Flanders Classics, organisers of the Belgian season opener Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, unveiled the route for the 2026 race on Wednesday, revealing a revamped run-in to the finish in Ninove.
The 2026 race will be held on Saturday, February 28, the first day of a back-to-back Opening Weekend with Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and the first race of the spring Classics.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will be longer than in 2025, with Flanders Classics having added 10km to the route to bring it up to 207.6km in length.
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The race, as ever, will begin in the famous 't Kuipke velodrome in Gent and, for the most part, take on the same roads, cobbled sectors, and Flandrien bergs as it did in 2025.
Eight cobbled sectors fill the route along with 12 hills, including the Leberg, Eikenberg, Wolvenberg, and Molenberg. Much of the route, up to the final ascent of Leberg and Berendries at 174km into the race, will remain similar to last year.
A major change earlier in the race includes the removal of the Valkenberg and the addition of two ascents of the Eikenberg. After Berendries, the Elverenberg is also out.
From there, the peloton will race to Brakel, home of Peter van Petegem, and tackle two additional climbs before heading to the final. The hills of Tenbosse and Parikeberg provide additional challenges before the final one-two punch of the Muur van Geraardsbergen and Bosberg, and the 11.8km flat run to the finish line.
Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) is the defending champion of the race, having won in a mass sprint finish last year. With two extra climbs in the 2026 route, it seems as though the race organisers want to avoid a repeat of the 2025 49-rider dash for the line in Ninove this February.
Hills and cobbled sectors of the 2026 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- Paddestraat, 41.8km
- Haaghoek, 58.2km
- Hill 1: Leberg, 61.2km
- Hill 2: Eikenberg, 74.3km
- Lange Munte, 112.9km
- Haaghoek, 129.9km
- Hill 3: Leberg, 132,9km
- Hill 4: Eikenberg, 146.1km
- Holleweg, 147.5km
- Hill 5: Wolvenberg, 150.1km
- Kerkgate, 153.8km
- Jagerij, 156.7km
- Hill 6: Molenberg, 162.6km
- Haaghoek, 167.1km
- Hill 7: Leberg, 170.1km
- Hill 8: Berendries, 174.1km
- Hill 9: Tenbosse, 181.6km
- Hill 10: Parikeberg, 184.9km
- Hill 11: Muur-Kapelmuur, 191.9km
- Hill 12: Bosberg, 195.8km
