The 71st edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will take place on Saturday 27 February 2016. The opening race of the Belgian cycling season starts at the Citadelpark in Ghent. After that the peloton will cover 200.8 kilometres, thirteen climbs and ten cobbled sections in total.

Lotto Soudal starts with ambition in the opening weekend. Tiesj Benoot, Jürgen Roelandts and Jens Debusscheren already showed in Algarve that they’re in a good shape.

Tiesj Benoot and Jürgen Roelandts give a preview.

“I start in the opening weekend with a little more confidence compared to last year. I know the course very well, but  a lot of others too. We’ll have to make sure that we’re in the right positions in the crucial moments and we’ll have to ride attentively at the front of the peloton," Benoot said.

“In my opinion, the Ronde Van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix are more important races, but I won’t start the Omloop with less ambition. I was already in good shape last year in the same period and now as well. I feel good, especially after the Volta ao Algarve. I went full gas in several stages a few times so perhaps I can count on a supercompensation, we’ll see.

“The new hill in the finale won’t determine the race I think. The difference will be made before this hill. We want to be with as much riders as possible in the finale, then we can try something and attack. It would be great if I could win the race. But if someone else of the team wins, I’ll be equally happy of course.”

“Until now I didn’t start with a 100 per cent positive feeling in the races," Roelandts said. "But I didn’t participate in the recon today so hopefully I’ll be in a good shape. I stayed in Algarve until yesterday, the final stage was really tough and I took my time to recover as good as possible.

“I don’t mind that there are other riders in the team that can win the race. In my opinion it’s even better for us as a team. You have to make sure that you’re attentive in the front of course. This year’s selection is one of the stronger ones of the past few years, maybe it’s even the best selection. If we could win a race during the opening weekend, it would give a boost to the whole team. It depends on how the race will evolve of course, but we stand a good chance. Even more than the previous years.”

Selection Lotto Soudal: 

Tiesj Benoot, Stig Broeckx, Sean De Bie, Jens Debusschere, Pim Ligthart, Jürgen Roelandts, Tosh Van der Sande and Jelle Wallays.