Cycling season is well underway and the spring Classics are back with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad marking the start of the 2023 Belgian racing season.
Both the men’s race and the Women’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will be run on Saturday, February 25, and will see the cream of the crop of the peloton’s Classics riders come together to do battle in Flanders.
Cyclingnews will bring you full live coverage, reports, results, news, interviews and analysis of the 2023 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Read on to find out how to watch the race via live stream, no matter your location, with ExpressVPN (opens in new tab).
Reigning champion Wout van Aert and his longtime rival Mathieu van der Poel might not be lining up at the start on Saturday, but fear not because the peloton will be packed with big names hoping to do battle on the Muur van Geraardsbergen and Bosberg.
In Van Aert’s absence, his Jumbo-Visma team bring a packed squad with Tiesj Benoot, Christophe Laporte, and Dylan van Baarle potentially acting as a triple-headed leadership core.
Perennial Classics favourites Soudal-QuickStep also line up with a powerful squad, with Yves Lampaert, Davide Ballerini, Kasper Asgreen, and Florian Sénéchal on hand to lead the way. AG2R Citroën duo Greg Van Avermaet and Oliver Naesen also line up, while Tom Pidcock, Magnus Sheffield, and Ben Turner represent Ineos Grenadiers
Elsewhere, look out for Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Matej Mohorič, Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Søren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM), Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X), Zdenek Stybar (Jayco-AlUla), Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), Victor Campenaerts, Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny), Sep Vanmarcke (Israel-Premier Tech), and Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies).
In the women’s race, defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten heads the start list and she’ll be backed up by Arlenis Sierra, Emma Norsgaard and Liane Lippert as part of a strong Movistar team. Van Vleuten face off against SD Worx Lotte Kopecky, Demi Vollering and Lorena Wiebes and plenty more besides as she looks to defend her title.
Grace Brown and Marta Cavalli are joined by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig at a strong FDJ-Suez team. Elisa Balsamo and Elisa Longo Borghini head up Trek-Segafredo, while UAE Team ADQ can rely on Marta Bastianelli and Silvia Persico.
Elsewhere, look out for Zoe Backstedt (EF Education-Tibco-SVB), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-Sram), Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM), Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Uno-X), and Julie De Wilde (Fenix-Deceuninck), among others.
Men’s race:…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…