Omloop Nieuwsblad is the first proper Classic of the year and for many purists marks the true start of the cycling season. Formerly run under the guises of the Omloop van Vlaanderen, Omloop Het Volk and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (they’ve since officially dropped the ‘Het’), the one-day race will open the proper cobbled campaign on a route that visits Belgian staples including the Berendries, Tenbosse, Leberg and Muur Van Geraardsbergen.
Last year, Opening Weekend was surprisingly one for the underdogs. The men’s race ended in a bunch sprint where Uno-X Mobility’s Søren Wærenskjold prevailed, while a breakaway shocked the field in the women’s race, with Arkéa-B&B Hotels’ Lotte Claes triumphing over Aurela Nerlo of Winspace Orange Seal for her first pro win.
In 2026, Omloop Nieuwsblad will once again be the first litmus test for the Classics contenders’ form. It will be the first showdown for Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, the former racing Omloop for the first time and the latter coming back from a fractured ankle. It should also see stars in Tom Pidcock and Soudal-QuickStep’s Paul Magnier stretching their legs on the first Classic of the season. In the women’s race, favourites Demi Vollering, Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes will be looking to make their mark after Claes’s surprise win last season.
Omloop Nieuwsblad 2026 key information
- Date: Saturday 28th February 2026
- Start: Ghent, Flanders
- Finish: Ninove, Flanders
- Distance: Men’s – 207.6km; Women’s – 137.6km
- 2025 Winners: Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility), Lotte Claes (Arkéa-B&B Hotels)
- Climbs: Men’s – Leberg, Eikenberg, Wolvenberg, Molenberg, Berendries, Tenbosse, Parikeberg, Muur-Kapelmuur, Bosberg; Women’s – Edelareberg, Wolvenberg, Molenberg, Leberg, Berendries, Tenbosse, Parikeberg, Muur-Kapelmuur, Bosberg
- Live television coverage: Discovery+, TNT Sports, FloBikes, VRT & RTL-TVi, SuperSport, L’Equipe
Omloop Nieuwsblad 2026 men’s route
The men’s route sits at 207.6km and sees the removal of the Valkenberg and an increase to two ascents of the Eikenberg. As usual, the peloton will depart from Ghent’s ‘t Kuipke velodrome. From there, the race will weave its way around the East Flanders region before confronting the first cobbled sector, the Paddestraat, after 41km. The first climbs will arrive after 60km, but the real difficulty lies after 100km of racing when the peloton enters a spaghetti-like circuit around Oudenaarde. The bulk of the cobbled sectors and climbs will come in this section of the race, including Holleweg, Wolvenberg, Kerkgate and the Molenberg.
From there, the peloton will encounter two new additions in the Tenbosse and Parikeberg, which have been added to make the parcours harder to try to avoid a bunch sprint, before the iconic Kapelmuur. Starting in the town, the cobbled climb spins its way up to a hilltop chapel rooted in Tour of Flanders history. After the Muur, the slopes of the Bosberg provide one last chance to shake up the race before the 12km run into Ninove.
Omloop Nieuwsblad 2026 women’s route
The women’s race is very similar to the men’s, minus the frantic circuit near Oudenaarde. It spends the first 70km on relatively flat roads in East Flanders, avoiding the Paddestraat and only travelling over Lange Munte during the opening half of the profile.
The duo of the Edelareberg and Wolvenberg will disrupt affairs as the road starts to get punchy. This relentless mix of cobbles and short sharp hills will persist until the Muur/Bosberg double whammy before the final sprint to the line – or perhaps solo post-up – in Ninove.
Omloop Nieuwsblad 2026 favourites
The men’s race will be the first head-to-head between Van der Poel and Van Aert since the Belgian’s injury at Exact Cross Mol. It is one cobbled Classic that Van der Poel has never raced before, while Van Aert reigned victorious in 2022. Van der Poel is coming off a ferocious cyclocross season that saw the Dutchman win 13 consecutive races culminating in another rainbow jersey, and in case it comes down to a bunch sprint he’ll be a key cog of Jasper Philipsen’s leadout train.
