First riders and teams explore Omloop Het Nieuwsblad course

The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is just around the corner, and several riders and teams have already come to preview the course of the Flemish opening classic. On Wednesday, we saw the riders of Soudal Quick-Step and Team Flanders-Baloise tackling the various cobbled sections and climbs.

The organizers certainly have no reason to complain about the starting list. With Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock, Tim Wellens, Matthew Brennan, Arnaud De Lie, Jasper Philipsen, and Paul Magnier, many top contenders will be present.

On the women's side, the start list looks just as impressive, featuring Lotte Kopecky, Demi Vollering, Lorena Wiebes, Anna van der Breggen, Liane Lippert, and Katarzyna Niewiadoma among others.

After the unofficial start and the team presentation at the well-known Kuipke in Ghent, the official start gun will fire again on Saturday in Merelbeke. The men's peloton will then have to cover just over 200 kilometers. The women are preparing for a race of 137 kilometers.

This year, the organizers have made the course even tougher. With the climbs of Tenbosse and the Parikeberg, there will be no quiet moment in the finale. Tradition holds that the Muur van Geraardsbergen, Bosberg, and the flat final twelve-kilometer run to the finish in Ninove will follow.