A slow start to the season by Belgian super team Omega Pharma-Quickstep’s standards has soon been forgotten. With Mark Renshaw and Andrew Fenn’s second and third places on the final stage in Adelaide their only big success in the opening weeks, they dealt a timely reminder to their rivals of just how good they are with a stunning showing in Qatar. Niki Terpstra’s victory from the break in stage one – thanks in no small part to team-mate Tom Boonen’s efforts in the bunch – set up a phenomenal week for the team.
Boonen got his just reward for his efforts on stage one when he mastered the crosswinds on stage two to storm to an emphatic stage victory – and build up some ominous form ahead of the cobbled Classics. He followed it up with another stage win for himself, while Terpstra’s performance in the time trial was more than enough to tie up the gold jersey. And if that was not enough, the team continued where they left off when they sent a strong line-up to the Volta ao Algarve.
Michal Kwiatkowski’s attack on the second stage left even world champion Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) trailing in his wake, and he followed it by showing the profits of the hard work the team put in on time trial position by winning against the clock the following day. The Pole spent large periods of the Tour de France in the white jersey last year, before finishing 11th overall. His early-season form suggests he could be a force to be reckoned with this season too. And there was further good news from the race too as Mark Cavendish’s sprint train finally clicked into gear to deliver the Manx Missile to stage victory, courtesy of Alessandro Petacchi’s lead-out.
And if the form of Boonen, Kwiatkowski and Cavendish was not enough to chill the bones of their biggest rivals, the depth of the Belgian team was highlighted by new signing Rigoberto Uran, whose third place in Oman showcased his willingness to attack and bodes well for his Grand Tour leadership to come.
Omega Pharma-Quickstep notched an impressive 53 race wins last season, and on their form so far they could find they are not too far away from matching that in 2014.
