Preview Omloop het Nieuwsblad WE 2026 - Vollering versus SD Worx on Opening Weekend

The women's peloton will be racing the Omloop het Nieuwsblad on the 28th of February. The Belgian classic, the first cobbled one of the spring, is a key point as riders test their winter form on the classic bergs of Flanders including the brutal Muur de Geraardsbergen. We preview the race, which is expected to start and finish at 13:45 and 17:15CET.

First raced back in 2006, the women's Omloop het Nieuwsblad follows a similar course to that of the men and carries a significant amount of history, with plenty quality winners in the past. In the last decade alone we've had victors such as Anna van der Breggen, Lucinda Brand, Lizzie Deingnen, Annemiek van Vleuten, Lotte Kopecky and Marianne Vos. The 2025 edition saw a shocking outcome as Lotte Claes too the victory from the day's breakaway, which was given a massive gap late into the race.

The women's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will feature a 137 kilometers and will see a first battle amongst the specialists. The race features a combined total of 9 bergs and 8 cobbled sectors (some of them combined) which combined will provide plenty opportunities for attacks, tactics to be played out, and plenty of excitement.

It is a race that is less tactical then the men, as the climbs make more damage in the peloton. Nevertheless the race should be decided on the same locations: The riders will go through the famous Muur de Geraarsdsbergen (1.2Km; 7%) and Bosberg (800m; 6.5%) combination before a slight downhill 12 kilometer-finale into Ninove.

*** Demi Vollering, Lorena Wiebes
** Lotte Kopecky, Elisa Balsamo
* Christina Schweinberger, Zoe Bäckstedt, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Cat Ferguson, Elise Chabbey, Shirin van Anrooij, Liane Lippert, Anna van der Breggen

Pick: Lorena Wiebes

How: Small group sprint.