Cycling's fabled cobbled Classics season begins this weekend as former world champion Mathieu Van der Poel lines up alongside long-time rival Wout Van Aert at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Mathieu Van Der Poel Returns In Omloop 2026

Fresh from making history earlier this month by winning an eighth cyclo-cross world title, Van der Poel has been training in southern Spain after a short skiing break before confirming his road return.

His Alpecin-Premier Tech team revealed that the 31-year-old will headline the Opening Weekend double-header in Belgium, with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday followed by Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday.

For many cycling purists, despite racing already taking place in Australia, the Middle East and Spain, the real season begins on the cobbles of northwestern Europe.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad launches the sequence of cobbled Classics that culminate in two Monuments, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The run-in also includes E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem among others.

Tadej Pogacar Racing Milano-Sanremo 2026

The Monuments promise a renewed duel between Van der Poel and four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar, beginning with Milan-San Remo in three weeks.

The pair are level at two victories apiece in the cobbled Monuments, with Van der Poel winning the Tour of Flanders in 2022 and Paris-Roubaix last year, while Pogacar claimed Flanders in 2023 and 2025.

Van der Poel holds a slight edge at Milan-San Remo, where he is a two-time champion, while Pogacar is still chasing victory in the Italian Monument.

Belgian star Wout Van Aert could also shape the spring narrative. The 2020 Milan-San Remo winner has victories at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem but is still searching for a first Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix triumph.

Britain's double Olympic mountain bike champion Tom Pidcock is also expected to start at Omloop, alongside defending podium finishers Soren Waerenskjold, Paul Magnier and Jasper Philipsen, as well as former winner Dylan van Baarle.

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne typically favors the sprinters, with Jonathan Milan likely to headline a fast finish against rivals including Biniam Girmay, Christophe Laporte and Kasper Asgreen.