Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024 - Prediction

Saturday February 24th 2024: Ghent - Ninove (202 km)

Who will win Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024 according to the computer? Omloop will start in Ghent and finishes 202km, 9 cobbled-sectors and 12 climbs later in Ninove. The hardest part of the race is the final 16 kilometers with the old Ronde van Vlaanderen combination 'Muur van Geraardsbergen-Bosberg'. The final 12 kilometers are flat, downhill and in full speed towards Ninove.

📺Eurosport 1 (13.30 u), Sporza (13.30 u)
⏰11.00 u
🏁16.00 u
⛅️Cloudy, 7 degrees

Stats Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Next to the route and predictions, we will highlight some interesting stats about Omloop.

The Curse of Omloop

In 78 editions, the winner of the Omloop has never won the Ronde van Vlaanderen later in the season. The riders who recently came closest are Greg Van Avermaet in 2017 (winner Omloop, 2nd in de Ronde) and Sebastian Langeveld in 2011 (winner Omloop, 5th in de Ronde). Conversely, later Ronde van Vlaanderen winners Sagan (2016) and Boonen (2005, 2012) finished second in the Omloop earlier that season and Terpstra (2015) and Van Avermaet (2014) finished twice on the second highest step in one season. Interesting detail: 9 times since 2005, the winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen has been a rider who did not start in the Omloop earlier in the season (of the winners of the RvV that we have had since 2019, Asgreen was the only one in 2021 also participated in the Omloop).

Season debut

The past two editions of Omloop were won by a rider who rode his first day of the season: Van Aert in 2022 and Van Baarle in 2023. Before that, 1980 was the last year in which a rider achieved this. If we continue the line of Van Aert and Van Baarle, Jasper Philipsen, Christophe Laporte, Matteo Jorgenson and Dylan van Baarle again have good credentials for Saturday, when they make their season-debut.

Four defending champions at the start

Four former winners will start on Saturday: Stuyven, Van Aert, Van Baarle and Valgren. The latter is back at the highest level after a number of difficult years. Only Ballerini is missing as an active Omloop winner.. Three other former winners will miss the Omloop for the first time this year due to their recent cycling-retirement: Vanmarcke, Stybar and Van Avermaet dropped out after 2023.

Strongest Omloop-team since 2000

Team Visma | Lease a Bike will appear at the start with an extremely strong team. The seven riders at the start (Van Aert, Van Baarle, Benoot, Tratnik, Laporte, Jorgenson and Affini) together scored more than 5900 points on ProCyclingStats in the past 12 months. Since 2000, only the BMC Racing Team was stronger on paper at the start of the Omloop in 2012. They scored 6200 points with their eight participating riders at that time, including Gilbert and Van Avermaet. Corrected for the number of riders, Visma will therefore be at the start on Saturday with a star ensemble; the strongest Omloop setup in this century. Who will stop them from the third Omloop victory in a row?