Just over a month before the start in Gent, Flanders Classic has announced which teams will participate in the 81st edition of the Omloop Nieuwsblad, the race that will open the World Tour calendar in Europe on February 28th.

In the men's race, all 18 top-category teams will compete, joined by seven ProTeams for the occasion.

Of these, Cofidis, Pinarello-Q36.5 and Tudor will participate by exercising their automatic entry right earned through their 2025 UCI ranking, while Burgos Burpellet BH, Flanders-Baloise, TotalEnergies and Unibet Rose Rockets will line up at the start thanks to a wildcard directly issued by the organizers.

It's worth noting that for the Spanish team of Julio Andres, this will be their absolute first time at the Omloop, a race that all other teams have already experienced at least once in the past.

Regarding those who won't be present, it's notable that for the tenth consecutive year, there are no Italian teams in the men's race, an absence that, for the first time since 2023, will also be seen in the women's race.

In the women's race, alongside the 14 WorldTour teams, all seven ProTeam squads will be competing (Cofidis Women Team, Lotto Intermarchè Ladies, Mayenne Monbana My Pie, St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93, VolkerWessels Cycling Team and the debutants Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi and Ma Petite Entreprise) for a total of 21 hungry teams, each with their own athletes, trying to succeed in the palmarès after the 2025 winner Lotte Claes.

THE ROUTES

Both women and men will face almost identical routes to those of past seasons. In the women's race, still set at 137 kilometers, there will be a total of nine walls to climb, with the only novelties being the exclusion of the Elverenberg and the insertion of Tenbosse and Parikeberg after Berendries, before launching into the classic final duo of Muur and Bosberg.

These modifications will also be proposed in the men's route, which will offer over 10 additional kilometers to cover and a double climb of Eikenberg instead of the Valkenberg ascent in the central part of the race. For the rest, the crucial part will remain unchanged, with Kapelmuur and Bosberg representing the last obstacles before the Ninove finish line.

LIST OF PARTICIPATING TEAMS

Men

WorldTour

Alpecin-Premier Tech

Bahrain Victorious

Decathlon CMA CGM

EF Education – EasyPost

Groupama-FDJ United

INEOS Grenadiers

Lidl-Trek

Lotto-Intermarchè

Movistar Team

NSN Cycling Team

Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe

Soudal Quick-Step

Team Jayco AlUla

Team Picnic PostNL

Team Visma | Lease a Bike

UAE Team Emirates

Uno-X Mobility

XDS Astana Team

ProTeam

Burgos Burpellet BH

Cofidis

Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team

Team Flanders – Baloise

TotalEnergies

Tudor Pro Cycling Team

Unibet Rose Rockets

Women

WorldTour

AG Insurance–Soudal Team

Canyon//Sram Zondacrypto

EF Education–Oatly

FDJ United–Suez

Fenix-Deceuninck

Human Powered Health

Lidl–Trek

Liv AlUla Jayco

Movistar Team

Team Picnic PostNL

Team SD Worx–Protime

Team Visma | Lease a Bike

UAE Team ADQ

Uno-X Mobility.

ProTeam

Cofidis Women Team

Lotto Intermarchè Ladies

Mayenne Monbana My Pie

St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93

VolkerWessels Cycling Team

Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi

Ma Petite Entreprise