WHY I LOVE…

OMLOOP HET NIEUWSBLAD 2 March | Belgium | 1.UWT

One score years it has been that the season has started in Australia in January. But while I enjoy the TDU and the Mediterranean races of February, I never feel that the season is truly up and running until the Saturday of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. It’s a typically inconsistent vagary of cycling fandom that a pair of races (KBK is held the next day) is widely known and marketed as ‘Opening Weekend’, and takes place six weeks into the season. What can I say? That’s cycling.

Omloop is the first race of the year where I really get the impression nobody has their eye on anything further down the line. The Med races are sharpeners; Omloop is a bona fide target. A win in it may not be as career-defining as a Roubaix or a Ronde, but it’s every bit as hard fought. Omloop covers the same roads as the Tour of Flanders, only it’s colder, more windy, more gritty. It even finishes over the Muur and Bosberg climbs these days, a finale made famous then cast aside by the Ronde. For many people, this is where the season truly begins.