Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and holds significant prestige because of it. Since 2017, the race is part of the UCI World Tour, cycling's top-tier professional events.
Greg Van Avermaet is a retired Belgian professional cyclist. Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling, Van Avermaet was a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also won stages and the general classification in stage races, particularly when run on a hilly terrain, such as the 2016 Tirreno–Adriatico, and the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire. His strong sprint finish enabled him to win sprints of small lead groups, but he has also won races after solo breakaways.
Niki Terpstra is a Dutch former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2022 for six different teams. He is the brother of fellow racing cyclist Mike Terpstra. He is the third Dutch cyclist to have won both of the cobbled Monument spring classics, Paris–Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, after Jan Raas and Hennie Kuiper.
Elizabeth Mary Deignan is an English professional world champion track and road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Lidl–Trek. She was the 2015 World road race champion.
Ian Dexter Stannard is a British former professional track and road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2020 for the Landbouwkrediet–Tönissteiner, ISD and Ineos Grenadiers teams, before retiring after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. He now works as a directeur sportif for UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers, having previously held the same role for UCI Continental team Trinity Racing.
Sep Vanmarcke is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2010 and 2023 for Topsport Vlaanderen–Mercator, Garmin–Cervélo, Blanco Pro Cycling, Cannondale–Drapac, and Israel Start-Up Nation. On 7 July 2023, he announced his immediate retirement after a cardiac scan revealed scar tissue on his heart forcing him to stop racing.
The 2011 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad took place on 26 February 2011. It was the 66th edition of the international classic Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. This year's Omloop started and ended at St. Peter's Square in Ghent, Belgium and spanned 203 kilometers in the province of East Flanders. The race was the first 1.HC event in the 2011 UCI World Ranking.
The 2012 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad took place on 25 February 2012. It was the 67th edition of the international classic Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. This year's Omloop started and ended at St. Peter's Square in Ghent, Belgium and spanned 200 km (124.3 mi) in the province of East Flanders. The race was the first 1.HC event in the 2012 UCI Europe Tour.
Tiffany Jane Cromwell is an Australian road and gravel cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Canyon–SRAM.
Jasper Stuyven is a Belgian professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Lidl–Trek. He is considered to be a classics specialist, and has won several major races including the 2021 Milan–San Remo, one of cycling's monuments, the 2020 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the 2016 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. He has also had success in stage races, winning the overall classification of the 2019 Deutschland Tour as well as a stage of the 2015 Vuelta a España. Stuyven has also competed in six editions of the Tour de France, finishing on the podium several times on different stages.
The 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was the 70th edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad road cycling race, traditionally seen as the beginning of the cobbled classics season along with the Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne the following day. It was rated as a 1.HC race as part of the 2015 UCI Europe Tour. The race took place on 28 February 2015, starting and finishing in the city of Ghent.
The 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – Women's race was raced on 28 February 2015. It was the 10th women's edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The race started and finished in Ghent, Belgium, totaling 120.5 kilometres in the province of East Flanders. Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen won in a two-up sprint with Ellen van Dijk.
Christina Malling Siggaard is a Danish former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2014 and 2021 for the Firefighters Upsala CK, Matrix Fitness Pro Cycling, Team Virtu Cycling and Lotto–Soudal Ladies teams. Siggaard represented Denmark at the 2015 European Games in the women's road race, and also represented Denmark at the UCI Road World Championships and the European Road Championships.
The 71st edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was held on 27 February 2016. It was won by Belgian Greg Van Avermaet in a five-man sprint before Peter Sagan and Tiesj Benoot.
Lorena Wiebes is a Dutch racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam SD Worx. She rode for Parkhotel Valkenburg in the women's team time trial event at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships. She won the gold medal in road cycling at the 2019 European Games, beating her compatriot Marianne Vos in the sprint for the line. In May 2022, Wiebes won all three stages of the RideLondon Classique. In July 2022, she won the first stage of the Tour de France Femmes.
The 2020 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 29 February 2020 in Belgium, starting in Gent and finishing in Ninove. It was the 75th edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the fourth event of the 2020 UCI World Tour.
The 16th running of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad women's race in Belgium was held on 27 February 2021. Widely regarded as the start of the Classics season, it was a 1.Pro event on the women's international calendar. The race followed a similar route to that of the men's race, but was shorter and more straightforward at only 124.4 kilometres (77.3 mi), starting in Ghent and finishing in Ninove. For the first time, the women's race finished an hour after the men's race, allowing for the final hour to be broadcast live on television.
The 2021 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 27 February 2021 in Belgium, starting in Gent and finishing in Ninove. It was the 76th edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the second event of the 2021 UCI World Tour.
The 2021 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne was the 73rd edition of the Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne cycling classic. It was held on 28 February 2021 as a category 1.Pro race on the 2021 UCI Europe Tour and the 2021 UCI ProSeries. The race was 197 km (122 mi) long, starting and finishing in Kuurne, and featured several cobbled sections and climbs. The race formed the latter half of the opening weekend of the Belgian road cycling season with UCI WorldTour race Omloop Het Nieuwsblad held the previous day.
The 2022 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is a road cycling one-day race that took place on 26 February 2022 in Belgium, starting in Gent and finishing in Ninove. It was the 77th edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the second event of the 2022 UCI World Tour.
