Hello and welcome to the 2026 Omloop Nieuwsblad!
Welcome especially to the more traditional cycling fans, who will be tuning in today for the first time for what they believe is the ‘real’ start of the season.
While there’s been plenty of great racing throughout the globe already this season, there’s nothing quite like the cobbled classics.
One rider for whom this race is the first race of the season is Mathieu van der Poel (pictured here at the team presentation), whose debut here is being eagerly anticipated. Having announced his intention to ride just a few days ago, Van der Poel’s presence changes the whole dynamic of how this race will be shaped.
The riders are in the neutralised zone. The Spring Classics season is almost upon us!
Be sure to have a read of our preview and run-down of contenders before racing gets underway.
A big-name debutant and a trio of former winners – Riders to watch at the men's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
The official start looks set to be delayed a little as Van der Poel is making his way back up to the peloton from the convoy. Tension is building.
As for the all-important weather forecast: it’s cold out there, but the rain has yet to materialise - for now. That could change later in the day, and could seriously alter the dynamic of the race.
And they're off! The classics season is at last underway.
There's an attack right from the flag, by Picnic PostNL's Timo de Jong.
Arnaud De Lie and Dylan Van Baarle wrapped up warm at the start.
As expected multiple more attacks are flying out of the peloton, which is yet to settle down.
The riders at the unofficial start.
Time De Jong has been joined by two other riders at the front of the race - Michiel Lambrecht and Jelte Krijnsen.
That trio already looks like it might be the break of the day, the peloton having allowed them about a minute's lead already
Perhaps not - the gap is now being reported as only 20 seconds.
Crash in the breakaway, Lambrecht and De Jong have gone down. It’s unclear what happened exactly, they’re in the relative safety outside of the peloton, and we’re not even at the cobblestone yet.
That leaves Krijnsen in front alone, though it seems the two fallers are back and chasing him.
Jelte Krijnsen leads the peloton by 20 seconds, with Lambrecht and De Jong in between.
Here was Van der Poel with Tom Pidcock at the start this morning. Pidcock is set to be one of Van der Poel's main challengers today, on what will be one of only a few outings on the cobbles this spring, as he targets Strade Bianche and the Ardennes Classics coming up later.
One rider who many are looking out for today is Matthew Brennan, the 20-year-old talent whose performances last year sent ripples through the peloton, and looks set to become a superstar.
In the absence of the ill Wout van Aert, he’s one of Visma-Lease a Bike’s best hopes of claiming what would be a fourth win here in five years, but the team are eager not to put too much pressure on their young star.
'It's a steep learning curve, and this will add to it' – Visma-Lease a Bike insist no extra pressure on Matthew Brennan in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad despite absence of Wout van Aert
Still Krijnsen remains the only rider out in front. It seems Lambrecht and De Jon might have been absorbed into the peloton after their fall.
The aforementioned Matt Brennan out on the road.
Krijnsen's lead over the peloton is neither growing nor falling, remaining steady at 18 seconds.
While the second half of the race is dense with cobbled sections and climbs, this first half less so. The first cobbled sector doesn’t come until 41km into the stage, and then there’s just the climbs of the Leberg and Eikenberg between then and when things start to kick off just under 100km from the finish.
Krijnsen is now with four other riders, and it seems the peloton is happy to sit up and let them up the road.
Alexys Brunel, Alexis Renard,Vincent Van Hemelen and Clément Alleno are the four riders with Krijnsen.
Here are the five riders up the road.
The peloton evidently don't feel threatened by anyone in that group - they've allowed them a lead of over three minutes.
The riders are negotiating the first of the day's cobbled sectors, the Padeestraat. The rain has held off for now, but the later sectors could get very lairy if the heavens open before then.
While Van der Poel is the top favourite for victory today, his Alpecin-Premier Tech have more than just his card to play. Also lining up is Jasper Philipsen, who will have the luxury of being able to ride passively, while trying to preserve energy in the event that Van der Poel doesn’t manage to go clear and the race comes down to a group sprint.
'Flemish Classics give me butterflies in my stomach' – Jasper Philipsen prepared to take any opportunities to win this spring at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and beyond
3:30 now for the break, who, at this early stage of the race, the peloton is happy to let lead by a considerable margin.
It’s begun to drizzle out there! The rain that was forecasted is materialising.
Alpecin-Premier Tech and Soudal-QuickStep are the teams riding at the front of the peloton, staking their claims as favorites for the race for their respective leaders Van der Poel and Paul Magnier.
This is a rare race where UAE Team Emirates XRG aren’t the top favourites, but they still fancy their chances.
“Today we go for a hard race with Tim [Wellens], Florian [Vermeersch] and Nils [Politt]”, their rider Rune Herregodts said before the race. “These guys are our main men and we'll try to support them and help them to make a hard race. They're in form, so for us it'll be good if it's an attritional race and we get a small group at the finish."