There will be plenty vying to stop a Van der Poel/Van Aert show though. Pidcock arrives following a strong performance at the Vuelta a Andalucia and is aiming to win his first Classic since the Amstel Gold Race in 2024. There’s no Tadej Pogačar for UAE Team Emirates XRG, but Tim Wellens is very capable of a big solo attack himself and is in form, winning Clásica Jaén with a 76km solo escapade at the beginning of the month. Arnaud De Lie will be aiming to get his first on the board for the newly merged Lotto-Intermarché while Volta ao Algarve stage winner Magnier is one of a couple of cards to play for a strong Soudal-QuickStep squad.
Elsewhere, it’s been a great year so far for Tobias Lund Andresen with a stage win and points classification victory at the Tour Down Under, with his Decathlon-CMA GCM team looking to rival the big dogs as the season progresses. Biniam Girmay, meanwhile, is hoping to make an early impact for his new team NSN Cycling, Unibet-Rose Rockets’ Lukáš Kubiš is riding well in 2026 and hoping to upset the WorldTour teams, and defending champion Wærenskjold returns in hopes of an unlikely repeat.
Last year’s champion on the women’s side, Lotte Claes, was initially not pencilled in for new team Fenix-Premier Tech but will actually make the start line after all. Aurela Nerlo, the surprise runner-up, is absent though, having been provisionally suspended following a positive test for anabolic steroid Ligandrol. FDJ United-Suez superstar Vollering is always a favourite but is yet to win here having raced to second in 2022 and third in 2025. As always, SD Worx-Protime have a stacked lineup with Wiebes, Kopecky, Mischa Bredewold and Anna van der Breggen.
Keep an eye on Movistar pair Liane Lippert and Cat Ferguson, who has two wins already in 2026, as well as fellow Brit Zoe Bäckstedt for Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto alongside sprinter Chiara Consonni. Elisa Balsamo is here for Lidl-Trek as is Irish sprinter Lara Gillespie for UAE Team ADQ, Josie Nelson for Picnic-PostNL and Letizia Borghesi for AG Insurance-Soudal.
Cyclist‘s men’s ratings
- ★★★★★: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
- ★★★★: Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Tim Wellens (UAE Team ADQ), Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling)
- ★★★: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep)
- ★★: Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché), Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon-CMA CGM), Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling), Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike)
- ★: Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets), Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), Dylan van Baarle (Soudal-QuickStep)
Cyclist‘s women’s ratings
- ★★★★★: Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime)
- ★★★★: Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
- ★★★: Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), Liane Lippert (Movistar)
- ★★: Cat Ferguson (Movistar), Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ),
- ★: Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto), Letizia Borghesi (AG Insurance-Soudal), Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto), Thalita de Jong (Human Powered Health)
How to watch Omloop Nieuwsblad 2026
In the UK and Ireland, Omloop Nieuwsblad will be available on Discovery+ and on TV on TNT Sports 3. In the US and Canada, both the men’s and women’s races will be aired through FloBikes as the race will be on VRT & RTL-TVi in Belgium, L’Equipe in France, Eurosport 2 throughout Europe, HBO Max/Discovery+/Eurosport 2 in Asia and SuperSport Variety 4 in Africa.
If it’s not being shown in your country, you may be able to watch coverage using a VPN – Virtual Private Network – which allows users to mask their IP address and watch geo-blocked content, provided they don’t need to pay for a subscription. This is also helpful for watching paid-for coverage while travelling abroad in countries without access.
UK TV times
Men’s Omloop Nieuwsblad:
- Discovery+: 12:00-15:00
- TNT Sports 3: 12:00-15:15
Women’s Omloop Nieuwsblad:
- Discovery+: 15:10-17:00
- TNT Sports 3: 15:15-17:00