Place Name: Brugsesteenweg
Address: Brugsesteenweg 319, 8520 Kuurne, West Flanders, Belgium
Details: March 1, 2026
The second day of racing in Belgium for Opening Weekend is traditionally a sprinter's classic. Leaving from Kortrijk on the banks of the Leie River, the riders set out for 195KM predominantly in West Flanders. Many of the climbs on today's route have a name in French and Flemish like the Côte du Trieu/Knokteberg and Mont de l'Enclus/Kluisberg. The final four climbs on the day are the Mont Saint-Laurent which is 1.3KM at 7%, Oude Kruisberg-Hotond combination that totals 2.7KM at 3.8%, Côte du Trieu/Knokteberg at 1.1KM at 7.2%, and the Mont de l'Enclus/Kluisberg which is 1.1KM at 5.9% and tops out 61KM from the finish. The final flat part of the race is usually a pursuit between a lead group being chased by a peloton full of sprinters. The race arrives back in Kortrijk with 25KM to go and passes through the finish line in Kuurne for one 15KM lap. A sprint is never a sure thing but there are plenty of teams that will be working towards that conclusion.
Riders to watch: Jasper Philipsen, Phil Bauhaus, Tobias Lund Andresen, Paul Penhoët, Jonathan Milan, Arnaud De Lie, Orluis Aular, Biniam Girmay, Jordi Meeus, Paul Magnier, Pavel Bittner, Christophe Laporte, Matthew Brennan, Milan Fretin, Emilien Jeannière
Skies were still overcast but the course was to stay dry throughout the day which the riders would certainly be pleased about. The break took over an hour to form and there were a few crashes to report before cameras started rolling. Tim Wellens of UAE-XRG took a heavy fall and abandoned as did Rory Townsend and Elmar Reinders of Unibet Rose Rockets. With 100KM to go, we got the first look at the break of the day which totaled seven riders including Johan Jacobs of Groupama-FDJ United, Roger Adrià of Movistar, Matis Louvel of NSN Cycling, Dries De Bondt of Jayco AlUla, Frits Biesterbos of Picnic-PostNL, Storm Ingebrigtsen of Uno-X Mobility, and Cole Kessler of Modern Adventure. They had a 4 minute advantage on the peloton being led by Alpecin-Premier Tech.
Lotto Intermarché took over control and ripped into the base of Le Bourliquet with 89.5KM to go. In just about 1KM, the gap to the break was cut by over 1 minute and the acceleration opened up the race over the top. Attacks came from Visma-Lease a Bike and Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe and splits started to form down the peloton. The bunch was more or less together as they barreled into Saint-Sauveur and started the cobbled Mont Saint-Laurent. Bahrain Victorious, Soudal Quickstep, and Alpecin-Premier Tech were aggressive on the climb which put Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek and other sprinters into trouble at the back. A group of around 15 formed off the front with chase groups strung out in single file behind.
The front few groups consolidated into a larger main peloton with Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech and Biniam Girmay of NSN Cycling within it. Milan, Arnaud De Lie of Lotto Intermarché, Dylan Groenewegen of Unibet Rose Rockets, and Arne Marit of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe were all together in a group 30 seconds behind. The next climb arrived quickly. After a descent into Ronse, the riders had to climb back out of town on the Oude Kruisberg. The Milan group were close but they hadn't made contact by the bottom. Decathlon CMA CGM started the Oude Kruisberg on the front but Jasper Philipsen wanted to push on. Cees Bol, Daan Hoole, and Tobias Lund Andresen of Decathlon CMA CGM followed and a small group of 10 formed including Matthew Brennan of Visma-Lease a Bike. They turned on to the paved road to continue climbing up the Hotond to the highest point in Flanders. Lotto Intermarché closed the gap and the race was reset near the top.
