Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2025

Søren Wærenskjold takes surprise victory in thrilling bunch sprint finish / As it happened

The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad provided its usual fantastically bonkers start to the Classics seasons with attacks, tactical headaches, crashes and cobbles, but after all that it came down to a bunch sprint with Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) taking a surprise win ahead of Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). 

Information

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is typically the first WorldTour race on European soil, taking place in 2025 on March 1.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad has traditionally marked the opening of the Spring Classics and has been heralded by some as the beginning of 'serious' racing in Europe. The main spring period may be a little further away, but the gentle early-season racing is out of the way and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will set the tone for the spring.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, in its 80th edition in 2025, takes place in the heart of the Flemish Ardennes, on many of the same cobbles and bergs as the Tour of Flanders five weeks down the line.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was first held in 1945, and in that time, three editions have been missed - 1960, 1986, and 2004 - largely due to the wintery conditions that often strike Belgium in February.

Formerly known as Omloop Het Volk, the name stems from a newspaper which merged in 2008 with the Flemish daily Het Nieuwsblad.

Together with the 1.Pro Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne the next day, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad forms one part of what's widely known as the 'Opening Weekend'.

Jean Bogaerts was the first winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Belgians have gone on to dominate the race, with only 20 winners from outside the home nation. Three Belgians - Ernest Sterckx, Joseph Bruyère, Peter Van Petegem - hold the joint record of three victories.

Last year, Jan Tratnik delivered another victory for Visma-Lease a Bike.

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Omloop Nieuwsblad route

The route for the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad follows the usual path, starting at 't Kuipke in Gent and using the same run-out to the cluster of loops to hit all of the important hellingen outside of Oudenaarde.

See the full 2025 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad route.

Omloop Nieuwsblad Schedule

► How to watch Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2025

Omloop Nieuwsblad teams

• Alpecin-Deceuninck
• Arkéa-B&B Hotels
• Bahrain Victorious
• Bora-Hansgrohe
• Cofidis
• Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
• EF Education-EasyPost
• Groupama-FDJ
• Ineos Grenadiers
• Intermarché-Wanty
• Jayco-AlUla
• Lidl-Trek
• Movistar Team
• Soudal-Quickstep
• Team Picnic-PostNL
• UAE Team Emirates
• Visma-Lease a Bike
• XDS Astana Qazaqstan
• Israel-Premier Tech
• Lotto
• Uno-X Mobility
• Flanders-Baloise
• Q36.5 Pro Cycling
• Tudor Pro Cycling
• Unibet Tietema Rockets

Start list

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