Five cobbled sections and ten hills await the riders in this women's edition of the 128-kilometre race. The Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg will colour the final until the finish in Ninove, making for a spectacular sixteenth edition of the Omloop for women.

"I'm really looking forward to it", Henderson says with a smile. "The Omloop is always a tough race, partly because it is the first classic of the season. But I've had a good preparation with stages in Alicante and Mallorca, so I hope the form is good. I expect the last fifty kilometres to be hectic. Hopefully we can position ourselves well as a team to get far into the final. Being the leader with this team in this race is a nice step up for me. I am extremely grateful for it and will give everything I have."

"Anna is a real up-and-comer", confirms teammate Coryn Labecki, with whom Henderson has raced for another team in the past. "She made so much progress last season that I'm sure she's ready to take on the leader's role."

"Coryn is very fast as well", Henderson says. "She fits in well with the team. Not only is she fast, but she's also a real team player who takes good care of you during the race. I'm looking forward to racing together. We were on the same team before, but we didn't race together yet because corona struck when we had just become teammates."

"True, we actually only got to know each other a little bit now", Labecki adds. "The team camp in Norway was good team building. It's important to get to know each other before the new season starts. I am happy with this opportunity. Cycling for this team means a lot to me. And I can already speak a word of Dutch in the meantime", the American says with a smile.

"It's nice to ride for such an ambitious team", Henderson agrees. "You can be yourself here. Everyone is looked at as an individual, but everyone is going for the same goals."

Labecki confirms this. "And everyone wants to do better and better. I'm 29 years old, I've seen a lot in cycling and I want to share that with my teammates. For the rest, I want to do well myself. This season I focus mainly on the Tour of Flanders and the Amstel Gold Race; winning a Tour stage would also be fantastic. At the end of June I want to go for the national title in the US again. But I will start the spring in Belgium. I won the Ronde in 2017 and it would be great to do that again. That race suits me well and we have a strong team to go for that goal together."

Labecki will lead the team with Marianne Vos during the spring classics and the Tour de France. "Of course, I already knew Marianne as a competitor. I look up to her very much. She is an icon in the cycling world. Regarding the type of rider, we are very similar. I am convinced that we can help each other."

Whereas Labecki dares to dream aloud of winning the most beautiful races, the learning process is still a priority in Henderson's case. "2021 was my first full year as a professional rider. I learned a lot, not only about myself as a rider but also about what it takes to be a good teammate. I want to build on that this season. My development has also come about because Team Jumbo-Visma supports me very well and I can totally identify with the team's values. They ensure that I can continue to grow."

The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will be held on Saturday, 26 February. The start for the men is at 11.00, for the women at 13.25.

Selection: Romy Kasper, Jip van den Bos, Teuntje Beekhuis, Karlijn Swinkels, Anna Henderson, Anouska Koster.