Omloop het Nieuwsblad 2024: Route, TV, history - everything you need to know about the start of the classic season
Sebastian Lindner
· 20.02.2024
Saturday marks the start of the Belgian classics season. For years, the Omloop het Nieuwsblad on the opening weekend, followed by Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (followed by the Omloop van het Hageland for the women), has heralded the start of the cycling spring, in which cobblestones and short but steep hills play a major role. And the weather. Temperatures in the single digits or even just above freezing are not uncommon, nor is precipitation.
The Omloop is the first World Tour race (or Women's World Tour race) of the season in Europe.
Omloop het Niewusblad 2024: The most important facts in brief
- Date: Saturday, 24 February 2024, the men start at 11 am (finish ~ 4 pm), the women at 1:35 pm (finish ~ 5 pm)
- DistanceMen 202.2 kilometres, women 127.1 kilometres
- Start: Ghent, Target: Ninove
- Premiere: Men 1945, women 2006
- UCI category: World Tour, Women's World Tour
Digression into the history of the race
Once a rival race to the Tour of Flanders The Omloop was first held in March 1945, immediately after the liberation of Belgium by the Allies. As so often in the history of cycling, the daily newspapers were the driving force and organised the race. While the race was still called the Omloop van Vlaanderen at its premiere, it became the Omloop het Volk just one year later, making it clear to everyone which medium was behind the event (the Tour of Flanders was organised by het Nieuwsblad at the time).
The race started in Ghent and, with a few exceptions, this never changed. The Flemish Ardennes with its iconic climbs were only added to the programme in 1950. For a long time, the race also ended in Ghent before Lokeren became the finish line in the mid-1990s.
The race was given its current name in 2009 when het Nieuwsblad bought out the rival newspaper. A year later, the major race organiser Flanders Classic took over the organisation. Essentially, nothing changed on the route - that only happened in 2018. Because the Tour of Flanders moved its finish from Meerbeke-Ninove to Oudenaarde in 2012, the Muur of Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg were virtually free. In order to keep the traditional climbs prominent in cycling, the Omloop took over the finale of the "Ronde" and has since finished in Ninove.
The race has been cancelled three times in the past. In 1960 as a protest because the organisers felt unfairly treated by the UCI, and in 1986 and 2004 due to impassable, snow-covered roads. The 79th edition is scheduled for 2024. For the women, who have been racing the Omloop since 2006, it will be the 16th edition. A good three months after the elite, on 26 May 2024, the U23 - at least the men's - will also ride the Omloop.
Omloop het Nieuwsblad 2024: The route
Compared to previous years, the distance for the men has only changed marginally. As always since 2019, the 200-kilometre mark is broken, this time by 2200 metres. After the start, the profile of the race remains relatively subdued for the first 100 kilometres or so compared to the second half. The Leberg, which is ridden three times in total, is only one of the twelve Hellingen on this section. Two of the cobblestone passages, the Kasseien, are ridden.
After that, it's all uphill and downhill. In the Ardennes between Oudenaarde and Zottegem, climbs and cobbles alternate in a lively fashion. It's all up and down, there are no more kilometres on the flat. Via Molenberg, Berendries and the Elverenberg-Vossenhol combination, it's time for the absolute finale. The 1200 metre long wall of Geraardsbergen 16 kilometres before the finish with its up to 20 per cent steep, cobbled bends and the 800 metres up the Bosberg four kilometres later bring the preliminary decision.
The women follow in the footsteps of the men, at least in the decisive part of the race. There are 127 kilometres on the programme for them, with the last 50 kilometres or so from Wolvenberg being identical - including the finish line on Elisabethlaan. The first 25 kilometres to Munkzwalm are also the same. After that, up to the cobbles on the Holleweg, which both genders have to overcome, they ride the section via Oudenaarde in the opposite direction to the men and forgo the middle section.
