Omloop Het Houtland starts for the first time in Eernegem

The 75th edition of the Omloop van het Houtland (cat. 1.1) will therefore start on Wednesday 21 September in Eernegem, a sub-municipality of Ichtegem, and no longer from the seawall of Middelkerke. The new starting place also means that the organizers of Flandria Lichtervelde have to devise a new route

“Glad to bring this to Eernegem”

“A while ago we were contacted by the organizers of the Omloop van het Houtland. They were looking for a new starting place for 2022. As a cycling municipality, we are of course always willing to listen and talk to organizers and from the first conversation it became clear that we We are therefore pleased that we have found an agreement and that we can bring the start of this cycling event to our municipality this year,” explains Alderman of sport Tina Ledaine.

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Already interested from six WorldTeams

“The start of the Omloop van het Houtland on Wednesday 21 September in Eernegem coincides with our September fair and the cycling race of Eernegem Koers for elite riders without a contract and promises in the afternoon. For our municipality, being able to attract the start is therefore an A nice addition to our fair program for that week,” adds Geert Vandaele, the ships authorized for fairs.

“Our number of race kilometers this year will fluctuate around 200. After the start we will complete three local laps in and around Eernegem in order to travel via the cobblestones of the Lookhuisstraat to Lichtervelde. We are of course extremely happy that we have a new starting place with our Omloop van het Houtland. We have meanwhile been interested in six WorldTeams. In total we want to start 20 teams in Eernegem”, says Wouter Donck, chairman of the organizing committee.

The last edition of the Omloop van het Houtland went to the Dutchman Taco van der Hoorn last year. The Dutchman took the light off. His compatriot Danny van Poppel won the group sprint for second place ahead of Gerben Thijssen. Timothy Dupont was fourth ahead of Italian Albert Dainese.