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The road season is about to properly kick into gear in mid-February. Australia is already behind us and attention is shifting to other parts of Europe and the Middle East — but for many cycling fans, spring truly begins with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Three weeks out, the first provisional start list for the race on 28 February has been published.
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To be clear: this first list is an indication and far from definitive. Eight of the teams currently listed have not yet submitted any rider names: Visma | Lease a Bike, Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Decathlon CMA CGM, EF Education–EasyPost, Soudal Quick-Step, Jayco AlUla and Lotto–Intermarché.
Alpecin–Premier Tech already has seven names on the list, but — like every other team — those can still change. Team leader Mathieu van der Poel said after his cyclo-cross World Championship victory that he will only make a final decision about riding the Flemish opener one week before the race, based on how he feels in training.
For now, that means he is not included — and neither is Jasper Philipsen — so Alpecin–Premier Tech are currently down (via the list published by Flanders Classics/FirstCycling) with riders including Kaden Groves and Edward Planckaert.
Continue reading below the photo!
Mathieu van der Poel will decide on participation one week before the Omloop.
Vollering set for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad?
Other well-known names on the provisional list include Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers), Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), Biniam Girmay (NSN), defending winner Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X), Alberto Bettiol, Mike Teunissen (XDS Astana), Tom Pidcock (Pinarello–Q36.5) and Lukáš Kubiš of Unibet ROSE Rockets.
On the women’s side, the name that stands out is Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ). The Dutch rider has not yet officially communicated her road-season opener, but it now looks as if she will start the season on 28 February in Gent, at ‘t Kuipke, for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
First preliminary start list Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2026
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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Latest Comments
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
- Was Bernal’s 20th place really their best GC result? I thought he might have finished higher. Either way, it sounds like a rough Tour for the whole team.gearguru3310-11-2026
- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026
- The Onley Vuelta example makes sense: a team with someone to rally around often looks much more cohesive. Hopefully INEOS can build on that rather than expecting a quick return to the Sky years.cadencekingm10-11-2026
- Thomas is right about the ambiguity. Eight riders all chasing stages can end up pulling in different directions, even if nobody’s deliberately working against anyone. They need a clearer plan once the GC leaders are out.robert6510-11-2026
- What a mess. The report makes it sound as though nobody properly explained the decision, and that’s hard to defend.jennifer1910-11-2026
- I’m still learning the rules: does moving left in a sprint automatically bring a penalty, or does it depend on whether the other rider is blocked? It sounds like Brand wasn’t impeded here.patriciaw10-11-2026
- A final decision still needs a proper explanation. If the federation’s complaint goes nowhere, I hope the officials at least review how they handled the riders afterwards.michael5410-11-2026
- Fair play to Lucinda for saying Marie had won fair and square. That kind of sportsmanship matters, especially after such a controversial decision.raceready710-11-2026
- Schreiber beat Brand on the road, so the jury needed to explain clearly why that slight deviation warranted relegation. Being cut off before she could give her account sounds appalling.lindae10-11-2026