Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (previously known as Omloop Het Volk) is a Flanders Classics single day cycle race held in the Belgian province of East Flanders.
The race was first held in 1945, organised by the newspaper Het Volk in response to Het Nieuwsblad’s Classic Ronde van Vlaanderen. The Omloop, with the start and finish in Ghent, uses many of the climbs in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and is for that reason often used in preparation for the bigger event.
The race was known as Omloop Het Volk until 2008. The newspaper Het Volk stopped publishing in 2008 and was taken over by Het Nieuwsblad, as a result of which the race was renamed to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad for the 64th edition in 2009.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is the opening event on the Belgian cycling calendar and is usually held on the last Saturday in February or the first in March. It is characterised by cold weather and short cobbled climbs and comes as a contrast to the training camps of the Italian Riviera or the south of France.
Since 2006, a women's edition of the race of approximately 130 kilometres distance has also been held.
Read more about Omloop Het Nieuwsblad: The Weather, History, The Route, Men's Winners, Winners Women's Race, References and Footnotes