Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Fantasy picks: 7 must have riders

Our choices are based on our partner Cycling Fantasy, where players have a budget of 5000 credits to build a nine-rider team for Omloop.

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Paul Magnier is coming into the 2026 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in tremendous form, after demonstrating textbook sprinting at the Volta ao Algarve, where the Frenchman took two victories ahead of Jasper Philipsen, who is definitely no slouch. 

Magnier in 2025 finished second in that edition of Omloop agonisingly close behind the victor, Søren Wærenskjold, and he will be aiming to overcome that near-miss from 2025.

Coming in at 800 credits, there is a real bang for your buck with Magnier as the Frenchman is certainly going to be involved in the finale, whether that is competing for the victory in a sprint situation or taking a place within the top ten after a sprint behind potential escapees as the appearance of Mathieu van der Poel means that race situation is a real possibility.

Bastien Tronchon, in pastures new, has enjoyed a fine start to life at Groupama-FDJ United. The Frenchman recently competed at the Ruta del Sol, where his best stage result was a second place coming on the opening stage, from a bunch sprint situation. Tronchon has precedent for getting involved in the finales of races after a day of short and steep climbs, with strong performances in races such as Itzulia Basque Country, Clasica Jaen and Faun Drôme.

2026 will be the first time Tronchon appears at Omloop, but the 23-year-old already has Belgian classics experience in his young career with appearances at the Tour of Flanders and E3, respectively. 

Coming in at 400 credits, Tronchon is tremendous value, due to the potential upside of a top result that he could achieve.

The 35-year old, Oliver Naesen from Oostende on the Belgian North Sea Coast, is just 200 credits and is our wildcard pick for Omloop. The vast wealth of experience Naesen has picked up over the years is an immediate reason as to why he has been chosen for our 'wildcard', and let's not forget that only two years ago, Naesen took a 4th place finish, and has taken several top ten finishes in Omloop and other immense classics over the course of his career.

Naesen heads into the race after competing in the Tour de la Provence and Volta ao Algarve, where the Belgian was working in support of his teammates Paul Seixas and Matthew Riccitello, and that is the perfect fuel that Naesen needs to fuel his engine for another round of Spring Classics. 

Don't be surprised to see Naesen in the top 15 at the end of the day, especially with the reformed and tougher finale of the 2026 edition.

The phenomenon of 2025, Matthew Brennan, recorded 12 victories with the young Briton showcasing a skill level way above what his age would suggest. Brennan has already opened his account for 2026 after winning stage 5 of the Santos Tour Down Under, after a lumpy day in the saddle. 

He finished it off with a thumping kick and could have also won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, but misread the distance-to-go marker. His ability to power to the line after a day of attacking racing means he is without a doubt one of the five favourites for the race.

Brennan, similar to Magnier, is likely to repeat the same outcome as Magnier, and it is a strong possibility that the two of them could be competing directly against each other for the race win. 

Brennan is perhaps a better overall selection for your fantasy team as he comes in 200 credits cheaper than Magnier on Cycling Fantasy at 600 credits, allowing you to potentially take a bigger credit star rider.

Jonas Abrahamsen enjoyed a splendid 2025 season with Norway's first Tour de France stage victory since Alexander Kristoff took the Yellow Jersey in Nice back in 2020. 

Abrahamsen has a 'diesel engine' and has displayed that numerous times before in the Classics, from Dwars Door Vlaanderen to victories at the Brussels Cycling Classic, Circuit Franco-Belge, and the Muur Classic Geraardsbergen.

Abrahamsen, as you have probably seen from his amazing social media, has been at altitude camp over the January period, and even before and after that, was putting in his typical long hours on the training platform Zwift.

Abrahamsen on Cycling Fantasy is 600 credits and is bound to live up to or potentially exceed that value, as just as we mentioned before, a 'tougher' finale has been set for the 2026 Omloop, and if Abrahamsen gets away, one thing is for certain, and that is the Norwegian is going to be difficult to reel back.

Another rider with a strong upside is the young American Luke Lamperti, who transferred from Soudal Quick-Step to EF Education-EasyPost for the 2026 season.  Lamperti has shown previous glimmers of light in the Classics with a few podiums, including Danilith Nokere Koerse and the pan-flat Bredene Koksijde Classic.

Lamperti is 400 credits to add to your team, and with the steady form he has displayed in the opening part of 2026, he could get himself involved within the top ten to twenty places in the race, especially with his turn of speed in bunch sprint situations.

Lukáš Kubiš took the Rockets' best result at that point last year when he came 6th in the 2025 Omloop and the Slovakian has highlighted to the world his ability after some strong results over the back end of 2025 and began 2026 with a few near misses, including the GC at the Etoile de Bessèges where he lost out due to a difficult time trial which was just out of the category of his climbing ability.

With Kubiš costing just 400 points, he has got to be one of your fantasy staples for the Omloop and even for the rest of the spring classics with the ability he possess and not only that, the Rockets have brought in some reinforcements to their roster after a strong transfer period with the riders likely able to give Kubiš that extra bit of support he needs.

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