2025 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad champion Lotte Claes will be defending her title on Saturday after all, after her Fenix-Premier Tech team changed their minds and selected her for the Belgian season opener.
Claes, 32, was a surprise winner last year after beating fellow early breakaway survivor Aurela Nerlo in a two-woman sprint to the line, but she was not selected for Saturday's race by her new team Fenix-Premier Tech.
Claes' was supportive of the decision for her to focus on the Ardennes Classics, but expressed her disappointment at not being able to race with the number one dossard. After those comments sparked widespread headlines on Tuesday, Fenix-Premier Tech reversed their decision and added her to the squad for Saturday's race.
"As the defending champion, the team’s management ultimately felt it made sense to include her, even though her strengths typically lie in the Ardennes-style terrain," a spokesperson for the team told Cyclingnews on Wednesday.
Claes has already made her 2026 debut in the Australian run of races last month before taking ninth overall at the Setmana Valenciana earlier this month. However, she wasn't initially listed for her team's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad line-up.
Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad earlier this week, she said it was "a shame" that she wouldn't defend her title, but noted that she'd instead target the Ardennes Classics this spring.
"In a way, I do find it a shame. I have fond memories of the Omloop; I'll probably never get the chance to start with number one again," Claes said.
"But at the same time, I fully support the team's decision. They want to field me in the Ardennes Classics, races that are much more suited to my profile."
Fenix-Premier Tech's provisional squad for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was set to include Charlotte Kool, Millie Kouzens, and Christina Schweinberger, though the team's final selection has yet to be confirmed.
In any case, Claes will line up in Gent with number one on her back, ready to face a peloton which includes Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), Lorena Wiebes and Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), among others.
2025 runner-up, Polish rider Aurela Nerlo, won't be lining up at the race, however. The 28-year-old raced for Winspace last year but was provisionally suspended by the Polish Anti-Doping Agency in August after returning a positive test out of competition for the anabolic agent Ligandrol (LGD-4033).
