Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite Men 2019: Preview

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Michael Valgren (Astana) gets the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite trophy(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

The cobbled Classics begin in earnest with Belgium's Opening Weekend and the double-header of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. For the purists, these races represent the true start of the European road season, but there have been several prequels across several continents, with riders arriving in Belgium in varying form. It makes predicting the outcome of both races - especially Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with its modified course - even harder to call, but with a number of high-profile Classics stars on the start line, the racing should be as compelling as ever.

With 13 kilometers between the descent of the final climb and the finish a strong team will fancy their chances at either controlling the main group or posting their leaders on the attack over the final set of climbs. As with all of the cobbled classics - and as shown with Michael Valgren's win in 2018 - numbers and strength in depth are key. Last year the Dane was well supported by his then Astana teammates before making a number of attacks and eventually breaking clear with just under three kilometers remaining.

Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne used to be somewhat of an anti-climax in comparison to its Saturday rival, but in recent years Sunday's event has sparked aggressive racing in a bid to unsettle the sprinters in the field. Given that the final climb comes roughly 50 kilometers from the finish, the fast men - including defending champion Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) - always hold the advantage, but weather conditions and the strength of teams after Saturday's racing can become significant factors.

In terms of the parcours, this atypically straight-forward affair, but the cluster of climbs in the mid-section of the race have the potential to tear the race apart. Last year a group containing Julien Duval (AG2R La Mondiale), Loic Vliegen (BMC Racing) and Julien Vermote (Dimension Data) almost held off the peloton, before Lotto Jumbo took the win through Groenewegen. The Dutchman had missed out on a key split earlier in the race during the climbs, but solid teamwork brought both him and several sprint rivals back into contention.

As expected, both races are stacked with Classics specialists, and while Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and the UAE Team Emirates pair of Alexandre Kristoff and Fernando Gaviria are missing, the likes of Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team), Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and defending champions Michael Valgren (Dimension Data) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) are all set to attend either one or both of this weekend's races.

Trek-Segafredo arrive with options that include Jasper Stuyven, Edward Theuns and the exciting Mads Pedersen. Other riders of note among the pre-race favourites include Niki Terpstra (Direct Energie), Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates), Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb), Dylan Van Baarle (Team Sky), Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott), Arnaud Demare (Groupama FDJ), Sep Vanmarcke (EF Education First) and Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida).

Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.