The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is the starting signal for the classics season every year. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Premier Tech) won the 207-kilometre race, which featured a number of slip roads and cobblestones, with great superiority.
For Belgian cycling, it's a kind of public holiday: the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the so-called "Opening Weekend" marks the start of the classics season. It is therefore almost surprising that Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Premier Tech), one of the greatest classics riders, has never taken part in the race. The Dutchman made his debut in 2026 - and won the race at his first attempt.
A total of twelve slip roads and eight cobbled sections awaited the riders on the 207 kilometres between the start in Oosterzele and the finish in Ninove. A highlight was the 1100 metre long and notorious wall of Geraardsbergen (Kapelmuur) 16 kilometres before the finish - with a gradient of up to 20 percent. There, van der Poel left his last two companions Florian Vermeersch (UAE - Emirates - XRG) and Tim van Dijke (Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe) behind him with an attack and rode to the finish as a soloist.
21 seconds behind the Dutchman, van Dijke secured second place ahead of Vermeersch in the sprint. Another group of around 20 riders reached the finish around a minute behind van der Poel - Christophe Laporte (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) won the sprint for fourth place. Nils Politt (UAE - Emirates - XRG) was also part of this group and finished the race in 14th place.
Belgian rider Wout Van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) had to cancel his participation a few days before the race due to illness.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2026 - Results
How Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2026 went
Immediately after the start, a trio consisting of Jelte Krijnsen (Jayco - AlUla), Timo De Jong (Picnic PostNL) and Michiel Lambrecht (Flanders - Baloise) broke away. However, De Jong and Lambrecht crashed shortly afterwards, meaning that Krijnsen initially continued his breakaway attempt as a soloist. Only after around 40 kilometres did he receive support from Alexis Renard (Cofidis), Vincent Van Hemelen (Flanders - Baloise), Clement Alleno (Burgos - Burpellent - BH) and Alexis Bruynel (TotalEnergies).
The group was let go by the peloton and built up a lead of over four minutes. In the peloton, it was mainly Soudal - Quick Step and Alpecin - Premier Tech who organised the chase. It was not until the second half of the race that the race reached its classic profile, with ten of the twelve slip roads and cobbled sections.
The riders also had to contend with the rain and wind, which led to several crashes - including Kaden Groves (Alpecin - Premier Tech), Stefan Küng (Tudor) and Matteo Trentin (Tudor).
The race gets moving on the Molenberg
With 45 kilometres to go, Florian Vermeersch (UAE - Emirates - XRG) attacked on the Molenberg and was accompanied first by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin) and later by Tim van Dijke (Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe). A few kilometres later, the trio reached the three remaining breakaway riders Krijnsen, Renard and Van Hemelen.
The large chasing group was around a minute behind at this point. Team Visma | Lease a Bike in particular endeavoured to chase down sprinter Matthew Brennan, who took over the captain's role in the Dutch team in the absence of Wout Van Aert. Another crash involving Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Intermarché), Dries De Bondt (Team Jayco AlUla) and Marco Haller (Tudor) set the group back further.
Van der Poel in a class of his own on the Geraardsbergen wall
As expected, van der Poel shook off his two companions Vermeersch and van Dijke at the Geraardsbergen wall 16 kilometres before the finish. Almost playfully, van der Poel pulled out a lead of 30 seconds. Behind them, it was all about the other podium places. Vermeersch and van Dijke worked well together, however, and eventually managed to save a few seconds ahead of the chasers. Van der Poel, however, had long since crossed the finish line and was cheered on.
