Intro:

Ian Stannard becomes the first British rider to win the Belgian classic 'Omloop Het Nieuwsblad' cycle race on Saturday (1st March), outsprinting Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium to the finish in Ghent.

Script:

European cycling's 'Spring Classics' got underway in Belgium on Saturday, at the Flanders Classic.

A gruelling 198.4-kilometre route featuring several cobblestoned sections lay ahead for the riders.

2009 winner Thor Hushovd of Norway fell early on in amongst the pack - he wasn't the last, either.

Heavy rain made for very little grip on the varied surfaces and there were a series of other incidents with riders rolling off the roads and around in the Belgian mud.

A breakaway group of eight riders held a lead of more than three minutes at one stage, but it was with 17 kilometres to go that the crucial move was made.

Britain's Ian Stannard attacked and the Sky rider moved away with Belgium's Greg Van Avermaet.

The pair opened up a 16 second lead by the time they approached Gent and the finish line.

Stannard made another move and stole a couple of metres, Van Avermaet fought back and had the race been just ten metres longer he might have won it, yet Stannard was first by a wheel and as a result becomes the first British rider to win the Flanders Classic in the race's 69-year history.