Van der Poel and Van Avermaet fly up the Muur on Omloop recon — former winner logs rapid Bosberg time

"If MVDP calls… you just say yes,” read Van Avermaet’s Strava headline for the 118.8-kilometre ride. The duo rode through the finale of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, meaning the updated route — with small tweaks towards the Muur van Geraardsbergen — holds no secrets for the reigning cyclo-cross world champion (earlier this month).

They started from the Planet Group Arena (formerly Ghelamco Arena), the stadium of KAA Gent. Van der Poel and his team are staying in a hotel there. From Ghent, they rode along the Scheldt towards the Flemish Ardennes, then picked up the Omloop route from the second passage of the Haaghoek onwards.

There was no shortage of pace during the ride. On the Leberg, the two opened the taps — something Van der Poel also noted afterwards on Strava. “Fastest time on the Leberg today… now it really has to start tingling,” the Dutchman joked in response to Van Avermaet’s post.

According to Van Avermaet’s Strava data, he climbed the 860-metre Leberg (average gradient 5.5%) in 1:21, at an average speed of 38.3 km/h and 555 watts. On the steepest section — 300 metres at 7.9% — the Rio Olympic champion and current gravel rider reportedly pushed 720 watts.

Unsurprisingly, the world champion and Olympic champion drew plenty of attention out on the roads. A spectator filmed Van der Poel and Van Avermaet on the Kapelmuur, and the footage quickly made the rounds on social media.

They climbed the iconic hill (1.1 km at 8.7%) — smiling — in 4:17, at around 15 km/h. For context: that’s about a minute and a half slower than Van Avermaet’s personal best on the Muur van Geraardsbergen, where he once clocked 2:48.

The KOM on that climb belongs to Arnaud De Lie, who rode the Muur in 2:34 during the Renewi Tour — in the wheel of, yes, Mathieu van der Poel, with whom he tackled the stage race at the time.

On the Bosberg, Van der Poel and Van Avermaet recorded 2:47, which is also a conservative effort by their standards. The KOM on the final climb of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad belongs to Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe rider Laurence Pithie, who set a time of 1:35 during a training camp in late December 2024 — 12 seconds faster than runner-up Juan Sebastián Molano, who logged his time during the Brussels Cycling Classic 2024.

Still not had enough from Thursday’s recon rides? Former Omloop winner Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana) went up the Bosberg in a very quick 1:48 during his own reconnaissance, suggesting he has arrived in top shape after altitude work on Mount Teide.