Greg Van Avermaet (right) finished sixth and Philippe Gilbert was eighth for the BMC Racing Team Saturday at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Ian Stannard (Team Sky) won for the second straight year in a two-up sprint, besting Niki Terpstra (Etixx-Quick Step) after Terpstra and teammates Tom Boonen and Stijn Vandenbergh broke away with Stannard with 40 kilometers to go in the 200.2-km race. Last year, Stannard bested Van Avermaet, also in a two-up sprint. 

After the four broke away, Van Avermaet and Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto-JumboNL) gave chase – with a fourth Etixx-Quick Step rider, Zdenek Stybar, in tow. But they could get no closer to the leading quartet than 14 seconds with 25 km to go. Gilbert, a two-time winner of the race, soloed in alone to register his third career top 10 result in nine participations.

"At the first passage of the Haaghoek I had bad luck," Van Avermaet told Sporza. "At the second passage, I was too far back. With Sep, I tried to get back but but I was on my limit. If we had been one rider more, we would have made it. Now it was impossible.

"Whether I have thought a lot about the case with the ozone doctor? I thought about but I tried to start the race as I do normally. The condition is good. I am satisfied with my race. Tomorrow I have another chance."