How to watch the 2026 Omloop het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne live and on TV in the UK and USA - Dates, stages and schedules

On the 28th and 1st of March the peloton finally arrives to Belgium for the 'Opening Weekend'. The first two cobbled classics of the season, Omloop het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne, have not only a lot of reputation but are also key parts of the spring campaign as the main specialists for the cobbled races go head to head for the first time. Here is where and when to watch the race live, including on the United States and United Kingdom.

The race formerly known as Het Volk used to be an absolute benchmark in the spring classics; and although it's lost some of its importance in comparison with races such as Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders; it remains the first of the cobbled classics on the calendar; and kicks off the World Tour in Europe.

The race was first held in 1945 where Jean Bogaerts took the win. Roger de Vlaeminck, Eddy Merckx, Eddy Planckaerts, Jan Raas, Tom Steels, Peter van Petegem, Johan Buseeys, Frank Vandenbroucke... The list of presitigious winners goes on for days, and this is truly a race that only top riders can contest nowadays. It is a race for the pure specialists but also riders who can survive them and sprint well; which creates an interesting list of winners.

In recent decades we've also had Philippe Gilbert, Filippo Pozzatto, Thor Hushovd, Greg van van Avermaert and Wout van Aert amongst its winners. Whilst in 2023 and 2024 Visma took attacking wins with Dylan van Baarle and Jan Tratnik; 2025 saw a surprise with Soren Waerenskjold winning the race from a small bunch sprint.

The 2026 Omloop het Nieuwsblad will be held on Saturday the 28th of February. Stage dates and times (in Central European Time: CET) are as follows:

The race will be broadcast on the traditional channels, most notably Discovery, MAX and Eurosport.

In the United States and Canada it will be possible to follow the race on FloBikes; In the United Kingdom it will be possible to keep up with the race on TNT Sports.

First raced back in 1946, Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne features a tremendous amount of history, and is heavily corelated with Omloop het Nieuwsblad. Currently, the two form the so-called 'Opening Weekend'; which are the two cobbled classics that officially open up the spring calndar. Names such as Patrick Lefevere, Johan Museeuw and Edwig van Hooydonck can be found in the race's palmarès from many decades ago; whilst more recently modern legends such as Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan have all added their name to the list.

Since 2020, we've had an attack decide the race on three occasions; and a bunch sprint decide the race on three occasions. Kasper Asgreen, Mads Pedersen, Fabio Jakobsen, Tiesj Benoot, Wout van Aert and most recently Jasper Philipsen are all winners here. Last year, Philipsen won the race in a reduced peloton sprint, beating Olav Kooij to the line.

The 2026 Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne will be held on Sunday the 1st of March. Stage dates and times (in Central European Time: CET) are as follows:

The race will be broadcast on the traditional channels, most notably Discovery, MAX and Eurosport.

In the United States and Canada it will be possible to follow the race on FloBikes; In the United Kingdom it will be possible to keep up with the race on TNT Sports.