The first race of Opening Weekend and thus the 2024 spring Classics season comes with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, this year featuring a 202.2km course – shortened by 5km from 2023 – starting in its usual spot at 't Kuipke velodrome in Gent and taking on numerous cobbled sectors and climbs on the road towards Ninove.
The peloton will tackle 12 climbs, 11 of which lie in the second half of the route, and nine cobbled sectors which are equally backloaded. The cobbles of Haaghoek and the climb of Leberg are the only difficulties inside the opening 50km before the riders tackle two looping circuits before heading towards the decisive finale at the Muur van Geraardsbergen and Bosberg.
Following those early challenges, there lies a 48km section of route without any major challenges, bar some unclassified hills, before the Lange Munte section of cobbles just before the halfway mark.
After that, once the race passes through Oudenaarde after 99.7km, the cobbles and climbs come thick and fast. Hills set to whittle down the peloton include the likes of the Kattenberg, two return trips to the Leberg, plus the Valkenberg, Wolvenberg, Molenberg, and Berendries.
The crunch time comes after 186.5km of racing when the riders will tackle the famous climb above Geraardsbergen to the church on the hill – the Muur. Made famous as a long-time key point in the final of the Tour of Flanders, it now plays the same role at Omloop, with the tarmac climb of the Bosberg at 190.4km providing one final launchpad before the ride east to Ninove.
After switching the finish line in the town for 2023 – from Onderwijslaan to the wider, slightly more uphill Elisabethlaan – the 2024 race finish continues with the same venue.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor before being hired full-time. Her favourite races include the Paris-Roubaix, Tour de France Femmes, Tro-Bro Léon, and cycling's fourth Grand Tour, the Volta a Portugal.
