78th edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, which is based in the region of Flanders, Belgium.