'It's a lot more than a warm-up' – The cobbled Classics begin at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Rider battle up the Muur van Geraardsbergen at the 2023 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Rider battle up the Muur van Geraardsbergen at the 2023 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Image credit: Getty Images)

With the peloton taking to the Belgian roads this weekend for the first time in 2024, the 'real' season begins with the Opening Weekend of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.

The pair of races, featuring the Flandrian cobbled bergs at the former and a flatter run-in at the latter, mark the the peloton's first brush with the cobbles this season, but we're still a long way away from the denouement of the spring Classics, six weeks away at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.