First contact with the Belgian stones
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite is Men’s WorldTour’s first race to be held in Europe. In addition, we enter the European calendar through the big door: in Belgium and with a paved classic that includes mythical climbs such as Molenberg or Kapelmuur. Can’t wait!
Although it is impossible for us to know the state of form of the riders at this time of the year, the favorites are the usual suspects of this type of race. Greg van Avermaet (1200), Matteo Trentin (1200), Alexander Kristoff (1000), Philippe Gilbert (1000), Tim Wellens (1000), Mathieu van der Poel (400), Oliver Naesen (1000), Tiesj Benoot (800), Nils Politt (600) or Sep Vanmarcke (600) are some of the cobblestones specialists that start with options.
The list of favorites is completed by the Deceunink -Quickstep men, the strongest team in this terrain. The Wolfpack list for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is very strong, as it includes names such as Bob Jungels (800), Yves Lampaert (600), Kasper Asgreen (800), Florian Senechal (400) or the current champion Zdeněk Štybar (800).