Kopecky, Wiebes, Vollering ready to battle after last year's upset – Analysing the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Women contenders

Opening Weekend is very nearly upon us, and with it the first European race of the Women's WorldTour, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Traditionally the opening Classic of the Belgian racing season, Omloop is always a hugely important and competitive event, and this year will be no different, with almost all of peloton's strongest rider's lining up on Saturday.

Last year, the favourites were denied a chance to go for victory after an extraordinary underdog win for Lotte Claes, who was riding for Arkéa-B&B Hotels at the time, so it follows that there might be an extra level of commitment to making sure it's a battle of the top riders this year.

That's what Omloop usually is, with recent editions coming down to contests between Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), plus Annemiek van Vleuten and Demi Vollering (FDJ-United-Suez).

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Vos won't be there this year and of course Van Vleuten is retired but Kopecky, Vollering, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) will all be in action, as well as defending champion Claes after a decision to not select her was reversed.

We have already analysed how Omloop Het Nieuwsblad can be won, so now it's time to think about who will win it. Here are Cyclingnews' top picks for the women's race.

Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)

Truth be told, you could count almost all of SD Worx-Protime's line-up as contenders for Saturday, given the Classics strength they have in their roster. However, logic tells us that leadership will be between Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes, who will both be among the very top favourites to win.

Kopecky is a former winner of Het Nieuwsblad, winning the 2023 edition with a demolishing show of strength on the Muur van Geraardsbergen and Bosberg. She also finished second in 2024, making it to the line in the leading duo but being beaten by Marianne Vos in the sprint. It's perhaps surprising that she hasn't won it more times, given it's a big home event for her and relentless climbs suit her strengths, but perhaps other goals have stopped her from going all-in so early in the spring campaign. This year, however, the 30-year-old is focused on the Classics and looking for redemption after a tough 2025, so will surely be hunting a win to start her season.

The main thing standing in her way is perhaps her own team dynamics, as Lorena Wiebes is very capable of winning here, too. Every year her climbing seems to get better and she becomes harder to drop, and if she's in the group that makes it to the line, it's pretty much impossible to beat her in the sprint, so Kopecky will have to drop her own teammate to go for the win uncontested. Wiebes said "we make agreements with each other, and that is fine" when asked about how the pair share ambitions during the Classics, but short of knowing what that agreement is, it's hard to predict how they'll play it on Saturday, and either could win.

Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez)

A rider who fled the leader-packed stable at SD Worx-Protime just over a year ago, Demi Vollering is returning to Omloop after finishing third last year, winning a lacklustre sprint from the bunch after the early breakaway denied them victory. She quickly turned that around to win Strade Bianche the following week, after two podiums she now must be sure that this is a race she can add to her palmarès, one of the few Spring Classics she's yet to win.

For Vollering, winning would probably come in the form of a big climbing attack, and she's strong enough to go it alone – maybe even doing so early, on the Muur perhaps. It's just a question of whether the Grand Tour winner can make enough of a difference on what are relatively short climbs in Belgium. All eyes will be on her and no one will let her get away easily, but with the strength she has around her, it might be hard to stop that.

Any of her teammates could be considered contenders, too, but particularly Juliette Berthet (née Labous) and Elise Chabbey. That's definitely plan B, though, if something goes wrong with Vollering as she's the leader there and if she's fit enough to win, their focus will be her as we know that squad is very good at singing from the same hymn sheet.

Liane Lippert (Movistar)

Movistar used to rely on the all-conquering Annemiek van Vleuten in the Classics, and it was always going to be hard to fill her shoes when she retired, but the team they've built since then is surprisingly strong and not to be underestimated.

Liane Lippert, already a winner of the Vuelta CV Feminas this year, has started the season in really strong form and looks to be knocking on the door of a strong Belgian Classics result – she always seems to be in the action but is yet to take a big win. For Lippert to win, she'd have to get away solo or in the right small group, but with her eye for a good move that doesn't seem impossible, plus the short, punchy climbs will suit her.

If attacking with Lippert doesn't work, Movistar also have a fantastic option in Cat Ferguson who excels in reduced sprint finishes at the end of a hard day. She's only racing her second Classics season – and first Omloop – after a baptism of fire in a handful of Belgian races last year, but she's a prodigious talent who can never be overlooked.

Elisa Balsamo and Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek)

Lidl-Trek are, on paper, a super strong Classics team, but they ended up a little light on wins in the spring last year after Elisa Longo Borghini's departure and they'll be looking to fix that in 2026. In Omloop, they have six riders and probably six options – Belgians Margot Vanpachtenbeke and Fleur Moors could do well on home soil, Anna Henderson has started the year well, and Loes Adegeest has an engine that isn't to be underestimated.

