Race route, who to watch and what to expect at the Spring Classics' opener in Belgium
Demi Vollering of Team SD Worx during the 2021 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad(Image credit: Getty Images)
Date: Saturday, February 26, 2022 Distance: 128km Start: Ghent - 1:25pm CET Finish: Ninove - 5:15pm CET Live coverage on Cyclingnews: start to finish
Join Cyclingnews forlive coverage of 2022 Spring Classics beginning at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and check in after each races for our full reports, results, galleries, news and features.
Opening Weekend will return as a two-race show again in 2022 with the 1.Pro Omloop Het Nieuwsblad scheduled on February 26 and Omloop van het Hageland, cancelled last year due to COVID-19, returning on February 27 in Belgium.
The bigger of the two races, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite Women, run by Flanders Classics, maintains its prestige as the commencement race of the Spring Classics. The women will race 128 kilometres between Ghent and Ninove.
This year marks the 17th edition of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite Women. The inaugural winner was Suzanne de Goede back in 2006, who won again in 2009. The one-day race has seen a host of champions on the top step of the podium including Mie Lacota, Kirsten Wild, Emma Johansson (twice), Loes Gunnewijk, Tiffany Cromwell, Amy Pieters, Anna van der Breggen (twice), Lizzie Deignan, Lucinda Brand, Christina Siggaard, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak and Annemiek van Vleuten.
The European season has officially already begun in Spain with the two openers the Vuelta CV Feminas, won by Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ), and Setmana Ciclista Valenciana stage race, won by Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), both events earlier in February.
Riders to watch
Belgian road champion Lotte Kopecky (Image credit: Getty Images)
Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar): There will be no defending champion on the start line as last year's winner Anna van der Breggen has now retired from pro racing. Van Vleuten, who won the race in 2020, returns as one of the favourites, particularly after showing her early-season form by winning the overall title at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana.
Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ): The Italian all-rounder has twice placed second at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, first to Chantal van den Broek-Black in 2019 and then Annemiek van Vleuten in 2020. She has already delivered this season winning Vuelta CV Feminas and will line up with renewed confidence in Ghent.
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx): The Belgian champion will be lining up with her new team SD Worx, and while she has always been a top contender at Omloop, this year she has a full team to back up her dream of winning it. Kopecky is versatile, capable of winning from a breakaway or a bunch sprint. She will be joined by former winner and new teammate Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, for a powerful one-two punch.
Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo): 2016 champion Lizzie Deignan will not be on the start line this year, having recently announced her second pregnancy, but the team still have a powerful contender in World Champion Elisa Balsamo, who recently won the opening stage at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, proving that there is no curse of the rainbow jersey, at least not for her. She will have the backing of time trial World Champion Ellen Van Dijk, who also won a stage at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, and Chloe Hosking, for another superb sprint or lead-out option.
Grace Brown (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope): Already off to a winning start, Brown secured the time trial title at the Australian National Championships. She then joined her new team at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana where she was fifth overall. Back on her preferred terrain in the Spring Classics, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is the perfect place to show off her aggressive racing style in pursuit of an early-season victory.
Alison Jackson (Liv Racing Xstra) - The Canadian champion has a powerful sprint and she's a punchy climber, which makes her well-suited to a wide range of races including the Spring Classics. She has previously shared some leadership roles but this year she might be given the chance to take on more responsibilities, so watch for her at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
Ruby Roseman-Gannon (BikeExchange-Jayco) - Already a break-out rider of the season, Roseman-Gannon won the criterium title at the Australian Championships, a stage and the overall title at Santos Cycling Festival, and secured a shock podium in her European debut at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana. The world is waiting to see what she can do in the Spring Classics.
Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) - Although Wiebes is targeting the green jersey at the Tour de France Femmes later this summer, don't discount her to be in winning form for the Spring Classics. In an interview with Cyclingnews, Wiebes indicated that the arrival of Charlotte Kool and return of Pfeiffer Georgi meant the team will be stronger than ever, particularly in the sprints and the trio will test their new lead-out formation at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
The Route
Flanders Classics have published the exact route details for the 2022 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. It's a notoriously tough race held under the colder, and often rainy, conditions of northern Europe.
The 128km route starts in Gent and will includes five cobbled sectors and nine climbs, two of which are cobbled; (Molenberg climbs has been removed in 2022) the final two ascents over the Muur-Kapelmuur (17km to go) and the Bosberg (13km to go) before the finish in Ninove.
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Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite Women 2022(Image credit: Flanders Classics / Omloop Het Nieuwsblad)
Cobbled sectors
Huidepontweg, 56km
Holleweg, 71km
Kerkgate, 77km
Jagerij, 80km
Haaghoek, 91km
Climbs
Edelareberg, 69km
Wolvenberg, 74km
Marlboroughstraat, 89km
Biesetraat, 90km
Leberg, 94km
Berendries, 98km
Elverenberg-Vossenhol, 100km
Muur-Kapelmuur, 112km
Bosberg, km. 116km
What to expect
The weather can be unpredictable at this time of year in Belgium, and although the race is notorious for cold, windy and wet condition, this Saturday is expected to be roughly 11°C and sunny.
The teams have united at two, some three, pre-season training camps and many of the top-tier squads have already begun racing in Spain, which was a great opportunity to get to know each other in a race setting and dial in team strategies.
The first races of the year always sparks some new-season nerves and so we can anticipate the peloton to shake out a few jitters during opening weekend, especially as riders continue to get to know their new teams for 2022.
We can expect aggressive racing at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, particularly over the route's more punchy terrain. The race is also one of the shorter distances on the calendar at 128km and that will add to the animation.
The last three editions have ended with solo victories by Dutch riders and nearly all have ended in various degrees of a breakaway sprints over the last 13 editions, with the exception of Kirsten Wild's sprint win in 2008, Suzanne de Goede's sprint wins in 2006 and 2009 and Christina Siggaard's reduced group sprint in 2016. However, there will be many teams with strong sprinters on the start line this year, so don't discount a bunch showdown in Ninove.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad teams
UAE Team ADQ
Team SD Worx
Trek - Segafredo
Team DSM
Team Jumbo-Visma
Canyon-SRAM Racing
EF Education-TIBCO-SVB
FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
Liv Racing Xstra
Uno-X Pro Cycling
Movistar Team
Team BikeExchange - Jayco
Arkéa Pro Cycling Team
Bingoal Casino - Chevalmeire - Van Eyck Sport
Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling
Cofidis Women Team
IBCT
Le Col - Wahoo
Multum Accountants Ladies Cycling Team
NXTG by Experza
Parkhotel Valkenburg
Team Coop - Hitec Products
Valcar - Travel & Service
Lotto Soudal Ladies
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
