The enthusiasm along the course, because the race is finally starting. Rows of spectators at the team presentation in ’t Kuipke, many cycling fans see their hero for the first time in that new beautiful jersey. Not for nothing, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is the one and only true season opener. On Saturday, February 24, 2024, the riders will rattle over the legendary Flemish cobblestones and hills for the first time this year. Cycling-Classics.com delves into the magic of the Omloop Het Volk and presents the preview of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024 with everything about the course and the favorites for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024!
When is the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024?
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024 will take place on Saturday, February 24, and is – as mentioned and well known to every cycling fan – the very first spring classic. In keeping with tradition, the Opening Weekend concludes a day later with Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2024 is scheduled for Sunday, February 25, 2024. A week after the Omloop, Strade Bianche 2024 takes place on Saturday, March 2, 2024. The first Monument is contested on Saturday, March 16, 2024: that’s when Milan-San Remo 2024 is raced.
Preview Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024
The Omloop. The first spring classic after a long winter month without a race. The first one, so an important one. And a beautiful one. Omloop Het Volk, as the race used to be called. Often on the last Saturday of February, occasionally the first of March – depending on the calendar. Sometimes with a delightful spring sun, frequently in deplorable conditions. While the Dutch are just recovering from the fact that the Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour) is canceled again, the Flandriens have been eagerly looking forward to the last Saturday of February for weeks. Lean back a bit too much, and you’ll fall back into the cyclocross season and the harsh winter. But with its cobblestones and hills, it’s the first of the spring classics. The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, it’s finally racing again!
“The Omloop is like a new spring, a new sound. I smell in the open air that it is imminent, that’s why it belongs to the end of February, early March. I even find it a pity that all sorts of other races abroad precede it. The Omloop is and remains the only opening of the cycling season. Everything that comes before that doesn’t count” — the legendary radio reporter Jan Wauters was firm and clear: the Omloop is the season opener.
The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad has traditionally – when it was simply called the Omloop Het Volk – been a race where the Flemish often come out on top. In the first 50 editions, the race was won by a non-Belg only 6 times. Especially Flemish cycling enthusiasts may still have some legendary editions vividly in their minds. Jan Bogaerts, who won the first edition of the Omloop Het Volk with two water bottles full of a mixture of twenty egg yolks, brown sugar, and a little cognac! Or, for example, Roger de Vlaeminck’s debut on the road with a win in 1969 or Eddy Merckx’s masterful victory in 1971. More recently, Peter van Petegem’s three wins, making him a joint record holder.
In the last roughly fifteen years, we’ve seen the globalization of the cobblestone classics reflected in the honors list of the Omloop: only five times a Belgian has won. Including Sep Vanmarcke (2012) and Greg van Avermaet (twice in a row in 2016 and 2017), both of whom retired last year. Wout van Aert is the last Belgian to win (2022), and Dylan van Baarle is the last Dutchman to win and the defending champion.
Before we dive into the course, one more Omloop from the old days. Exactly ten years ago, in the icy cold, the (then) relatively unknown Briton Ian Stannard and Greg van Avermaet would determine in a two-man sprint who could call themselves the winner of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2014. At that moment, both riders didn’t know that they would eventually each win this prominent opening classic twice.
“The winter is nothing more than the opening act for the Omloop Het Volk, the start of the cycling season. Yes, I also know that the Omloop is now called Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and that races have been held on six continents in recent months, but the Omloop Het Volk is tomorrow the start of the cycling season. Why? That’s why.” – Thijs Zonneveld about the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024 Course
’t Kuipke in Ghent is ready for a grand cycling festival on February 24. After the climbs of Kerkgate and Jagerij, the Molenberg marks the beginning of the finale again. At 41 kilometers from the finish, the cobbled climb in Zwalm is followed by the second passage over the famous duo Haaghoek-Leberg, which traditionally plays a crucial role in this opening classic. The Berendries is also part of the route before the race heads towards Geraardsbergen for the decisive phase of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Will the Muur-Bosberg combination once again be decisive? The successor to Dylan van Baarle will be celebrated at the finish on Elisabethlaan in Ninove.
The finale of the Omloop is, of course, the old finale of the Tour of Flanders. With the legendary duo Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg as the absolute arbitrator. Will Wout van Aert launch an attack on the Bosberg again, as he did in 2022? Or will another big name escape?
Start: ’t Kuipke in Ghent – 11:00 AM Finish: Elisabethlaan in Ninove – around 3:51 PM Distance: 202 km
Favorites for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024
Nothing is more challenging than predicting the first spring classic. But also for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024, the editors of Cycling-Classics.com will present a comprehensive overview of favorites and dark horses. After preparatory races such as the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana 1969, the Ster van Bessèges, the Clásica de Almería, but also the Tour of Algarve 2024, we will take stock.
Read now further in or special: favorites Omloop het Nieuwsblad 2024 or read or Dutch/Flemish voorbeschouwing Omloop het Nieuwsblad 2024 en favorieten Omloop het Nieuwsblad 2024 of or Belgium/Dutch sister at Voorjaarsklassiekers.be