Vollering Wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad With FDJ-SUEZ Masterclass Over the Muur
Demi Vollering opened the women's Classics season in emphatic fashion, winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad after a perfectly executed team performance from FDJ United-SUEZ. The Dutch star attacked over the Muur van Geraardsbergen and outsprinted Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney in a two-up finish to claim her first victory in the traditional season opener.
It was a result built on meticulous teamwork. Elise Chabbey spent the afternoon in the early breakaway, forcing SD Worx-Protime and CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto to chase. When the race hit the Muur van Geraardsbergen for the final time, Franziska Koch drove the pace on the lower slopes before peeling off, delivering Vollering to the steepest ramps in perfect position.
Vollering's attack came on the iconic cobbled wall's steepest gradients, a moment of raw power that only Niewiadoma could follow. The pair crested the summit together and worked to establish a gap over a chasing group containing Lotte Kopecky, who had been isolated after her SD Worx-Protime teammates were caught out by the pace on the approach. With 15 kilometres remaining, the two leaders built a 25-second advantage that would prove insurmountable.
In the sprint, Vollering was the stronger rider. She opened her kick with 200 metres to go, and while Niewiadoma fought gamely, the gap was never in doubt. The CANYON//SRAM rider took second, with Kopecky leading the chase group home for third — a result that left the Belgian disappointed but far from despairing with the cobbled Classics ahead.
The victory was a statement of intent from Vollering in her first major race since her blockbuster transfer from SD Worx-Protime to FDJ United-SUEZ. After a winter of questions about whether the new team could match the infrastructure and support she enjoyed at the dominant Dutch squad, the Omloop answered them emphatically. "This is exactly why I came here," Vollering said. "The team was perfect today. Every rider knew their role, and they executed it flawlessly."
For Kopecky, the third-place finish was a reminder that the Classics season is long. The Belgian, who would go on to win Milan-San Remo three weeks later, was philosophical at the finish. "We didn't have the numbers today," she acknowledged. "But the legs are there. The big races are still coming." Those big races — the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix — remain the prizes that will define the 2026 women's spring.