Nokere Koerse has carved out a distinctive place in the women’s spring calendar, offering a race that sits somewhere between a pure sprint and a selective cobbled test. While it lacks the repeated climbs of the major Flemish monuments, it compensates with exposed roads, technical positioning, and a finale that consistently delivers a high-speed, uphill drag to the finish line in Nokere.
The race has developed into a key midweek marker during the Classics block, often revealing which teams have both the organisation and depth to control chaotic racing. It is a course that can look straightforward on paper but rarely rides that way in practice. Narrow roads, cobbled sections and the ever-present threat of wind splits mean that positioning is critical throughout, and any lapse in concentration can quickly end a rider’s chances.
Recent editions have leaned towards sprint finishes, but rarely from a full peloton. Instead, Nokere Koerse tends to produce reduced groups where the strongest teams impose control in the closing kilometres. That dynamic makes it a race for powerful sprinters who can survive earlier pressure, as well as riders capable of forcing splits before the final run-in.
The 2026 edition continues in that same mould. The route once again builds gradually through a series of exposed sectors and cobbled stretches before focusing the race into a tense, fast approach to Nokere. From there, the uphill finish becomes the defining moment, a sprint that rewards both raw power and precise timing after a day of attritional racing.
Previous Winners
2025
Marta Lach
2024
Lotte Kopecky
2023
Lotte Kopecky
2026 Nokere Koerse Women route
The course builds gradually towards its decisive finale, combining rolling terrain with exposed roads that can amplify any wind. Cobblestones are a recurring feature, not in the density of the monuments, but enough to disrupt rhythm and force constant repositioning. Teams that control the race through these sections can dictate which riders reach the final phase in contention.
The defining feature remains the finish in Nokere itself. The final kilometres are fast and technical, before rising towards the line in a drag that punishes poor timing. Riders must balance positioning with patience, launching their sprint late enough to sustain speed on the incline, but early enough to avoid being boxed in. It is a finish that consistently rewards power sprinters who can handle both the build-up and the gradient.
2026 Nokere Koerse Women live TV coverage
Race Date: Wednesday 18th March 2026
United Kingdom
Live coverage is available via Discovery+ and TNT Sports
International broadcasters
In Europe, coverage is available via Discovery+ and Max. In Belgium, the race is typically broadcast on Sporza. In the United States, coverage is available via FloBikes.
2026 Nokere Koerse Women startlist
2026 Nokere Koerse Women Contenders
Everything still bends around Lotte Kopecky, because she is the one rider here who can win whether it is a full bunch sprint, a reduced sprint after pressure, or a late move that sticks when the chase hesitates. The key advantage for Team SD Worx-Protime is that they can make the race hard without sacrificing their winning card, using Mischa Bredewold to force a selection or destabilise the run-in, then still arriving at the line with Kopecky as the best finisher in the chaos. It also means rival teams are rarely allowed to ride patiently, because SD Worx can choose when the race becomes uncomfortable rather than waiting for the finale.
A reliable Nokere profile is exactly what Emma Norsgaard brings, and her record here, 8th, 7th and 11th across three attempts, is a strong marker that she understands how to survive the positioning battle and still sprint. Lidl-Trek can therefore race with a clear finishing plan on a day that often punishes teams without one, but it is worth noting that Anna Henderson is now a non-starter, which slightly reduces the team’s depth for the frantic final hour. The most interesting secondary card is Fleur Moors, because Nokere is one of those races where a rider can go from “support” to “podium threat” simply by being in the right 10 wheels when the sprint opens.
UAE Team ADQ look built for a sprint that is still selective enough to leave room for multiple outcomes. Lara Gillespie comes in with a genuine course reference after finishing 3rd last season, and she fits the type of finisher who can still deliver when the group is reduced and the lead-outs are fractured. The other key name is Sofie van Rooijen, who was 4th in 2024, showing she can make the front group and still sprint, even if 2025 ended in a DNF. Megan Jastrab adds another sprint option if the bunch arrives larger than expected, which gives UAE the flexibility to race the finale for position first and decide the lead card late rather than committing too early.
Movistar’s clearest win route is still a sprint, and Arlenis Sierra has the most convincing Nokere credentials in this line-up outside the very top tier, with 5th in both 2023 and 2024. That kind of repeatability matters here because it suggests she does not need a perfect race to still be in the mix, just the right positioning in the final kilometre. The way to protect that is obvious: keep her out of trouble and forward before the final corners, and that is where Floortje Mackaij becomes important, because she can shepherd a finisher through the chaotic run-in where others lose the race by being too far back.
If the finish is fast but disorganised, Georgia Baker remains Liv AlUla Jayco’s clearest route to a win, because she thrives when the sprint is improvised rather than perfectly controlled. The extra layer is Quinty Ton, whose early 2026 form, 5th at Le Samyn and 7th at GP Oetingen, suggests she is already competitive in hard one-day racing. That is exactly the kind of profile that becomes valuable if Nokere is ridden harder than expected and the sprint group is thinned before the finale.
A chaotic lead-in is exactly the environment where Rachele Barbieri can win, because Nokere often becomes less about a clean lead-out and more about who finds space at the right moment. Team Picnic PostNL also have Josie Nelson as a genuine wildcard if the day becomes fractured and physical, and her 2026 level, including 2nd at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, suggests she can survive a hard race and still finish strongly even if the sprint is reduced.
AG Insurance-Soudal have a credible sprint card in Gladys Verhulst-Wild, and she becomes more dangerous the more chaotic the finale is, because she does not need a long train to find a result. The rider who adds extra intrigue is Shari Bossuyt, because 10th in her last edition in 2022 is a useful reminder that she can handle this race’s positioning demands and still arrive in the right group. If the sprint is selective and the big teams get tangled, that sort of course familiarity can translate into a result that looks bigger than the team’s control of the day.
A top-end sprint threat still exists through Charlotte Kool, and if she reaches the finale in position she is one of the fastest finishers in the entire field. The uncertainty is always the same in races like Nokere, not her sprint, but whether the repeated pressure and positioning battles leave her with the legs and the wheels to launch cleanly. If the sprint becomes reduced and more chaotic, riders like Marthe Truyen can become more relevant because they cope better with the attritional side of the race and can still finish well when others are spent.
If the race ends up being even more selective than expected, Human Powered Health have a rider who consistently lands in the right zone for Nokere-style finishes. Kathrin Schweinberger has repeatedly finished in the low top-10 range here, with results like 10th, 11th, 12th and 15th across different editions, which speaks to repeatability rather than one off luck. That kind of profile makes her a realistic top-10 threat again, especially if the final group is reduced enough that the sprint becomes a fatigue contest.
There is also an outsider worth mentioning from REMBE | rad-net women, because Nokere has a habit of delivering one surprise result when the favourites misjudge positioning. Lisa Klein is no longer a headline favourite, but her history here, 2nd in 2019 and 3rd in 2021, is strong enough to matter if she arrives in the front group and the sprint becomes messy and tactical rather than purely about top-end speed.
Top 3 Prediction
⦿ Lotte Kopecky
⦿ Charlotte Kool
⦿ Fleur Moors
