The 2023 road season picks up in earnest this week with the conclusion of the UAE Tour on Sunday, where World Champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) will face off against podium rivals Luke Plapp (Ineos) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) on the summit finale at Jebel Hafeet on Sunday, February 26.
Another stage race, the second edition of Gran Camiño in Spain, gives the general classification men an opportunity to get their climbing legs in working order in the 2.1-ranked four-day race from February 23-26.
In Europe, the Belgian classics’ Opening Weekend starts with the men’s and women’s WorldTour one-day races Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday, February 25. There are also three UCI Pro Series races for men: Sunday’s Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, the Faun-Ardèche Classic on Saturday and Faun Drôme Classic on Sunday.
While the men’s peloton heads west for Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, the women move east to Aarschot for the 1.1-ranked Omloop van het Hageland.
The racing isn’t restricted to the weekend, either, with the men’s and women’s 1.1-ranked Le Samyn on Tuesday.
Finally, if you thought the cyclo-cross season was over, think again. The final race of the year, the Sluitingsprijs-Oostmalle, takes place on Sunday.
Read on for more information about all the racing and Cyclingnews’ coverage.
Weekly wrap
Weekly Wrap
Before jumping straight in, here’s a round-up of the weekend’s biggest results.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) came out of his off-season on scalding hot form, winning last Monday’s 1.1-ranked Jaén Paraiso Interior with a long-range solo attack. He then won three of the five stages and the overall Vuelta a Andalucia – Ruta del Sol by a huge margin over Mikel Landa and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious).
There was exciting racing at the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, won by AG Insurance-Soudal-Quickstep’s Justine Ghekiere, who broke away and held enough time to snatch the overall win.
Over in Portugal, Ineos claimed the overall in the 2.Pro Volta ao Algarve. Colombian Dani Martinez and teammate Filippo Ganna finishing one-two, while Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-Quickstep) took his first major stage race podium in third.
The race also saw Alexander Kristoff take Uno-X’s first win on stage 1, employing an aero helmet to help him sprint to victory and a thrilling stage won by Magnus Cort (EF Education-Easypost). Tom Pidcock displayed strong form with a win atop the Alto do Malhão.
Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-Samsic) took his first pro win on the opening stage of the Tour des Alpes Maritimes du Var and held on to add the overall win to his palmares.
The UAE Tour kicked off on Monday with crosswind madness. Remco Evenepoel claimed is in the race lead, but with Green Mountain two days away, nothing is assured.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Both the men’s and women’s peloton head to Gent, Belgium for the first of the Spring Classics. Neither defending champion Wout van Aert nor second-placed Sonny Colbrelli will be present but third-placed Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R-Citroën) leads his team in the race.
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny), virtually unstoppable in the sprints so far this year, will make his debut and insists there’s no pressure. But he will be the most watched rider if only to see if his promise in lower-level races can translate to the WorldTour.
Tom Pidcock (Ineos) will also be heavily marked along with Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-Quickstep), Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), the on-form Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) and Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe), 2020 winner Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) or, who knows? maybe even Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) who will be using a monstrous gear ratio for his inevitable attacks.
The women’s race sees Van Vleuten heading in to defend her title after a solid round of work in Valencia. Normally her main competition would come from riders like Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), Balsamo, or Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ), but new riders are making their names this season.
Look for young riders Zoe Backstedt (EF-TIBCO-SVB), Pfeiffer Georgi (DSM) or Cadel Evans Road Race winner Loes Adegeest (FDJ-Suez) for possible surprises.
O Gran Camiño
After Ruta del Sol and Algarve, the GC riders get another warm-up race with the low-pressure 2.1 stage race in Galicia, the Gran Camiño. The four-day event has two summit finishes, the first on stage 2 to the 2 Monte Trega – near the rare archaeological site of an ancient Celtic settlement.
Stage 3’s finish at the Alto do Castelo is even higher and is preceded by two category 1 climbs and one category 2 in the second half of the stage.
There are only four WorldTour teams in the race but one major player: 2022 Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, who makes his season debut with Jumbo-Visma in the race. His main competition should come from Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), who was seventh in Tour of Oman. But look out for the packed Movistar Team and Vingegaard’s teammate Steven Kruijswijk, also making his season debut.
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
In the absence of winter cyclones or late solo attacks that somehow succeed, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne is almost always a day for the sprinters. Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-Quickstep) lines up as defending champion looking to turn around recent disappointments in Algarve and, aside from a win on stage 2, Vuelta a San Juan.
If it is a sprint, Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) will be his main competition, along with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ), and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) – maybe even Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Pascal Ackermann (UAE) or Niccolo Bonifazio (Intemarché-Circus-Wanty).
Sagan, Van Avermaet, and Jumbo-Visma with Dylan van Baarle, Tiesj Benoot and Christophe Laporte, Trek-Segafredo with Stuyven, Bora with Nils Politt and Ineos with Vuelta Murcia winner Ben Turner could all be interested in getting a group away.
Faun-Ardèche Classic and Faun Drome Classic
The hillier classics in the south of France have attracted a who’s who of climbers: Sergio Higuita and Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën), Romain Bardet (Team DSM), Esteban Chaves (EF Education-EasyPost) and Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies).
Also in the mix are top one-day riders like former world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quickstep), Simon Clarke and Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), and the hot-on-form Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty).
Omloop van het Hageland
Like K-B-K, the Omloop van het Hageland is a chance for the sprinters to shine, and defending champion Bastianelli will be back for another crack at the victory. She’ll have to face the sprinters of the moment, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx). Another rival could be Emma Norsgaard (Movistar), last year’s runner-up. The race is just a 1.1, so there is only a handful of WorldTeams present.
Le Samyn
After a weekend of high-pressure racing, Le Samyn provides a chance for redemption for riders who might have missed out on the previous weekend. Recent winners include Matteo Trentin, Tim Merlier, Emma Norsgaard and Lotte Kopecky. There are two short, sharp climbs on the circuit, the Côte de la Roquette and Côte des Nonettes, and 20 stretches of pavé (15 for women) to wear riders down.
The uphill sprint favours the stronger sprinters. Riders to watch include Jakobsen and teammate Casper Pedersen, Søren Kragh (Alpecin-Deceuninck), maybe Campenaerts and his big gears, or even Nick Zukowsky of the new Q36.5 team or Colin Joyce (Human Powered Health).
Few of the big teams have signed on to race, so watch for Adegeest, Bastianelli, Alice Barnes (Human Powered Health) and perhaps Maggie Coles-Lyster (Zaaf) to be at the pointy end of the race.
The week at a glance
| Date | Race | Race | Header Cell – Column 3 | Race |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, February 23 | Row 0 – Cell 1 | UAE Tour stage 4 | Row 0 – Cell 3 | Gran Camiño stage 1 |
| Friday, February 24 | Row 1 – Cell 1 | UAE Tour stage 5 | Row 1 – Cell 3 | Gran Camiño stage 2 |
| Saturday, February 25 | Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (UWT &WWT) | UAE Tour stage 6 | Faun Ardèche Classic | Gran Camiño stage 3 |
| Sunday, February 26 | Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne | UAE Tour stage 7 | Faun Drôme Classic | Gran Camiño stage 4 |
| Tuesday, February 28 | Le Samyn | Le Samyn des Dames | Row 4 – Cell 3 | Row 4 – Cell 4 |
Start lists
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Omloop Het Nieuwsblad start list (opens in new tab)