Omloop het Nieuwsblad: These are the Hellingen 2024
Men
- KM 39.4 - Leberg
- KM 103.6 - Kattenberg
- KM 113.2 - Leberg
- KM 138.1 - Valkenberg
- KM 148.6 - Wolvenberg
- KM 161.0 - Molenberg
- KM 168.5 - Leberg
- KM 172.6 - Berendries
- KM 175.0 - Elverenberg-Vossenhol
- KM 186.5 - Wall of Geraardsbergen
- KM 190.4 - Bosberg
Women
- KM 68.7 - Edelareberg
- KM 73.5 - Wolvenberg
- KM 85.9 - Molenberg
- KM 93.4 - Leberg
- KM 97.5 - Berendries
- KM 99.9 - Elverenberg-Vossenhol
- KM 111.4 - Wall of Geraardsbergen
- KM 115.3 - Bosberg
Omloop het Nieuwsblad: These are the cash registers 2024
Men
- KM 36.4 - Haaghoek
- KM 88.1 - Lange Munte
- KM 104.4 - Holleweg
- KM 110.1 - Haaghoek
- KM 119.3 - Paddestraat
- KM 146.0 - Holleweg
- KM 152.2 - Kerkgate
- KM 154.8 - Jagerij
- KM 165.5 - Haaghoek
Women
- KM 28.1 - Lange Munte
- KM 70.9 - Holleweg
- KM 77.1 - Kerkgate
- KM 79.7 - Jagerij
- KM 90.4 - Haaghoek
Omloop het Nieuwsblad: TV broadcast and live stream
The Omloop het Nieuwsblad will be broadcast both on TV and online via live stream. Eurosport 2 reports from 1:30 pm live from the races - first from the men, then from the women after the finish. It looks similar online. Discovery+ will be streaming from 13:30 and will be reporting on both races, including analyses, until around 18:00.
Omloop het Nieuwsblad 2024: The start list
Visma | Lease a Bike
- 1 Dylan van Baarle
- 2 Wout van Aert
- 3 Christophe Laporte
- 4 Tiesj Benoot
- 5 Jan Tratnik
- 6 Matteo Jorgenson
- 7 Edoardo Affini
Alpecin-Deceuninck
- 11 Jasper Philipsen
- 12 Michael Gogl
- 13 Quinten Hermans
- 14 Lars Boven
- 15 Oscar Riesebeek
- 16 Stan van Tricht
- 17 Gianni Vermeersch
Soudal - Quick Step
- 21 Julian Alaphilippe
- 22 Kasper Asgreen
- 23 Josef Cerny
- 24 Yves Lampaert
- 25 Gianni Moscon
- 26 Casper Pedersen
- 27 Warre Vangheluwe
Intermarche-Wanty
- 31 Biniam Girmay
- 32 Dries De Pooter
- 33 Hugo Page
- 34 Adrien Petit
- 35 Laurenz Rex
- 36 Mike Teunissen
- 37 Roel van Sintmaartensdijk
Arkea-B&B Hotels
- 41 Florian Senechal
- 42 Amaury Capiot
- 43 Mathis Le Berre
- 44 Alan Riou
- 45 Luca Mozzato
- 46 Lukasz Owsian
- 47 Jenthe Biermans
Astana Qazaqstan Team
- 51 Cees Bol
- 52 Yevgeniy Fedorov
- 53 Samuele Battistella
- 54 Max Kanter
- 55 Alexey Lutsenko
- 56 Ide Schelling
- 57 Rüdiger Selig
Bahrain-Victorious
- 61 Matej Mohoric
- 62 Kamil Gradek
- 63 Fran Miholjevic
- 64 Matevz Govekar
- 65 Andrea Pasqualon
- 66 Fred Wright
- 67 Dusan Rajovic
Bora-Hansgrohe
- 71 Jordi Meeus
- 72 Marco Haller
- 73 Emil Herzog
- 74 Bob Jungels
- 75 Jonas Koch
- 76 Luis-Joe Lührs
- 77 Cesare Benedetti
Cofidis
- 81 Axel Zingle
- 82 Aime De Gendt
- 83 Alexis Gougeard
- 84 Nicolas Debeaumarche
- 85 Alexis Renard
- 86 Nolann Mahoudo
- 87 Piet Allegaert
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
- 91 Oliver Naesen
- 92 Dries De Bondt
- 93 Sander De Pestel
- 94 Pierre Gautherat
- 95 Jordan Labrosse
- 96 Damien Touze
- 97 Edvald Boasson Hagen
EF Education EasyPost
- 101 Alberto Bettiol
- 102 Stefan Bissegger
- 103 Owain Doull
- 104 Mikkel Frölich Honore
- 105 Harry Sweeny
- 106 Jonas Rutsch
- 107 Michael Valgren
Groupama-FDJ
- 111 Stefan Küng
- 112 Sven Erik Byström
- 113 Lewis Askey
- 114 Olivier Le Gac
- 115 Fabian Lienhard
- 116 Clement Russo
- 117 Samuel Watson
Ineos Grenadiers
- 121 Thomas Pidcock
- 122 Leo Hayter
- 123 Salvatore Puccio
- 124 Luke Rowe
- 125 Connor Swift
- 126 Ben Turner
- 127 Cameron Litter
Lidl Trek
- 131 Jasper Stuyven
- 132 Otto Vergaerde
- 133 Alex Kirsch
- 134 Jonathan Milan
- 135 Toms Skujins
- 136 Tim Declercq
- 137 Edward Theuns
Movistar
- 141 Ivan Garcia Cortina
- 142 Johan Jacobs
- 143 Mathias Norsgaard
- 144 Oier Lazkano
- 145 Manlio Moro
- 146 Gonzalo Serrano
- 147 Albert Torres
