Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Women opens the cobbled-classics season, the first major one-day race of the Flemish spring. First held in 2006, it crosses the bergs of the Flemish Ardennes, including the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg, on a course that rewards strength and good positioning. A win here sets the tone for the whole spring campaign. Several of the sport's best have shared the honours, with Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering among recent winners. In 2026 Vollering powered clear of the opening weekend to take it. After the winter, it is the race that shows who has arrived in form.