Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2022: all you need to know

The 2022 cobbled classics kick off on Saturday, February 26, with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in Belgium.

The race is part two races on the weekend know as the 'opening weekend' for the Classics season with Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne being the race coming on the Sunday.

Organised by the same group as the Tour of Flanders, Flanders Classics run and promote both men's and women's races which take place on the same day. Women following the men with the former doing around 120km usually and the latter doing 200km plus.

The route is not yet known for the 2022 race but it does usually take on brutal cobbled climbs such as the famour Muur van Geraardsbergen, kicking off the northern Europe season in style.

This race often attracts some of the biggest names but it is not known whether riders such as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) will ride due to their cyclo-cross commitments.

However, it is likely that defending champion Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) will be starting along with the possible start for British rider and runner up in the 2021 event, Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ) also having a crack at going one place higher.

In 2021, Ballerini's team-mate and world champion Julian Alaphilippe made his Cobbled Classic debut at the race with an attacking display before helping Ballerini to victory.

In the women's race 2021 saw the then world champion and now retired rider Anna van der Breggen take the win in a solo move with another former world champion, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) taking the victory on the two years before her.

Women's racing is always incredibly exciting and unpredictable with predictions being incredibly difficult to make with so many different types of riders going up against each other.

Power houses with a fast finish such as legendary rider Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) as well as Belgian national champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) can come up against diesel engines like Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) and Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo) as well as slight climbers like Van Vleuten or Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope), not to mention the Trek duo of Elisa Longo-Borghini and Lizzie Deignan.

The race itself is named after the newspaper that sponsors it, Het Nieuwsblad, with Omloop roughly meaning circulation, loop or lap, much like Vuelta or Giro in Spain and Italy.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2022 route

The route has not yet been released but we will update this page as soon as it is.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2021 provisional start list

Men's Elite

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl

Trek-Segafredo

Ag2r-Citroën Team

VAN AVERMAET Greg
NAESEN Oliver

EF Education-Nippo

UAE Team Emirates

Team Jumbo-Visma

Movistar Team

Israel Start-Up Nation

Ineos Grenadiers

Team DSM

Lotto-Soudal

Cofidis

Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux

Astana Qazaqstan 

Bora-Hansgrohe

Groupama-FDJ

Team BikeExchange

Bahrain Victorious

Team TotalEnergies

Alpecin-Fenix

B&B Hotels p/b KTM

Team Arkéa-Samsic

Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces-Wallonie Bruxelles

Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise

Women's Elite

Movistar Team

Team BikeExchange

Team SD Worx

Liv Racing

UAE Team Emirates

Canyon-SRAM Racing

Drops-Le Col by Tempur

FDJ-Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope

Team DSM

Trek-Segafredo

Team Jumbo-Visma Women

Lotto-Soudal Ladies

Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling

Multum Accountants-LSK Ladies Cycling Team

Team Arkéa

Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport

Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire Cycling Team

Women Cycling Team

Hitec Products

NXTG Racing

Parkhotel Valkenburg

EF Education-Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank

Valcar-Travel & Service

Team Rupelcleaning

Uno-X Pro Cycling

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2022 TV guide

The race will most likely be broadcasted live on Eurosport on TV and on Eurosport.com as well as on GCN+ for the UK.

Social Media

Twitter (text updates)

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - @OmloopHNB

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad men's previous winners

2005: Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick-Step–Innergetic
2006: Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux
2007: Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
2008: Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux
2009: Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervélo TestTeam
2010: Juan Antonio Flecha (Esp) Team Sky
2011: Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank
2012: Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Garmin–Barracuda
2013: Luca Paolini (Ita) Team Katusha
2014: Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky
2015: Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky
2016: Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
2017: Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
2018: Michael Valgren (Den) Astana
2019: Zdeněk Štybar (Cze) Deceuninck–Quick-Step
2020: Jasper Stuyvan (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
2021: Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck - Quick-Step

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad women's previous winners

2006: Suzanne de Goede (Ned) AA Drink Cycling
2007: Mie Lacota (Den) Flexipoint
2008: Kirsten Wild (Ned) AA Drink Cycling
2009: Suzanne de Goede (Ned) Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung
2010: Emma Johansson (Swe) Red Sun Cycling Team
2011: Emma Johansson (Swe) Hitec Products-UCK
2012: Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) GreenEDGE-AIS
2013: Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Orica-AIS
2014: Amy Pieters (Ned) Skil Koga
2015: Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Rabobank-Liv
2016: Lizzie Armitstead (GBr) Boels-Dolmans
2017: Lucinda Brand (Ned) Team Sunweb
2018: Christina Malling Siggaard (Den) Team Virtu Cycling
2019: Chantal Blaak (Ned) Boels-Dolmans
2020: Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott
2021: Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Team SD Worx