Opening Weekend showed the who’s who of men’s and women’s cycling. In the men’s, it was Mathieu van der Poel who dominated Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. In the women’s, it was another dub by Demi Vollering, who powered to victory after an intense tactical battle on the Flemish roads.
But it was Laval, Que.’s Emilie Fortin (Minimax Cycling Team) who was a key animator in the tough, 137.2km race. The Canadian spent 93km in the break—which initially was four riders: Fortin, Lea Lin Teutenberg, Britt De Grave and Jony Van Den Eijnden. Teutenberg and Van Den Eijnden would ultimately be dropped and caught, but Fortin and De Grave kept fighting. Eventually, they would be caught with 40km to go. Still, it was a great ride at the front of the proceedings for Fortin.
After the break was caught there was a flurry of attacks, including national champion Alison Jackson (St Michel – Preference Home – Auber93).
After a long break, Emilie Fortin is caught, and now Alison Jackson is launching!#OHNwomen #OHN2026 pic.twitter.com/TXpugP7pyo
— Canadian Cycling Mag (@CanadianCycling) February 28, 2026
Behind, Vollering was calm and perfectly placed for the decisive ascent of the Muur. When she accelerated at full force on the iconic climb, only Polish champ Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney could respond. The two superstars of women’s cycling worked well, doing equal bit by bit until just hundreds of metres to go. A chase group of a dozen riders was only 20ish seconds behind, so they couldn’t play games. A headwind complicated the finale, forcing Vollering to judge her sprint carefully from the front. Timing it to perfection, she held Niewiadoma in a two-up dash to the line.
Top Canadian was Calgary’s Alexandra Volstad (EF Education-Oatly) in 56th. On Sunday, Opening Weekend continues with Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne—but only for the dudes. There is no women’s race.
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