Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2016: Favourites

Saturday, February 27, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad marks the opening of the Opening Weekend of the Belgian classics. A strong field will be waiting impatiently to show what they're worth, despite title holder Ian Stannard being absent. No worries, the likes of Kristoff, Sagan, Cancellara, Terpstra, Boonen and Gilbert are perfectly capabe to make a spectacle out of it all by themselves. Cyclingstage.com brings you the favourites for the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2016. (Slideshow route/profile)

Remarkably, the King of the Flemish Classics, Tom Boonen, didn’t win the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, yet the race seems tailor made for him as it features short climbs, cobbles and a flat finale. Will 2016 be the year, Tom?

By the way, another king of the Flemish Classics, Fabian Cancellara, didn’t win the opening of the Openings Weekend either.

Of the active riders, only Philippe Gilbert (2006, 2008), Sebastian Langeveld (2011) and Sep Vanmarcke (2012) did win Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Favourites Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2016:

*** Peter Sagan, Niki Terpstra, Alexander Kristoff, Jens Debusschere
** Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen, Philippe Gilbert, Tiesj Benoot
* Greg Van Avermaet, Tony Martin, Sebastian Langeveld, Tom Van Asbroeck