"Go get him."

"No, you get him...."

And so it went....

The last 15km of the 60th edition of the Omloop Het Volk presented the peloton with a classic dilemma: Chase the one man off the front and risk setting up a win for the competition, or hope someone else chases and risk losing if no one does.

They opted for the latter, and that gave 25-year-old Nick Nuyens all he needed to stay away to claim victory, just seconds ahead of a field of pre-race favorites, including his Quick Step teammate and compatriot Tom Boonen.

The first of the Belgian spring classics went off as scheduled, despite fears that this year's race might suffer the same fate as last year's, when morning snows made the 200km of narrow and often-cobbled roads between Gent and Lokeren too dangerous to ride. While Europe is again under a massive cold front, organizers of Het Volk were at least spared the snow this year and the race got under way in freezing temperatures beneath a threatening sky.

Top riders often say that Het Volk is an especially difficult race, not only because of the weather and distance, but also because the race is traditionally marked by frequent attacks and an often-furious pace. True to form, the day's attacks started early and a three-man break finally succeeded in moving off the front at the 15km mark. Dane Jakob Piil (CSC), Frenchman Benoit Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux) and Belgian Kristof Trouvé (MrBookmaker) built a lead that peaked out at nearly five minutes before eventually being erased 104km later.

The pace mellowed for a few kilometers, but pre-race favorites began to try their luck with about 65km to go. The first was three-time winner Peter Van Petegem (Davitamon), who accelerated in Molenberg, drawing out seven other riders and building a lead of nearly a minute on the field.

Eki' at the front

Photo: Graham Watson

Even without Van Petegem, the break posed a serious threat to those who missed the cut. In the mix were three riders from the American Discovery Channel team - Stijn Devolder, George Hincapie and Viatcheslav Ekimov - along with Bram Tankink (Quick.Step), Karsten Kroon (Rabobank), Gorik Gardeyn (MrBookmaker.com) and Philippe Gilbert (FDJ.com).

Indeed, the threat proved too great and a concerted chase brought the whole field back together some 35km from the finish.

With 18km remaining, Belgian Ludo Dierckxsens tried his hand at a solo escape. The 41-year-old Landbouwkrediet rider was soon joined by MrBookmaker.com's Johan Coenen and Nuyens attacked. As the trio reached a cobbled section at Vogelzangstraat, with 15km to go, Nuyens tried a quick acceleration and his two breakaway partners failed to react. Each waited for the other to take up the chase and when neither did, they were soon swept up by the main field. Nuyens, however, was off on his own.

Holding on to just 20 seconds with 14km to go, it looked like the young Belgian would easily be caught by a field that included powerhouse riders such as Van Petegem, his teammate Robbie McEwen, Devolder, Hincapie, Cofidis's Stuart O'Grady and a host of others.

But it was the sheer power of the group that helped the lone escapee the most. With all the favorites unwilling to mount a serious chase out of fear of helping their rivals - especially Nuyens' teammate Boonen, who has showed good form for most of the early season - the Quick Step man was able to plow ahead, gradually adding to his advantage as riders like Van Petegem stared down the road in frustration.

Up the Grammont

Photo: Graham Watson

"It was really the good moment to attack, the last tough section which made it possible to make a difference," Nuyens said. "After making a small gap I knew I could sit back because I knew the majority of the teams behind me weren't going to contribute to getting Tom (Boonen) to the front as he would probably have won the sprint."

Nonetheless, Nuyens kept his head down and only when he reached the 200-meter-to-go mark did he really give himself the chance to glance over his shoulder. Zipping up his jersey, Nuyens had the luxury of a gap wide enough to let him truly relish the moment.

"It's my biggest victory, even better than Paris-Brussels or the GP de Wallonie last year," he said.

Behind, Boonen proved that the favorites' fears were real, as he scampered to the front and won the field sprint for second place, easily beating Rabobank's Steven De Jongh to the line.

CSC's Tristan Hoffman broke his left leg in a crash while descending the Mur de Grammont

Photo: AFP

Race note
Tristan Hoffman (Team CSC) suffered an open fracture of the left tibia following a violent fall while descending the Mur de Grammont about 85km into the race. The 35-year-old Netherlander was transported to the hospital in Grammont. –Agence France Presse contributed to this report

The 60th Omloop Het Volk
Ghent-Lokeren, Belgium. February 26

1. Nick Nuyens (B) Quick Step, 201km in 5:06:00
2. Tom Boonen (B), Quick Step, at 0:14
3. Steven De Jongh (Ned), Rabobank, s.t.
4. Niko Eeckhout (B), Chocolade Jacques, s.t.
5. Bert De Waele, (B), Landbouwkrediet-Colnago, s.t.
6. Uros Murn (Slo), Phonak, s.t.
7. Roy Sentjens (Ned), Rabobank, s.t.
8. Max Van Heeswijk (Ned), Discovery Channel, s.t.
9. Karsten Kroon (Ned), Rabobank, s.t.
10. Ludo Dierckxsens (B), Landbouwkrediet-Colnago, s.t.
11. Andreas Klier (G), T-Mobile, s.t.
12. Allan Johansen (Den), Team CSC, s.t.
13. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Davitamon, s.t.
14. Anthony Geslin (F), Bouygues Telecom, s.t.
15. Johan Coenen (B), MrBookmaker.com, s.t.
16. Christophe Detilloux (B), Française des Jeux, s.t.
17. Jimmy Casper (F), Cofidis, s.t.
18. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Cofidis
19. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Crédit Agricole, s.t.
20. Matthé Pronk (Ned), MrBookmaker.com, s.t.

Selected
30. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, s.t.
38. Peter Van Petegem (B), Davitamon, s.t.