That said, we'd look at Elisa Balsamo and Shirin van Anrooij as their key chances for victory. Balsamo is already a multiple-time Classics winner and she has a real sticking power in difficult races, plus a good sprint. The only issue is imagining a scenario in which she both makes it to the end in the lead and gets there without a rider like Wiebes. Can it happen? Yes, but she'll have to be proactive in her racing and trying to get in a small move rather than waiting for any kind of mass sprint.

Their more climb-focused option will be Shirin van Anrooij, who is making her season debut on Saturday – the last time we saw her racing was that memorable day at the Gravel World Championships in October where she looked incredibly strong only to be caught be her own Dutch teammates. She had a slightly quiet 2025 on her return from iliac artery endofibrosis surgery, but let's not forget that she's a winner of Trofeo Alfredo Binda and had podiums at Flanders, Amstel and Dwars door Vlaanderen. She also finished fourth at Omloop in 2024. We don't know quite how she's firing so far in 2026 yet but if she's on a good day the podium or more could be hers.

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto)

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney is a rider who tends to ride into form and peaks around a few specific goals per year so there isn't a big expectation for her to be going for the win on Saturday but, as a Classics and Tour de France champion, she will always be a contender. If Kopecky and co make it hard in the climbs, Niewiadoma-Phinney is one of the select riders who should be able to follow and whilst her sprint can let her down in finishes she could still be looking at a good result.

It seems likely, though, that Canyon-SRAM might be one of the teams interested in keeping things together for a bigger, more sprint-friendly finish. Zoe Bäckstedt, who looked ultra strong in the UAE Tour, could definitely force her way to a good result in a finish like this as could Chiara Consonni, though her record here is not the best with 16th being her best result in six participations.

Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ)

UAE Team ADQ are without Elisa Longo Borghini for Opening Weekend but have a whole host of other options and look sure to animate the race. Their most consistent attacking option is probably Karlijn Swinkels, who is something of a breakaway expert, and has already won the Trofeo Binissalem-Andratx in January. She's finished in the top 15 three times in Omloop and without Longo Borghini she should fit into a more leadership role on Sunday.

However, UAE could also implement a more open approach, letting the road and the race decide who their leader is when it gets to the decisive moments. Almost any of their line-up could score a good finish here: Lara Gillespie is a fast-rising sprinter who shone in the Classics last year, Eleonora Gasparrini finished sixth here last year and Megan Jastrab is a solid all-rounder who is aiming for more with her new team this year. UAE Team ADQ are slowly becoming one of the real top teams in the peloton and a big win in Belgium could really help cement that.

Thalita de Jong (Human Powered Health)

Very few riders on the start list have as much experience as Thalita de Jong: she first raced Nieuwsblad all the way back in 2012 and has astonishingly consistent results since then, more often than not finishing in the top 20 and with her best result fifth in 2024. Somehow, the Dutchwoman is still only 32 and is yet to show any signs of slowing down, taking four top 10s already this season.

To be able to turn her longevity and consistency into a top result in a major Classic is surely a dream for De Jong and last year's surprise win for Lotte Claes will surely give riders like her hope that it is possible. With a strong team that includes Maggie Coles-Lyster, Kathrin Schweinberger and Lily Williams, could this be the year that De Jong pulls out a big result at Omloop?

Shari Bossuyt and Ilse Pluimers (AG Insurance-Soudal)

Similarly to UAE Team ADQ, AG Insurance-Soudal are a team that, on paper, don't have one major Classics star in their roster for Saturday, but do have a real depth of options. Their best chance at victory may be home rider Shari Bossuyt, who only returned to racing from a doping ban eight months ago, but has already made an impact and shown that none of her strength went away whilst she wasn't racing. Sprints at the end of attritional races are what suit Bossuyt and AG could make that happen on Saturday.

Keep an eye too on 23-year-old Ilse Pluimers who has been quietly racking up consistent results in the Belgian one-day races including a possibly forgotten ninth in Omloop last year. She's basically a perfect Classics rider in ability, powerful but also very handy in the climbs, and is knocking on the door of a stand-out result so take note of the name.

Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly)

Cédrine Kerbaol is a hugely exciting and attacking rider with a good one-day pedigree, but she's slightly sidestepped the Belgian cobbled Classics in recent seasons, so it will be really interesting to see how she takes on Omloop. Something of a daredevil descender with good climbing skills and a bold racing strategy, she could be primed for a late opportunistic move.

Honourable mentions

• As defending champion, it would be remiss of us to not mention Lotte Claes (Fenix-Premier Tech) and she'll certainly be fired up, although repeat victory seems unlikely
• Susanne Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) is a hardy rouleur-sprinter who has some great results in Belgian Classics
• Nienke Veenhoven and Daniek Hengeveld are both good options for Visma-Lease a Bike, who start on Saturday without their main stars
• Marjolein van 't Geloof (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) is probably one of the best hopes among the ProTeams, and already has two wins to her name in 2026
• Alexis Magner is making her European debut for EF Education-Oatly this weekend – she finished second here in 2018 as one of only two Americans to ever podium in the women's race

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