Cycling news - Opening Weekend signals the start of the Spring Classics

ByEurosport

Published 27/02/2020 at 08:51 GMT

This weekend marks the start of the Belgian cycling season with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne also signalling the beginning of the Spring Classics season.

Mathieu Van Der Poel and Alejandro Valverde, Dwars door Vlaanderen 2019

Image credit: Getty Images

The Omloop is the traditional season-opener for the Northern European season and forms a weekend double-header with Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne with the former taking place on Saturday and the latter on the Sunday.

It marks the beginning of a glorious couple of months for cycling fans that runs until the end of April and encompasses some of the best races in the calendar.

You can watch all of the races listed below live on Eurosport and Eurosport Player

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Plus, starting from March 15, The Bradley Wiggins Show will return for six weeks to take you through the key parts of the Classics season. Make sure you join Bradley Wiggins and his guests as they digest the biggest topics in cycling.

And another part of Eurosport’s extensive cycling coverage, the Re-Cycle, will also return as Graham Willgoss narrates Felix Lowe’s articles on some of cycling’s biggest stories.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – Saturday February 29

The traditional opening race of the season that culminates with the Muur van Geraardsbergen and Bosberg climbs that come in quick succession and push riders to the limit. As has been customary since 2006, there will be both a men’s and women’s race.

The bookies’ favourite for this and pretty much every other classic he enters is Mathieu van der Poel. Expect the talented Dutchman to attack these races with gusto after more of a scouting reconnaissance last season.

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne – Sunday March 1

Completes the Opening Weekend and ironically doesn’t actually reach Brussels.

The race was cancelled in 2013 due to snow and is traditionally a favourite of the sprinters with Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan and Dylan Groenewegen amongst the recent winners.

As things stand, neither Peter Sagan nor Van der Poel are slated to compete.

Strade Bianche – Saturday March 7

One of the best races for those with ambitions at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix and is famous for the gravel sections throughout the course.

Last season Julian Alaphilippe and Annemiek van Vleuten were the winners.

'A wonderful win!' - Van Vleuten storms to victory at Strade Bianche

Milan-San Remo – Saturday March 21st

The first of the monuments and the longest one-day race in professional modern cycling at 298km.

It’s one of the best races of the calendar for a reason; the nature of the route leads to great unpredictability.

One thing to note, however, is that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in Northern Italy has left the race under threat.

RCS Sport (the event organisers) director Mauro Vegni is quoted recently as saying, “There is no ‘Plan B,’” when asked about what would happen if the current protocols were kept in place.

“If the government confirms a blockage of sport in Milan and Lombardy, we would have to cancel it.”

Binckbank Classic – Friday March 27th March

The opener to the period between the first two monuments of the season.

It’s taken seriously by the big names, however, the similarity between it and Flanders exist for good reason and it’s a great warm-up event.

Gent-Wevelgem – Sunday March 29th

At one stage the day after the Binckbank; now there’s a day gap to recognise both as premier events in the cycling calendar.

They also form the early stages of the Flemish Cycling Week.

Dwars Door Vlaanderen – Wednesday April 1st

Always sandwiched in between the two weekends of the Flemish Cycling Week, Dwars Door Vlaanderen has sometimes struggled for relevance but is now seen as one of the better races.

Van der Poel won last season and this race is also seen as a great opportunity for the favourites for the Tour of Flanders.

Tour of Flanders – Sunday April 5th

The second monument of the season and known for its brutal cobbled climbs.

It’s one of the best races in the calendar and has one of the best atmospheres thanks to the fans packing the sides of the route.

Paris-Roubaix – Sunday April 12th

Did someone mention brutal cobbles?

Queen of the Classics? Hell of the North? Call it whatever you want, it’s one of the must-watch events of the entire cycling season.

Relive cobbles madness with on-board camera at Paris-Roubaix

The perfect way to end the Cobbled Classics, Paris-Roubaix never disappoints.

Amstel Gold Race – Sunday April 19th

Another one of Van der Poel’s scalps last season - the race that sees us into the next stage of the spring classics at the start of the Ardennes Week.

‘The greatest ambush ever’ - Mathieu van der Poel takes impossible Amstel Gold Race win

Fleche Wallone – Wednesday April 22nd

Another midweek race and the perfect midcourse between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Fun fact - only seven riders have ever won the latter and Fleche Wallone in the same year.