Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2026, February 28

[AmRacer]

Van der Poel was suffering from a back injury that wound up costing him the subsequent CX winter at the time, and it showed in every race he did.

Had anyone told him about the ramp

 

[Netserk]

very brief race action . static before , static afterwards

 

[James M]

Is this Van Dijkes best result of his career?

And youve got people crying over it hes done wrong isnt that just impressive haha the *** he suppose to do, do a WVA and Remco and duck every race their allowed too?

 

[Cycling111]

I won't criticize what Vermeersh did today. He believed in his chances, perhaps he overestimated them a bit. But it will be interesting to see if he conserves energy in Roubaix again, like last year, to finish in the top five, or if he'll pull like today to help a teammate.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Is this Van Dijkes best result of his career?

And youve got people crying over it hes done wrong isnt that just impressive haha the *** he suppose to do, do a WVA and Remco and duck every race their allowed too?

Guess how Van Dijke did that… by not working most of the time in the Van der Poel group!

 

[Samamba]

I don't understand how he managed to beat VDP in Roubaix. In the last sprints I've seen him in, he's been by far the slowest rider.

He got significantly slower at UAE. He's stronger, but slower.

 

[Cycling111]

He got significantly slower at UAE. He's stronger, but slower.

Are you sure? The Vermeersch of that Roubaix was very strong.
His season before UAE was marked by injury, but the season before that he was very strong.

I don't see much difference. The only difference is that he was 22 then, and he gets stronger with age, but otherwise I don't see a leap forward.

It's the same situation as Cosnefroy. Cosnefroy practically didn't race last year due to injury, but in 2024 he won 7 races and finished in the top 5 at Strade Bianche. But in Jaen, someone was said that he was stronger.
We'll see if Cosnefroy can match his 2024 season.

 

[fenns]

I wonder if Pogacar will ever have a go at this

 

[red_flanders]

Spectacular crash avoidance by MVDP! Uphill, cobbles, right in front of his wheel on the Molenberg!

 

[canina82]

So UAE was here to win according Wellens but Florian decided to work with MVP. Got it!

 

[Ilmaestro99]

A month at calpe in January and a month at Teide in February, 2 months hard training, no girlfriend, no wife, no kids, no friends, no beers, no late evenings, lots of efforts, you show up to your first big goal and you try nothing, do nothing , shrug your shoulders, wait for a sprint that you will lose. I hate modern classics riders.

 

[Unchained]

So UAE was here to win according Wellens but Florian decided to work with MVP. Got it!

I don't think that what Wellens or Florian did was counter productive to winning. It was no secret that with or without Wout , MVP was hands down favorite. Many things had to go perfectly to beat him if his legs were good. UAE rode a decent race, what should be concerning is the number of crashes they are having race after race after race. . looks like most of the time guys are dumping it, getting up and able to carry on, but in racing roulette that's not always a thing. Personally, I know backlash is coming, today one of the best bets to beat MVP would have been Remco, I was bummed that Pidcock really didn't show anything.. Had high hopes.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Dude that crashed in front of MVDP broke his front teeth, auch!

 

[Sciatic]

In principle, or in Racing 101, yeah Veermersh should just sit on MVDP’s wheel. But in reality, he knew just as we knew that MVDP was going to drop him and anyone else on the final 2 climbs. But he couldn’t know how close the chasing peloton might get as it covered the final 10 and threatened losing a podium spot, MVDP still did most of the pulling but working with him ensured the pace would stay higher and the gap remain larger. Or MVDP might have dropped the group sooner if no one was working.

 

[Sciatic]

I don't think that what Wellens or Florian did was counter productive to winning. It was no secret that with or without Wout , MVP was hands down favorite. Many things had to go perfectly to beat him if his legs were good. UAE rode a decent race, what should be concerning is the number of crashes they are having race after race after race. . looks like most of the time guys are dumping it, getting up and able to carry on, but in racing roulette that's not always a thing. Personally, I know backlash is coming, today one of the best bets to beat MVP would have been Remco, I was bummed that Pidcock really didn't show anything.. Had high hopes.

I didn’t see your post until after I wrote mine—I was saying the same but you beat me to it.

 

[Unchained]

Women's race could have had the script written weeks or months ago. Zero surprises.

I didn’t see your post until after I wrote mine—I was saying the same but you beat me to it.

I enjoyed the race as best I could because of coming in and out of sleep. I also enjoyed the conditions which were just bad\good enough. Classics season is shaping up to look pretty good.
Nuclear weapons coming out of the closet for Strade Bianchi.

 

[pastronef]

just watched the replay now. VDP has luck on his side. a few cm more and he'd be stopped by the Tudor rider.
luck aside, it sucks. strongest, but I can't stand him

 

[Oldman]

Spectacular crash avoidance by MVDP! Uphill, cobbles, right in front of his wheel on the Molenberg!

He ended up putting his pedal into the helmet of the crasher at 45km to stay upright. Didn't see movement from that dude afterward...Mathieu was very lucky at that point although he was clearly the overwhelming power today.

 

[jmdirt]

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/xRAVAJgorSE?si=jmVpIM4CvUjUMMhe

 

[Samamba]

Are you sure? The Vermeersch of that Roubaix was very strong.
His season before UAE was marked by injury, but the season before that he was very strong.

I don't see much difference. The only difference is that he was 22 then, and he gets stronger with age, but otherwise I don't see a leap forward.

It's the same situation as Cosnefroy. Cosnefroy practically didn't race last year due to injury, but in 2024 he won 7 races and finished in the top 5 at Strade Bianche. But in Jaen, someone was said that he was stronger.
We'll see if Cosnefroy can match his 2024 season.

I think he's a little bit stronger yeah, mainly uphill tho. It's true that he was strong at Lotto (with his femur fracture he never got to show it in his last year) and conditions like in Roubaix then and today too really suit him. But it's not a leap like some others at UAE no, I think mainly he got underrated at Lotto.

But I saw him sprinting better at his early days, as a neopro he was pretty fast even. Explosive sprints like today (going from slow to fast) do suit him less tho.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Chapeau to Mathieu for the win and sparing the Tudor rider. In moments like this it show what kind a person you are.

 

[postmanhat]

Better, closer race than Faun-Ardeche, but much less complaining in that thread.

Ardeche has poorer TV coverage, but it was clearly a better race, as shown by everyone arriving in ones or twos with big time gaps.

Moreover, surely no cycling fan is going to complain about the progress of Sexias? He's our only hope of competing against Pogacar/UAE in the next few years.

 

[AmRacer]

Ardeche has poorer TV coverage, but it was clearly a better race, as shown by everyone arriving in ones or twos with big time gaps.

Moreover, surely no cycling fan is going to complain about the progress of Sexias? He's our only hope of competing against Pogacar/UAE in the next few years.

VLAB has dominated the GT's for the last 5 years.

 

[Didinho]

 

[postmanhat]

I think he's a little bit stronger yeah, mainly uphill tho. It's true that he was strong at Lotto (with his femur fracture he never got to show it in his last year) and conditions like in Roubaix then and today too really suit him. But it's not a leap like some others at UAE no, I think mainly he got underrated at Lotto.

But I saw him sprinting better at his early days, as a neopro he was pretty fast even. Explosive sprints like today (going from slow to fast) do suit him less tho.

Yeah, I'm not sure Vermeersch would have been any better or worse, had he stayed at Lotto. His apparent progress at UAE is mostly due to him learning to avoid crashes, which he'd shown enough of in 2024, but then ended up towing De Lie around for a lot the season. Wish he stayed, but the prospects and, obviously, the salary were a no-brainer.