Mathieu van der Poel Dominates Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2026 with Stunning Solo Win

The name of Mathieu van der Poel is now also on the honor roll of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad after today. The Dutchman kept a cool head in a very chaotic and incident-filled edition of the Flemish season opener, broke away from his last rivals on the Muur van Geraardsbergen, and soloed impressively to victory.

The season has been underway for a while, but for many cycling fans, it all truly started on Saturday with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The decisive part of ‘the Omloop’ was again in the second half of the race, where the riders faced numerous cobbled sections and climbs. The ultimate selection points in the finale were once again the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg.

With Mathieu van der Poel a clear favorite lined up at the start in Ghent, the competition was strong as well, featuring big names like Tom Pidcock, Tim Wellens, Arnaud De Lie, Matthew Brennan, and Paul Magnier.

De Jong drops out of breakaway, Krijnsen gains new company
The initial attacks were quickly neutralized, but then three riders seemed to break away from the peloton. Dutchmen Jelte Krijnsen (Jayco AlUla) and Timo de Jong (Picnic PostNL) joined forces, gained the company of Belgian Michiel Lambrecht (Team Flanders-Baloise), and with that the break of the day appeared to be established. However, a crash involving De Jong and Lambrecht ended this adventure prematurely.

The remaining Krijnsen was soon joined by four riders who had successfully launched a counterattack: Alexis Renard (Cofidis), Clément Alleno (Burgos-Burpullet BH), Vincent Van Hemelen (Flanders-Baloise), and Alexys Brunel (TotalEnergies). The peloton – led by Alpecin-Deceuninck and Soudal Quick-Step, working for Van der Poel and Magnier – allowed the gap to grow to around four minutes.

Chaos reigns: multiple crashes and misfortunes
This was the maximum lead, as the pace significantly increased approaching the first ascent of the Eikenberg. This triggered some nervousness and a first big crash, but the top favorites came out unscathed. They kept their powder dry in the following kilometers, partly due to the headwind, but the throttle was turned back up on the way to the Haaghoek.

However, this was accompanied by a new, even bigger crash. About eighty kilometers from the finish, many riders went down. The main victim was Kaden Groves, but everyone was able to continue and rejoin the peloton. Unfortunately, this was not the last time the peloton was shaken by a crash, as just over sixty kilometers from the end another incident occurred involving many riders again.

In short, the finale of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was not yet packed with racing spectacle but definitely full of incidents. Several crashes in the peloton were accompanied by misfortunes for Paul Magnier and Jasper Philipsen. The two sprinters then faced a chase to get back. Meanwhile, the role of another top favorite – Tom Pidcock – seemed already over. The Brit, who earlier in the race suffered mechanical issues and spent a long time at the back, had to let the peloton go on the cobbles of the Eikenberg.

Van der Poel stays miraculously upright, then launches the attack
The runaway peloton – still without Magnier and Philipsen – rode at a blistering pace towards the foot of the always critical Molenberg. It was Florian Vermeersch who first of the favorites got onto this climb. Van der Poel followed in his slipstream but then experienced a scare. His fellow countryman Rick Pluimers crashed right behind him in second position.

Van der Poel seemed to have no room or time to avoid the crash but miraculously managed to stay upright. He then used explosiveness (and probably adrenaline) to close the gap to Vermeersch and almost immediately took the lead. After topping this cobbled climb, Tim van Dijke managed to bridge up to the duo, and then the chase was on after the remaining escapees.

Superior Van der Poel breaks away from everyone
Vermeersch, Van Dijke, and Van der Poel quickly reeled in the remaining escapees Renard, Van Hemelen, Krijnsen, and Brunel, then rode at a steady pace towards the foot of the Muur. About a minute behind, Lotto-Intermarché and Visma | Lease a Bike tried to shake things up in the now heavily thinned peloton, but the better cards were clearly held by Van der Poel and Vermeersch.

On the cobbles of the Muur, Van der Poel disposed swiftly of his last rivals. While Vermeersch seemed to suffer from a gear problem, the Dutchman powered over the cobbles. He reached the top of the Kapelmuur with a comfortable lead, then switched on the turbo and kept extending his advantage on the Bosberg and the final flatter kilometers towards Ninove.

Van der Poel then seemingly effortlessly glided to his first victory in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. After the Dutch favorite's glorious finish, the sprint for second place was eagerly anticipated. After nearly five hours of racing, Van Dijke proved clearly faster than Vermeersch and thus surprisingly finished second for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.