Sawt Falasteen - Van der Poel to make season bow at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

One-day classics specialist Van der Poel ended his winter cyclo-cross campaign unbeaten earlier this month after winning a record eighth world title before taking some time off to go skiing.

After a winter training camp in Spain, he is now turning his focus to the road, starting on Saturday with the maiden cobbled classic of the campaign.

After Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the 31-year-old will also ride the Tirreno-Adriatico week-long stage race and then embark on his usual one-day classics campaign: Milano-San Remo, E3 Saxo Classic, In Flanders Fields (previously known as Gent-Wevelgem), Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

"After a few focused weeks of preparation, he now feels race-ready and confident to line up at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the opening race in Belgium," Alpecin-Premier Tech said.

"His programme for the remainder of the spring mirrors last season's successful structure," they added.

Van der Poel, the 2023 world road race champion, has won eight Monuments in his career including the Tour of Flanders a joint-record three times, Paris-Roubaix three times and Milan-San Remo twice.

Also a two-time winner of E3, Van der Poel has claimed success in other one-day classics such as Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold and Dwars door Vlaanderen but has never won Omloop.

Van der Poel, a Tour de France and Giro d'Italia stage winner, is among the leading contenders for Omloop, alongside his long-time Belgian rival Wout van Aert.

N.Awad--SF-PST