Sonny Colbrelli starts season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad after breakthrough 2021

Tomorrow starts the much-loved opening weekend in Belgium, the weekend where the cobbled classics campaign officially starts and with the World Tour one-day race opener at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Bahrain Victorious' Sonny Colbrelli is set to return to competition, after conquering his first monument last year.

“The Opening Weekend is always hard and especially Omloop is a stress and challenge for every rider. We are here with a very strong team and they show already that they are in great condition with some starting their season this weekend," said team DS Enrico Poitschke.

He added: "The goal for both races is to obviously fight for victory and we have the leaders that we will work for in order to try and grab the win!”

Bahrain will have the season debut of Sonny Colbrelli who should, alongside Matej Mohoric, co-lead the team into a race that suits his characteristics. Although hard, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is not as selective as some of the other Belgian classics, and last year was a good example as a peloton of 45 riders made it to the finish in Ninove. The Italian has had two pre-season training camp in Gran Canaria, where Chris Froome is currently training, and should have a full tilt at the cobbled classics, perhaps having a revalidation of his Paris-Roubaix title as the main goal.

Bahrain Victorious for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad: Sonny Colbrelli, Matej Mohoric, Phil Bauhaus, Kamil Gradek, Heinrich Haussler, Luis León Sánchez and Fred Wright.