Luke Rowe kicked off his Classics campaign with sixth place at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

The Cardiff-born rider, who was fourth last year, came home 50 seconds adrift after missing out following an attack by the top three.

“It’s not what you come into the race dreaming of doing, but at the same time, it’s sixth place in a WorldTour one-day classic so you can’t shrug your shoulders at it,” said 26-year-old Rowe.

“Maybe I lacked a bit of punch on the Eikenberg. When the three leaders attacked, I was right there, but I simply couldn’t react.

“Those three were the strongest guys and they rode away, and there was nothing that I could do.”

Rowe was part of a chase group that got the lead down to around 25 seconds but could not reduce it any further in the 198.3km race in Flanders.

Belgium’s Greg van Avermaet claimed back to back wins for BMC Racing holding off Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Sep Vanmarcke (Cannondale-Drapac) in a tense three-up sprint.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Top 6:

1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing) 4:48:04
2. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) same time
3. Sep Vanmarcke (Cannondale-Drapac)
4. Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo) +43″
5. Oscar Gatto (Astana) +50″
6. Luke Rowe (Team Sky) s.t.