OFFICIAL: Mathieu van der Poel to open 2026 road season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as Alpecin confirm full Spring Classics programme
CyclingWednesday, 25 February 2026 at 10:29
The question mark has been removed. After weeks of uncertainty, Alpecin-Premier Tech have officially confirmed that Mathieu van der Poel will begin his 2026 road season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, following the completion of his first training block since the Cyclocross World Championships.
As previously indicated, Van der Poel waited until finishing a solid stretch of preparation before committing.
After several strong weeks on the bike, the Dutchman now feels race-ready and will line up at the Flemish Opening Classic.
The decision brings clarity to what had become one of the early storylines of the spring.
A programme built for the Monuments
Van der Poel’s spring schedule will closely mirror last season’s structure.
Following Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, he will ride Tirreno-Adriatico as preparation for Milano-Sanremo, the first Monument of the year. From there, the focus shifts squarely to the cobbled block: E3 Saxo Classic, In Flanders Fields Middelkerke-Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix.
It is a familiar blueprint, but one that has repeatedly delivered results.
Tirreno provides controlled race intensity before Sanremo’s explosive finale. E3 and the Flemish races sharpen positioning and endurance. Then come the two defining cobbled Monuments where Van der Poel has built much of his modern legacy.
Omloop sets the tone
What makes this confirmation significant is not simply the programme, but the timing.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is not always Van der Poel’s preferred road opener. His springs are typically built around carefully timed peaks, with condition rising steadily toward Sanremo and the cobbled Monuments. Choosing to start at Opening Weekend signals confidence in how his winter block has progressed.
It also injects immediate intrigue into the Classics season.
The rivalry between Van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar has defined recent editions of Milano-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. While Omloop itself may not feature that head-to-head dynamic, the Belgian opener now becomes the first reference point for Van der Poel’s road form heading into another Monument campaign.
After publicly stating that the final call would be made during race week, the Dutchman has now delivered that decision.
The Classics are calling. And Van der Poel has answered.
Mathieu van der Poel's Spring Calendar
| Date | Race |
| 28.02 | Omloop Het Nieuwsblad |
| 09.03–15.03 | Tirreno-Adriatico |
| 21.03 | Milano-Sanremo |
| 27.03 | E3 Saxo Classic |
| 29.03 | In Flanders Fields (Middelkerke-Wevelgem) |
| 05.04 | Ronde van Vlaanderen |
| 12.04 | Paris-Roubaix |
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- Oops, my bad, I thought he wasn't riding the TDF this year. So he's attempting the Giro-TDF double? Brave decision. We'll have to see how that one pans out. Not sure it's the best preparation for the Tour, if he has genuine ambitions for the win, but good luck to him. A bit daft to say his palmares would be better if he hadn't competed against Pog, of course it would, but you could say the same for the unfortunate rivals of Merckx, Hinault and Indurain. Having said that, his legacy will still be up there with the best when he decides to call it a day. I definitely don't want to give the impression that I don't admire his performances. By the way, who is disrespecting Vini? Most cycling fans are now paying for the privilege of watching professional racing, so we want to see the best competing with the best. I think this also gives us license to comment on the performance of these outstanding and highly paid superstars. I get that some people are sensitive, but as a rider, you can either let negative comments control your emotions like a puppet master, or you can use them to fuel your response and prove people wrong. Don't forget that Pogacar and MVDP have their critics as well, but they still keep winning.Pogthegoat25-02-2026
- What a great news!averagecyclist25-02-2026
- Groenewegen's wheels are the most rounded, Fretin's slightly more distorted, Girmay's next and Moschetti's is the most distorted. It's obviously to do with proximity to the camera. All photo finish images look like this because otherwise the riders closer to the camera will appear further in front.
Rafionain-Glas25-02-2026 - On the matter of winning all 3 GTs, Jonas would certainly move ahead of Tadej on the list of greats. Jonas would be the 8th rider to join the Triple Grand Tour club, and Pogačar would not be part of it (yet). Pogačar might go to La Vuelta and win or he might be too tired or both.Rafionain-Glas25-02-2026
- You are right on that point and yet you don’t notice his back wheel is naturally round as opposed to the rider at the front who not only has distorted oval wheels but also a distorted hunchback. Obviously the camera distorts different distances differently and so what we see isn’t representative of the moment. I assume and hope the technical staff know how to interpret everything perfectly like radiologist staff at hospitals can see what seems like a mess to us. The finish line is obviously defined even if maybe artificially highlighted but an obvious question for me to them to clarify how it all works would be, if you « undistort » the front riders image does that stretch his front wheel over the line?Mistermaumau25-02-2026
- With or without a moped?Mistermaumau25-02-2026
- You noticed the words « I think »??? So already definitely not a lie. I’d be interested to interview you on a range of subjects to see how you hold up with answers that others would dissect in any way they would see fit for their agendas. Do I need to explain the rest to you in more detail too or are you now recharged for rethinking it all through HIS perspective as opposed to yours, after all, that id the position he is speaking from, regardless of your opinion of him.Mistermaumau25-02-2026
- The way I see Vin getting treated by most I’d totally forgive him for avoiding the Tour to deny them more opportunities for disrespecting someone who without the presence of Tadej would have achieved one of the most impressive GT palmares ever. It seems like most just want him to confront Tadej in order to be fed material to continue bashing him. If he were to retire, that loud crowd would be devastated by the emptiness of their lost purpose if they didn’t have a Remco to transfer it onto. All that without even considering that he has announced he will be doing the Tour, so why even start analysing all this based on completely unpredictable results. Maybe the Giro will lake him stronger, maybe Tadej will get injured, maybe he’ll have an issue or crash at the Tour (luck doesn’t last forever). Obviously a Vin win in such a scenario would put him in an even worse situation in those people’s view but no point in dealing with that unless it happens.Mistermaumau25-02-2026
- Unless you are extremely young, inobservant or poorly informed you must have been taken in by all those with an agenda. There are very few parts of the world that have not undergone changes too large or fast to be explained by natural variation. Not every place or situation is going to suffer or get worse but many will. Changing dates won’t help (and will clash with Giro and Vuelta regardless of whether their dates swap) unless the WHOLE cycling calendar gets reviewed based on weather expectations. Stage timing might be the only solution and considering the only real reason for late starts is spectator comfort it shouldn’t matter too much, they can adjust, especially given everyone (numerous time zones) now has portable devices. The majority of group training rides (even in winter) are early so I doubt pros would be very resistant to earlier starts if media and other obligations were limited to post race. Heat is regularly discussed as an issue for health, pollution less so and I’d be interested what the protocol is for days of extreme pollution after witnessing a calima on holiday (sahara sand mists that cut the lung tissue when inhaled). All cycling tours hot cancelled, warnings to the general population went out but of course most cycling tourist were either unaware or ignored it and started long strenuous climbs to the worst altitudes during peaking pollution. Long-term consequences are probably still unknown but I’ve rarely seen any cyclist light up a cigarette on a tough climb (a few during a regular outing though) which probably isn’t worse.Mistermaumau25-02-2026
- Nah, that's definitely wrong. Look at all the wheels - they are all supposed to be distorted and oval-shaped. Their super-imposed wheel for Dylan's bike is a circle and therefore not realistic.Pogboom25-02-2026
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