Rounding out the podium were underdogs Tim van Dijke and Florian Vermeersch, taking up leadership roles in their captains’ absence.
Cor Vos
The weather offered extra intrigue to the opening race of the Cobbled Classics as the elite men took on the windswept and moistened terrain of Omloop Nieuwsblad, kicking off ‘Opening Weekend’ with a particular challenge. There were crashes galore, and with every tight corner and cobbled climb, the anticipation ramped up towards the inevitable final act – and Mathieu van der Poel’s first victory of the road season.
In the end, it was over almost before it began. Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost) had made the first opportunistic and short-lived attack from the peloton, and the decisive move came shortly after the Dane was regathered by the bunch. A few minutes later, and about 30 seconds after the breakaway hit the Molenberg with 45 km to go, Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates) accelerated off the front of the peloton up the rain-slick cobbles. A crash for Tudor’s Rick Pluimers immediately in his wake held up practically everyone behind him, but Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) overcame a quick foot down to set off in pursuit.
Tudor’s Rick Pluimers was riding second wheel when his bike disappeared from beneath him at the worst possible moment.
Tim van Dijke (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) was the only other able to join Vermeersch and Van der Poel, and the trio worked well to bridge up to the remaining early escapees as the peloton fought desperately to reduce their disadvantage – but in vain. The lead group stayed together until Geraardsbergen, where the survivors from the early break finally lost touch and Van der Poel flew up the Kapelmuur. It seemed only a formality by this point. The Alpecin-Premier Tech leader led Van Dijke and Vermeersch over the crest by 18 seconds, the peloton 51 seconds down. By the finish 16 km later, very little had changed.
Van der Poel had never raced Omloop Nieuwsblad before today, and he more than lived up to his pre-race favourite status, even as his team was caught in more than its fair share of misfortune as Jasper Philipsen and Kaden Groves got caught up in some of the earlier drama with crashes and splits. Perhaps the most important results of the day – besides Van der Poel’s 100% record – can be found on the lower steps of the podium, with Tim van Dijke delighting in his first major Classic podium, and Vermeersch living up to leadership status at UAE Team Emirates in Tadej Pogačar’s absence.
[race_result id=53 stage_id=0 count=10 gc=0 year=2026]
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