Gamechanger: how Mathieu van der Poel will completely alter the shape of this year’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

All it took was one laconic social message from Alpecin-Premier Tech with the words ‘Spring Campaign Locked In,’ and in a second, this year’s men’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad became an utterly different race.

That was how Mathieu van der Poel made a much-anticipated announcement on Wednesday that he will be making his debut in the Opening Weekend, and for all the participants in the 81st edition of Omloop, the stakes have been raised much, much higher than before.