Place Name: Elisabethlaan
Address: Elisabethlaan 200, 9400 Ninove, East Flanders, Belgium
Details: February 28, 2026
The first month of the racing calendar has been all about chasing the sun and getting good kilometers in the legs but the season doesn't truly begin until rubber meets the Kasseistrook and Betonweg. Omloop Nieuwsblad kicks off Opening Weekend in Northern Europe with a mixture of paved and cobbled bergs in East Flanders. The 207KM race leaves from the university town of Ghent and heads South to Zottegem. The first cobbles the peloton will see is on the Paddestraat after 43KM of racing. Up next is the Haaghoek followed directly by the Leberg and then the Eikenberg. Once in Oudenaarde with 130KM to go, there are 35KM of calm before the cobbles hit again with Lange Munte. The finale begins with 75KM to go with the combination Haaghoek, Leberg, Eikenberg. Once over the Eikenberg, the bergs and cobbles come thick and fast for the rest of the race. In the space of 40KM, the riders will have the aforementioned Eikenberg, then the Holleweg, Wolvenberg, Kerkgate, Jagerij, Molenberg, Haaghoek, Leberg, Berendries, Tenbosse, and Parikeberg. The main showpiece however is always the Muur van Geraardsbergen/Bosberg combination which tops out with just 12KM to go. We have seen larger groups coming to the finish together in recent years and it all depends on how early the race kicks off and how the wind is blowing in the final 12KM to Ninove.
Classics riders to watch: Mathieu van der Poel, Matej Mohorič, Mathias Vacek, Jasper Stuyven, Dylan van Baarle, Tim Wellens, Alberto Bettiol, Tom Pidcock, Stefan Küng, Matteo Trentin, Anthony Turgis, Matyáš Kopecký
Sprinters to watch: Jasper Philipsen, Søren Wærenskjold, Tobias Lund Andresen, Ben Turner, Arnaud De Lie, Biniam Girmay, Jordi Meeus, Paul Magnier, Matthew Brennan, Christophe Laporte, Juan Sebastián Molano
Electronic dance music was blasting from the speakers as the riders signed-on in the 't Kuipke velodrome. The neutral zone was nervous but just like the first day back at school, when the flag dropped, riders attacked and they were racing. A group of three got away relatively quickly that including Timo de Jong of Picnic-PostNL, Michiel Lambrecht of Flanders-Baloise, and Jelte Krijnsen of Jayco AlUla. The move wouldn't last long however because through a cobbled left turn, de Jong and Lambrecht got tangled up with each other and went down. Krijnsen remained out front and was later joined by four others. The new group consisted of Krijnsen, Clément Alleno of Burgos-Burpellet BH, Alexys Brunel of TotalEnergies, Alexis Renard of Cofidis, and Vincent Van Hemelen of Flanders-Baloise. With 104KM to go, they had nearly 2 minutes 30 seconds on the peloton. A light rain had fallen by this point and made the road damp which would have to be accounted for later in the day.
The bunch were ticking along with no stress and spread all across the road. There were a few smiles on riders but most were shaking hands and arms to get some blood moving to keep warm. The break arrived at the Lange Munte with 95KM to go and an increased advantage of 2 minutes 50 seconds. The wind was whipping but it was straight into the riders' face so the Lange Munte was ridden at a pedestrian pace. NSN Cycling, Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe, Tudor Pro Cycling, and Pinarello Q36.5 were ever-present near the front and ready as the tension picked up with the Haaghoek and Leberg just up the road. The rush onto narrows roads brought forward Soudal Quickstep and Visma-Lease a Bike for the first time but it was calm once again after the turn as the teams on the front kept the road blocked to hold their position.
Fortunately, the Haaghoek was dry and everyone made it through without trouble. The wind became a factor over the top of the Leberg and the group split into a few pieces but just a kilometer later, another change of direction turned the riders back into a head wind and calm returned. The break arrived at the Eikenberg for the second time at 63KM to go and a gap down to 2 minutes. Behind, riders hit the deck and scattered like Skittles as a compression near the front rippled backwards. About 20 riders went down which split the bunch. Tom Pidcock of Pinarello Q36.5 was caught out and temporarily distanced as Alpecin-Premier Tech went to the front and pushed on over the top of the Eikenberg.
The Holleweg came and went and the speed only increased with the Wolvenberg just 2KM further up the road. Kasper Asgreen of EF-Education EasyPost was the first attacker from the peloton, going near the top of the Wolvenberg. There was no immediate reaction but the Dane never got more than 25 seconds and was reabsorbed after the Jagerij with 51KM to go. Most of the action up to this point was happening at the back of the peloton. Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech and Paul Magnier of Soudal Quickstep were both chasing in a group behind and the peloton numbered around 65 with riders constantly being dispatched.
Lidl-Trek and UAE-XRG committed fully to positioning with 46KM to go because of the all-important narrow, left turn on to the Molenberg was just ahead. UAE-XRG won the front and turned on the pace with Florian Vermeersch. Rick Pluimers of Tudor Pro Cycling was trying to close a small gap to Vermeersch but went down very hard on the wet cobbles while in second position in the peloton. It caused a major fracture in the bunch but it was no issue for Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Premier Tech who sprang over to Vermeersch. Tim van Dijke of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe bridged up to Vermeersch and van der Poel and they quickly had a sizeable gap back to fractured, unorganized groups.
Alleno had been dropped from the break earlier in the day but the remaining four leaders had company from the van der Poel group with 42KM to go to make a front group of seven. Over the top of the Leberg with 38KM to go, the van der Poel group had nearly 1 minute on a peloton that had coalesced from multiple chase groups and numbered around 60 riders. Brunel was the next one from the original break to be dropped by the front group as they crested the Berendries. The gap was 1 minute 10 seconds with Visma-Lease a Bike and Lotto Intermarché doing the chase work. The Tenbosse and Parikeberg didn't bother either the leaders or the peloton and the kilometers were chewed up as they approached Geraardsbergen and the Muur.
A huge crash in the peloton with 19KM to go brought down at least 20 riders and there were bikes everywhere. Arnaud De Lie of Lotto Intermarché was signaled as being one of the fallers but there were numerous Tudor Pro Cycling and Decathlon CMA CGM riders down as well. It was a festival atmosphere in Geraardsbergen but unfortunately for the members of the original break, they were left behind as the cobbles shook and the road gripped upwards. Meter by meter, a gap grew between van der Poel who was leading and van Dijke and Vermeersch. When van der Poel reached the top, he was already 18 seconds ahead with the chasing peloton at 51 seconds. The gaps expanded on the Bosberg and with 10KM to go, van der Poel had 40 seconds on Vermeersch and van Dijke and 1 minute 10 seconds on the chasing peloton that had swept up Krijnsen, Renard, and Van Hemelen.
Van der Poel soloed his way into Ninove to the finish and crossed the line in victory. The win marked his first of 2026 on his first day of racing and as the first time he has won Omloop on his first attempt. Behind, Vermeersch led van Dijke in to the last 200M. It was van Dijke who opened first at 150M and he quickly had a gap on Vermeersch to take second on the day. Christophe Laporte of Visma-Lease a Bike led the pack home 53 seconds down to take fourth place.
Tags: Omloop Nieuwsblad, 2026, February, Ghent, Ninove, Timo de Jong, Michiel Lambrecht, Jelte Krijnsen, Clément Alleno, Alexys Brunel, Alexis Renard, Vincent Van Hemelen, Kasper Asgreen, Florian Vermeersch, Mathieu van der Poel, Tim van Dijke, Christophe Laporte