"It’s about being strong, but also about being super sharp and mentally ready to fight for positioning" is how Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) summed up her approach to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad this weekend, where she's aiming to be in the thick of the action and polishing her Classics racecraft even if her biggest goals of the spring are yet to come.
With 10 participations to her name in the Opening Weekend event, it's fair to say that Omloop Het Nieuwsblad holds few secrets for the Polish star, whose best performance was two years ago, when she placed seventh in the first chase group behind winner Marianne Vos and three other breakaway riders.
Niewiadoma then went on to finish fourth in Strade Bianche that year, a race in which she's hit the goalposts on many occasions but has yet to win. As she said in a team press release this week, she'll be targeting the Tuscan one-day race as her first big priority of 2026.
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But before that, there's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, of course. So after placing a promising fifth overall in the UAE Tour Women, her first race of the season and debut in the Middle Eastern WorldTour race, Niewiadoma is gunning for a good result in the very different, but much more familiar scenario of central Flanders this Saturday, too.
"I like starting my classics season with Omloop Nieuwsblad because it's a great race to get a reminder of what the spring Classics feel like. Of course, it’s about being strong, but also about being super sharp and mentally ready to fight for positioning," Niewiadoma said in a team press release revealing the full lineup for Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto this Tuesday.
"You have to be turned on from the start and keep fighting for your place in the peloton; it’s something that’s really easy to lose over the winter because you're just comfortably training on your own or with a small group. For me personally, Strade is the first big goal, so I just want to make sure that I have an opener before then."
"A successful Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for me would definitely be finishing with a podium spot. I would say that a successful race is when I feel like I can take my chance by creating a group or attacking. I’m not only following, but I'm actually making the race."
In terms of overall strategy, Canyon's lead sports director for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Rolf Aldag, pointed out that last year's race, in which the top favourites neutralised each other, was unlikely to materialise for a second straight occasion.
"I think in these races, every bigger group has to be taken seriously, because you do get really far in a break. It has a different rhythm; you don't have to sprint to every corner, and you can ride more steady. It’s looking like it could go that way this year – a lot of cross tailwind, so it will be fast and not that draining if you're in the breakaway," Aldag said.
Aldag added that he thought last year's race, with riders cancelling each other out and a four-rider early break staying away, was a very special situation, with bunch and team leaders at odds over who should chase.
"I would be surprised if that happens again, but if it does, you're better on the front foot than on the back foot, just sitting and waiting. I think it's going to be really interesting."
Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- Zoe Bäckstedt (GBR)
- Chiara Consonni (ITA)
- Tiffany Cromwell (AUS)
- Nastya Kolesava (BLR)
- Kasia Niewiadoma Phinney (POL)
- Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (POL)