A fast descent off the Hotond brought the race into Klipe with a sharp, tight right turn to head towards the Côte du Trieu/Knokteberg with 70KM to go. At this point, the break were still ahead by 90 seconds with the Milan group drifting backwards at 1 minute 25 seconds behind the peloton. The bunch accelerated once again to battle for the turn onto the climb. Visma-Lease a Bike were best placed with Soudal Quickstep and Alpecin-Premier Tech right near the front as well. Dylan van Baarle of Soudal Quickstep attacked near the top with Timo Kielich of Visma-Lease a Bike and the reaction stretched the group into single file. On the main road heading downhill, the bunch was in pieces with groups of six to ten riders spread all over. The lead group consisted of van Baarle was Hoole, Kielich, Riley Sheehan of NSN Cycling, Matej Mohorič of Bahrain Victorious, and Mikkel Honoré of EF-Education EasyPost. A reaction came from Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe and stitched it all back together.
Mick Van Dijke of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe was the next aggressor, attacking on the Kluisberg, the final climb of the day. The move put a lot of the remaining fast men into trouble and split them off the back. A group of 12 went clear but they didn't have a huge gap. Decathlon CMA CGM weren't present so they set up a chase. With 54KM to go, the original break was caught by the attacking Van Dijke group which also contained Matteo Trentin of Tudor Pro Cycling, Nils Politt of UAE-XRG, van Baarle, and Brennan. Decathlon CMA CGM slowly wound in the advanced group and the race was back together with 52KM to go as they passed the Kerk in the village of Celles.
Visma-Lease a Bike hit the gas as the course opened up through wide expanses of exposed fields. The race went into echelons with the wind blowing from the left shoulder. The composition of the front group was constantly changing as the race entered and exited little villages which offered a brief reprieve from the wind. With 40KM to go, two groups came together at the front to make around 20 riders with around 50 riders chasing just 10 seconds behind. Héctor Álvarez of Lidl-Trek went on the attack but no one went with him. Visma-Lease a Bike and Decathlon CMA CGM still had numbers and went to the front to control. The wind calmed, as did the attacking, and the race merged all back together with 35KM to go.
The speed remained high but the group was together and numbered around 60 riders when they entered Kortrijk and passed the Grote Markt with 23KM to go. The Milan group never got back and would not contend the finish, nor would Binima Girmay who was dropped on the Kluisberg. Still in the group of the pre-race favorites however were Jasper Philipsen, Tobias Lund Andresen, Jordi Meeus, Christophe Laporte, and Matthew Brennan. Visma-Lease a Bike and Decathlon CMA CGM led the bunch through the bell with 15KM remaining to control for a bunch sprint.
At 7KM to go, Lotto Intermarché started their lead out for Steffen De Schuyteneer with Soudal Quickstep, Bahrain Victorious, UAE-XRG, and Visma-Lease a Bike all lined up across the road. With 3KM to go, Alec Segaert of Bahrain Victorious went to the front and was pushing really hard while a teammate let the wheel go behind. A gap formed and some riders jumped across including two from UAE-XRG. Decathlon CMA CGM were forced to do the chasing. They closed the gap but it burned two men with just 1,500M to go. The final left turn was taken at 800M from the line and NSN Cycling picked up the speed out of the corner. A Lotto Intermarché rider took over and gave way to Visma-Lease a Bike at 300M with Laporte leading the charge. Laporte guided Brennan all the way to 120M to go. Brennan only need a few pedal revolutions to get to the line and, when he did, he was clear by multiple bike lengths. A pair of Tudor Pro Cycling riders in the form of Luca Mozzato and Matteo Trentin snatched second and third to fill out the podium for the Swiss squad.
Tags: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, 2026, March, Kortrijk, Kuurne, Johan Jacobs, Roger Adrià, Matis Louvel, Dries De Bondt, Frits Biesterbos, Storm Ingebrigtsen, Cole Kessler, Jasper Philipsen, Cees Bol, Daan Hoole, Tobias Lund Andresen, Matthew Brennan, Dylan van Baarle, Timo Kielich, Riley Sheehan, Matej Mohorič, Mikkel Honoré, Mick Van Dijke, Matteo Trentin, Nils Politt, Héctor Álvarez, Christophe Laporte, Alec Segaert, Luca Mozzato