Niki Terpstra (27) will not be at the start of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad next Saturday. The Dutchman announced this on Twitter.

The Omega Pharma-QuickStep-rider isn’t yet recovered from problems with his respiratory.

Last year Terpstra finished sixth in Ghent. His countryman Sebastian Langeveld (then Rabobank, now GreenEdge) won the race.