The 2026 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will take place on Saturday 28 February, a race on the WorldTour calendar that also inaugurates the period of the Northern Classics.

The route is slightly longer than last year: 207.2 km. There will be an additional wall, for a total of 12 short climbs and eight cobblestone sections.

After the start in Ghent, the riders will face the first cobblestone sector after 33 km, then come the walls including the Leberg (950 meters at 4.2%, peaks at 13.8%) and the Eikenberg (1200 meters at 5.2%, with a maximum of 10%).

The race kicks off with the long cobbled section of Lange Munte (2,500 meters), located at km 112.5, followed by another passage through Haaghoek and Leberg. From here, the riders tackle a loop full of difficult climbs, culminating in the Molenberg (500 meters at 7%), located approximately 45 km from the finish.

At that point the race heads towards Ninove, with the final passage over the Leberg and then the Berendries (940 metres at 7%), positioned 33 km from the finish.

New for 2026 are the Tenbosse (1.2 km at 3.6%, peaking at 9%) and the Parikeberg (800 meters at 4.7%, with sections at 8%), which precede the Kapelmuur, the famous Muur in Geraardsbergen. Its 475 meters of cobblestones at an average 9.3% gradient, with ramps reaching 19.8% 16 km from the finish. The final climb, the Bosberg (980 meters at 5.8%, peaking at 11%, and 400 meters of cobblestones), is 11 km from the finish.

Mathieu Van der Poel has decided to participate, so he's a clear favorite. It remains to be seen whether he'll already be in good shape or whether he'll be available to teammate Jasper Philipsen, who hasn't looked at his best in his early outings of the season.

Visma responds with Wout Van Aert (although his condition after the cyclocross injury remains to be seen), Christophe Laporte (who crashed in Andalucia after winning a stage), and Matthew Brennan. Other riders who could perform well include Paul Magnier, Biniam Girmay, Tim Wellens, Thomas Pidcock, Arnaud De Lie, Tobias Andresen, Mathias Vacek, and the winner of the 2025 edition, Soren Waerenskjold.

Watch out for men from the North like Dylan Van Baarle, Florian Veermersch and, for a good placement, Matteo Trentin.

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