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
- 151 Patrick Eddy
- 152 Sean Flynn
- 153 Bram Welten
- 154 Niklas Märkl
- 155 Tim Naberman
- 156 Frank van den Broek
- 157 Pavel Bittner
Team Jayco-AlUla
- 161 Luke Durbridge
- 162 Lawson Craddock
- 163 Anders Foldager
- 164 Amund Gröndahl Jansen
- 165 Christopher Juul-Jensen
- 166 Blake Quick
- 167 Campbell Stewart
UAE Team Emirates
- 171 Tim Wellens
- 172 Filippo Baroncini
- 173 Alvaro Hodeg
- 174 Antonio Morgado
- 175 Nils Politt
- 176 Michael Vink
- 177 Rui Oliveira
Lotto-Dstny
- 181 Arnaud De Lie
- 182 Victor Campenaerts
- 183 Jasper De Buyst
- 184 Cedric Beullens
- 185 Sebastien Grignard
- 186 Brent van Moer
- 187 Pascal Eenkhoorn
Team Flanders-Baloise
- 191 Alex Colman
- 192 Kamiel Bonneu
- 193 Lars Craps
- 194 Jules Hester
- 195 Elias Maris
- 196 Dylan Vandenstorme
- 197 Ward Vanhoof
Bingoal WB
- 201 Nathan Vandepitte
- 202 Ceriel Desal
- 203 Luca De Meester
- 204 Luca van Boven
- 205 Kenneth van Rooy
- 206 Jelle Vermoote
- 207 Louis Blouwe
Israel-Premier Tech
- 211 Dylan Teuns
- 212 Derek Gee
- 213 Krists Neilands
- 214 Riley Sheehan
- 215 Riley Pickrell
- 216 Tom van Asbroeck
- 217 Ethan Vernon
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
- 221 Fabio Christen
- 222 Kamil Malecki
- 223 Rory Townsend
- 224 Tobias Ludvigsson
- 225 Nicolo Parisini
- 226 Jannik Steimle
- 227 Cyrus Monk
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
- 231 Matteo Trentin
- 232 Jacob Eriksson
- 233 Alexander Krieger
- 234 Petr Kelemen
- 235 Arthur Kluckers
- 236 Marius Mayrhofer
- 237 Tom Bohli
Uno-X Mobility
- 241 Alexander Kristoff
- 242 Stian Fredheim
- 243 Markus Hoelgaard
- 244 Jonas Abrahamsen
- 245 Erik Nordsaeter Resell
- 246 Rasmus Tiller
- 247 Sören Waerenskjold
Omloop het Nieuwsblad: These are the winners of the last ten years
Despite its almost 80-year history, no rider has been able to become an absolute record winner of the Omloop het Nieuwsblad. The difficulties of the course and the necessary dose of luck have ensured that no one has won the race more than three times. The Belgians Ernest Sterckx (1952, 1953, 1956), Joseph Bruyere (1974, 1975, 1980) and most recently Peter van Petegem (1997, 1998, 2002) have each immortalised themselves in the annals of the race as winners three times. The only German winner was Andreas Kappes in 1991.
In the much shorter history of the women, several riders have already struck twice. Suzanne de Goede (2006, 2009), Emma Johansson (2010, 2011), Anna van der Breggen (2015, 2021) and Annemiek van Vleuten (2020, 2022) lead the list of winners. No rider from Germany has yet crossed the finish line. The best results were achieved by Angela Hennig in second place (2008) and Tanja Hennes (2006) and Trixi Worrack (2012) in third place.
Men
- 2023 Dylan van Baarle (Netherlands)
- 2022 Wout van Aert (Belgium)
- 2021 Davide Ballerini (Italy)
- 2020 Jasper Stuyven (Belgium)
- 2019 Zdenek Stybar (Czech Republic)
- 2018 Michael Valgren (Denmark)
- 2017 Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium)
- 2016 Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium)
- 2015 Ian Stannard (Great Britain)
- 2014 Ian Stannard (Great Britain)
- 2013 Luca Paolini (Italy)
Women
- 2023 Lotte Kopecky (Belgium)
- 2022 Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands)
- 2021 Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands)
- 2020 Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands)
- 2019 Chantal Blaak (Netherlands)
- 2018 Christina Siggaard (Denmark)
- 2017 Lucinda Brand (Netherlands)
- 2016 Lizzie Armitstead (Great Britain)
- 2015 Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands)
- 2014 Amy Pieters (Netherlands)
- 2013 Tiffany Cromwell (Australia)
