Mathieu Van der Poel starts his season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad » What the classics program looks like
Article by Mitica Docan – Published Thursday, February 26, 2026, 10:44 / Updated Thursday, February 26, 2026 10:52
The 31-year-old Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, the greatest classic cobbler of the current generation and one of the best in history, will start his season this weekend at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in Belgium, his Alpecin–Premier Tech team announced on Wednesday.
Van der Poel ended his winter cyclocross campaign undefeated earlier this month after winning a record 8 world titles before taking a well-deserved skiing holiday. World road champion in 2023, 3-time Tour of Flanders winner and 3-time Paris Roubaix winner, Van der Poel did a winter camp in Spain and makes his Omloop debut on cobblestones this season.
Van der Poel has never dominated the Omloop, with the last three editions being real shows of strength for the Visma (ex-Jumbo-Visma / Visma | Lease a Bike) team, with Wout van Aert (2022), Dylan van Baarle (2023) and Jan Tratnik (2024) taking impressive wins.
First held in 1945, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is traditionally the first WorldTour race to be held in Europe. This year, it is contested on February 28. Formerly known as Omloop Het Volk, its name comes from a newspaper that merged in 2008 with the Flemish daily Het Nieuwsblad.
What's next after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad?
After the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the 31-year-old rider will take part in the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race, followed by his usual campaign of one-day classics: Milan-San Remo, E3 Saxo Classic, In Flanders Fields (formerly Gent-Wevelgem), Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
“After several weeks of intense training, he feels competition-ready and confident to take the start at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the opening race in Belgium,” Alpecin-Premier Tech said.
“His schedule for the rest of the spring reflects last season's successful structure,” the team added.
Van der Poel, the 2023 world road champion, has won eight “Monuments” in his career, including the Tour of Flanders three times (equal record), Paris-Roubaix three times and Milan-San Remo twice.
Also a two-time winner of the E3 race, Van der Poel also won other one-day classics such as Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold and Dwars door Vlaanderen, but never won the Omloop.
Van der Poel, who also has stage wins in the Tour de France and Tour d'Italia, is among the main favorites at the Omloop alongside long-time Belgian rival Wout van Aert.
