CANYON//SRAM Racing go into the opening weekend with a formidable lineup for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The team’s roster for the Women’s World Tour race on Saturday, 24 February, is Elise Chabbey, Tiffany Cromwell, Kasia Niewiadoma, Soraya Paladin, Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka and Alice Towers.

In last year’s edition, Soraya sprinted to a strong ninth place. This year’s parcours again takes on eight climbs and five cobblestone sectors, over 127 kilometres, slightly shorter than in 2023. The trio of climbs—Elverenberg-Vossenhol, Muur-Kapelmuur, Bosberg—come within 15km of each other, and after cresting the final climb, the peloton has less than twenty minutes of racing remaining.

In 2023, Kasia was forced into a long chase after being held up by a crash. The Polish rider comes to the race following second place overall at Setmana Cyclist Valenciana last weekend and is looking forward to her second race of the season.

“Opening week is very exciting for the riders, fans and sponsors! Classic racing, in contrast to stage racing, is more unpredictable, dynamic, interesting, and, to some extent, more mentally demanding. You have one day and one opportunity to achieve a good result that you have been working for the whole winter. I always find it interesting to see where I am compared to my competition at the start of the season. With an increasing level in women’s cycling year by year, this weekend is important to start the season off on the right page,” describes Kasia.

“Switching to classics-style racing is easy when your winter preparations go smoothly and uninterrupted. When doubting your shape or general mindset, you might have to deal with negative thoughts during the race. But when you know you’re personally going into the race on a good level, everything becomes easier, and the fighting for position or following teammates happens naturally. It might feel stressful before the start, but once you clip in and have a clear goal, you do anything to achieve it.”

Kasia adds, “I’m looking forward to having a hard, selective race with all of our riders in the front. We want to be able to play different cards, be the ones racing aggressively, and force others to be defensive.”

HOW TO WATCH

Follow all the action from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on X with #OHN24 from the race starting at 13:35 CET. The race will be broadcast from 16:00 CET on VRT, NOS, FloBikes and Eurosport.

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