Wheel Talk Newsletter: Hageland and Le Samyn kept Opening Weekend going

Cor Vos

"Opening Weekend" was actually a three-day affair for the women this weekend, with the Omloop van het Hageland on Sunday and Le Samyn des Dames (now Beobank Samyn Ladies) moved to Monday. A handful of riders raced all three days, but only a couple really shone...

As we head into the Holy Trinity (as I have dubbed Strade Bianche + the Trofeo Alfredo Binda + Milan-San Remo), the top names will continue to shine, but there are quite a few new names making their way through the ranks. How will they fare in the Italian Classics? We'll find out soon!

First things first: Kool is back, baby!

When Charlotte Kool won two stages of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2024 and wore the yellow jersey to boot, it really looked like the reign of Lorena Wiebes would be challenged, but after those wins the Dutchwoman would have to wait until the Baloise Ladies Tour in 2025, nearly a full year, before she would cross the finish line first again.

Unfortunately, after her stage victory at the 2.1 race, the former Picnic PostNL rider hit the ground and sustained three broken vertebrae and a concussion. The injury forced her to abandon the Tour in late July, and it wasn't until Binche-Chimay-Binche that she raced again. Off the bike, Kool was also going through some career changes. She announced a few weeks into August that she was leaving PicnicPostNL early to join Fenix-Premier Tech, so when she lined up at the Belgian one-day in September, it was for a new team. Kool finished fourth in Binche-Chimay-Binche behind Wiebes, Lara Gillespie, and Maria Giulia Confalonieri.

Going into 2026, fully embedded with her new team, there was a bit of unknown around Kool. When she's on her A-game, she can almost match the Wiebes of two years ago, but Wiebes now is a completely different beast. At the UAE Tour, where Kool started her season, she finished 11th, ninth, and eighth in the three sprint stages. Nothing to write home about for a pure sprinter on pure sprinter terrain.

The Omloop van het Hageland is not normally one for the sprinters. There are a few tricky climbs on the circuits that make up the bulk of the race, and those climbs have split the bunch before. Sprinters have still won: Marta Bastianelli, Jolien D'Hoore, and Wiebes herself. But in years past, the race has been too selective.

Last year, Femke Gerritse won from a breakaway of seven. This year, the race almost went to a break of three despite a ton of work done by Lidl-Trek to bring Elisa Balsamo to the finish first. The break, containing SD Worx-Protime's Marta Lach, Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ), and Flora Perkins (Fenix-Premier Tech), could have made it to the line, but was brought back inside the final kilometre.

Kool's sprinting senses kicked in as that group of three got closer and closer, and the Dutchwoman sprinted to her first victory in seven months. The win was hopefully the confidence boost Kool needs to take on Wiebes in the flatter Classics, starting with Brugge-De Panne (now named the Ronde van Brugge) on March 26.

8 takeaways from the women’s Opening WeekendAs Women’s WorldTour racing kicks off in Europe, here’s what stood out at Omloop Nieuwsblad and Omloop van het Hageland.Escape CollectiveMatt de Neef

But how about that Lara Gillespie...

Gillespie had an amazing start to the season at the UAE Tour, and going into Opening Weekend, it was expected she would build on her near success. The Omloop Nieuwsblad was potentially a bit of a reach with the final climbs, but the Omloop van het Hageland (where she finished second in 2025) and Le Samyn (third in 2025) were real possibilities.

The Irishwoman delivered in both, finishing second behind Kool on Sunday and finally taking her long-awaited Classics victory on Monday. UAE Team ADQ didn't leave her win up to chance; instead, they got her and Elynor Bäckstedt into the day's breakaway, removing most of the factors that could have stepped between Gillespie and a victory.

If the race had stayed together and then come down to a reduced sprint, chances are she still would have won with the form she's been showing. The real key here is that Gillespie knows she can do it, and she can continue to grow in strength and confidence in the weeks to come.

Racing continues...

At Strade Bianche on Saturday, March 7th!

I will write a full breakdown of Strade on the site later this week with course analysis and riders to watch, so stay tuned!

Also on this weekend: Vuelta a Extremadura Femenina - March 6th to 8th

In its fourth edition, the Vuelta a Extremadura Femenina continues to attract some of the top teams, with riders who haven't been tapped for Strade Bianche in Italy. Last year, Ellen van Dijk took the victory thanks to a win in the opening time trial, but it was also the race where Mie Bjørndal Ottestad started to make herself known, finishing second behind the Lidl-Trek rider (and winning a stage along the way).

This year, Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) is set to line up with her teammates Antonia Niedermaier and Chiara Consonni. The team will be hard to beat, but FDJ United-Suez, who are also planning to race, will give it their best shot.

Stage 1 ITT: Herrera del Duque (18.4 km)

Stage 2: Pueblo Nuevo del Guadiana to Fuente del Maestre (132.8 km)

Stage 3: Jerte to Jaraíz de la Vera (139.4 km)

A full startlist will be available here.

Wheel Talk podcast

Loren and Gracie joined me this week on the podcast to talk all things Omloop Nieuwsblad, including that effort from Franzi Koch, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney's chances the rest of the Spring, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's extremely thin calendar, and our favourite storylines to follow this Classics season (inspired by this piece I wrote last week).

SD Worx-Protime battles to stay on top and other subplots of the spring ClassicsThese are the storylines to follow as the women’s peloton navigates Classics season.Escape CollectiveAbby Mickey

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