Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2026

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2026: Mathieu van der Poel storms to solo victory with stinging Muur van Geraardsbergen attack

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) had never raced Omloop Het Nieuwsblad before 2026, but after deciding in the days before the race to make his debut, the Dutchman duly turned his pre-race favourite status into a winning performance.

The former world champion followed a strong move on the Molenberg to go away with Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Tim van Dijke (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) with the trio soon catching the day's early breakaway and moving into the lead of the race.

From there, Van der Poel patiently waited for the race's most iconic climb, the Muur van Geraardsbergen, where he put in a stinging attack that no one had a chance of following, pulling out an 18-second lead on Vermeersch and Van Dijke by the time he reached the top.

Then just 16km stood between him and victory, and the powerful Dutchman could not be chased down, soloing to victory in Ninove to throw down the gauntlet on his first day of road racing in 2026.

Van Dijke preserved enough energy to finish second, whilst Vermeersch settled for third after sparking what would turn out to be the winning attack.

Outside of the podium, it was a crash-filled opening day in Belgium, with tens of riders going down in several, often high-speed crashes.

Information

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is tradtionally the first WorldTour race on European soil, taking place in 2026 on Saturday February 28.

Formerly known as Omloop Het Volk, the name stems from a newspaper which merged in 2008 with the Flemish daily Het Nieuwsblad.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad has traditionally marked the opening of the Spring Classics and has been heralded by some as the end of the 'early-season' beginning of 'serious' racing in Europe. The main spring period may be a little further away, but the gentle early-season racing is out of the way and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will set the tone for the spring.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad takes place in the heart of the Flemish Ardennes, on many of the same cobbles and bergs as the Tour of Flanders five weeks down the line.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was first held in 1945, and in that time, three editions have been missed - 1960, 1986, and 2004 - largely due to the wintery conditions that often strike Belgium in February.

Together with the 1.Pro Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, held the next day, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad forms one part of what's widely known as the 'Opening Weekend'.

Jean Bogaerts was the first winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Belgians have gone on to dominate the race, with only 20 winners from outside the home nation. Three Belgians - Ernest Sterckx, Joseph Bruyère, Peter Van Petegem - hold the joint record of three victories.

In 2025, Søren Wærenskjold pulled off a surprise but well-deserved victory with a superb sprint win.

This year's race is stacked with talent, with Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel both starting their 2026 campaigns in Ghent.

Omloop Nieuwsblad route

The route for the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad traditionally starts at 't Kuipke velodrome in Gent and uses the same run-out to the cluster of loops to hit all of the important hellingen outside of Oudenaarde.

See the full details of the 2026 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad route.

Omloop Nieuwsblad Schedule

2026 Omloop het Nieuwsblad start list

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