Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2020 weather forecast: Peloton can expect to be battered by gusts and downpours

We could be in for a show this Opening Weekend, as the Classics get underway with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

Weather for the first Classics of the year is looking inclement, with gusts and downpours expected throughout the weekend.

Another storm is expected to batter northern Europe this weekend, as Storm Ellen promises to bring high winds.

You can check the start list for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad here. 

Here is the forecast for Opening Weekend, according to the Met Office

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – Saturday, February 29 

The men’s edition kicks off at 11.35am local time (10.35am UK time) with the women’s peloton taking to the course 10 minutes after.

At the start in Ghent, its expected to be cloudy but not raining.

Temperatures will also be a relatively mild 10 degrees, but with a southern wind of 20mph and gusts from between 38 and 44mph.

By 1pm, the rain is expected to come down as the Met Office currently says there is a 60 to 70 per cent chance of downpours between 1pm and 4pm in Ghent.

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne – Sunday, March 1

Then for Kuurne, chances of rain are down but the wind should still be high.

Cloudy skies can be expected for the start of the race with a 20 per cent chance of rain. Winds are expected to be around 20mph in a south-westerly direction for much of the day, but there will also be gusts of 40mph, which could make for some sketchy moments in the peloton.

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Into the afternoon, the chances of rain increase to around 40 per cent at 1pm and continuing through until the evening.

But on Sunday the cold could be a factor, with temperatures sitting around around seven degrees while the win will make the ‘feels like’ temperature more like two or three degrees, so the hardened Classics riders may thrive in some challenging conditions.