The organisers of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad named six men's wildcard teams and 15 women's Continental squads to join the WorldTeams in the opening race in Belgium on February 27.
A total of 24 teams will compete in the women's 1.Pro-ranked race in its 16th edition with the aim of unseating Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), the 2020 winner.
Along with the nine WorldTeams, the Continental women's squads earning invitations include Marianne Vos' new Jumbo-Visma team, Lotto Soudal, Ceratizit-WNT, Drops-Le Col and Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank.
For the men's WorldTour race, the 19 WorldTeams and Alpecin-Fenix earned automatic invitations with five wildcards going to Arkéa-Samsic, B&B Hotels-KTM, Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise, Total Direct Energie and Bingoal WB.
Van Vleuten's Movistar team will be up against a strong contingent of WorldTour talent, with two-time winner Marta Bastianelli's Alé-BTC Ljubljana Cipollini squad and world champion and 2015 winner Anna van der Breggen's SD Worx team in the mix. Trek-Segafredo are sure to bring a strong team with former winner Lucinda Brand - the winner of the 2017 edition - coming off a victory in the cyclo-cross World Championships.
Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) won the 2020 edition and is sure to be back looking for another early season success. Deceuninck-Quickstep always field a powerful group for the opening weekend, and are expected to bring world champion Julian Alaphilippe and 2019 winner Zdenek Stybar to the start.
Lotto Soudal are expected to bring two-time winner Philippe Gilbert and AG2R Citroën Team will be led by Greg Van Avermaet, the winner of the 2016 and 2017 editions.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad men's teams
- AG2R Citroën Team
- Astana-Premier Tech
- Bahrain Victorious
- Bora-Hansgrohe
- Cofidis
- Deceuninck-QuickStep
- EF Education-Nippo
- Groupama-FDJ
- Ineos Grenadiers
- Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
- Israel Start-up Nation
- Jumbo-Visma
- Lotto Soudal
- Movistar Team
- Team BikeExchange
- Team DSM
- Team Qhubeka Assos
- Trek-Segafredo
- UAE Team Emirates
- Alpecin-Fenix
- Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
- Team Arkea-Samsic
- Total Direct Energie
- B&B Hotels p/b KTM
- Bingoal WB
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad women's teams
- Ale' BTC Ljubljana
- Canyon-SRAM Racing
- FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
- Liv Racing
- Movistar Team Women
- Team BikeExchange
- Team DSM
- Team SD Worx
- Trek-Segafredo
- Arkea Pro Cycling Team
- Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire
- Burgos Alimenta
- Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team
- Doltcini-Van Eyck-Proximus
- Drops-le Col Supported by Tempur
- Hitec Products
- Lotto Soudal Ladies
- Multum Accountants
- NXTG Racing
- Parkhotel Valkenburg
- Jumbo-Visma Women Team
- Team Rupelcleaning-Champion Lubricants
- Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
- Valcar-Travel & Service
