Five talents to watch in the Opening Weekend

Vlad Van Mechelen is in his second season as a pro rider, and the 21-year-old Belgian has already enjoyed a taste of the Belgian Classics in his neo-pro season, riding Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. That year of experience could prove handy for Van Mechelen, who during his Junior years, took some strong results on the cobbles, including a 5th at the 2024 Paris-Roubaix Espoirs. 

Van Mechelen has started the 2026 season solidly, getting involved in the bunch sprint in the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana, finishing 8th on that day. 

Van Mechlen is almost certainly not going to be the leader for Bahrain - Victorious due to the Slovenian star, Matej Mohorič, lining up, but the Belgian is bound to be a key asset to support Mohorič and even potentially could launch an attack of his own or simply following a long range attack.

Albert Withen Philipsen's neo-pro season in 2025 was excellent. It began with a bang, taking a 4th-place finish on a stage at the Tour Down Under. It closed in October with a 2nd place behind Tadej Pogacar at Tre Valli Varesine and a 3rd place through the vineyards in Paris-Tours.

That momentum Withen Philipsen ended the 2025 season with is bound to seep through into 2026, and the Dane has the chance to showcase that at Omloop. The tougher finale, which race organisers FLCS have installed for the 2026 edition, should benefit him, with the 19-year-old able to produce some eye-watering watts and w/kg numbers on these types of short and steep climbs. 

Withen Philipsen has a pedigree in Cobbled races in the development ranks, winning the 2025 Paris-Roubaix Espoirs, and it will be interesting to see how he fares after training over the winter, with any potential steps have take over that period.

The Dane is only going to benefit from his teammate Mathias Vacek's appearance, so he will be aiming to fly under the radar of the other teams.

Noah Hobbs of EF Education-EasyPost is a neo-pro but has already displayed positive signs of performance in 2026, after getting himself involved in the mix in the bunch sprints at the Volta ao Algarve, with a 7th place his best result. Hobbs is slated to compete in both Omloop and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, and it would not be a surprise to see Hobbs within the top ten in Kuurne. 

Regarding Omloop, the nature of the race is a step above Kuurne with the added and relentless of the bergs and cobbles, but if the race outcome repeats from the 2025 edition, then Hobbs could also be involved in the fight for places in the top ten, which would be magnificent seeing as it will be his first time of UCI WorldTour race come February 28.

20-year-old Tom Crabbe of Flanders-Baloise has been one of the revelations of the early part of the 2026 season, as he has already taken two victories. The first came on the opening stage of the Etoile de Bessèges, where Crabbe outkicked Unibet Rose Rockets rider Lukáš Kubiš to take his first-ever professional victory. 

Not long after, his second victory soon followed with a thumping bunch sprint triumph on Stage 4 of the Ruta del Sol, highlighting to the cycling world the talent that the 20-year-old has.

Crabbe is set to line up for Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, and one would assume, based on his showings in 2026, that Crabbe has to be considered for one of the dark horses for a podium place in the race, which would be some achievement on home soil.

Another rider who is solely lining up for Kuurne is the younger brother of Lidl-Trek rider Jonathan Milan, Matteo. Promising signs were displayed on stage 4 of the UAE Tour, where the 23-year-old Italian took home a WorldTour stage podium at his first WorldTour race after finishing third.

The one-day classic, Kuurne, is going to be an interesting proposition for Milan as Paul Penhoët is also slated to line up for Groupama-FDJ United and based on the assumption of experience, Penhoët is likely to be the leader, meaning Milan could be set to lead out the Frenchman. If that's not the case, then Milan could nestle himself on the cusp of the top ten.