Attacker’s paradise at a brilliant Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, but inevitable sprint falls to mighty Brennan

The Opening Weekend had exploded into life on Saturday with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Mathieu van der Poel made his long-awaited debut in the race as top favourite — and delivered immediately with a stunning display of power. The Dutchman of Alpecin–Premier Tech was clearly the best on the Muur and rode solo to victory in Ninove.

Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, however, was expected to be more suited to the fast men, with roughly 60 kilometres still to race after the final climb. Would that prove true? It was far from certain, as wind was again tipped to play a role. It didn’t fully materialise on Saturday, but before the start, there was definitely a fear of crosswind…

There was also uncertainty over who would even make it to the start. The harsh, wet conditions in Omloop had seen plenty of riders hit the deck. Rick Pluimers (Tudor) was among them and had to skip Kuurne as a result. Team-mate Stefan Küng broke his femur and saw his spring campaign fall apart before it truly began. Visma | Lease a Bike, meanwhile, could breathe a sigh of relief: despite crashing, Matthew Brennan was able to start on Sunday.

With a windy day on the menu, an early move from the pure attackers felt inevitable — and who else but Dries De Bondt saw his chance? The Belgian of Jayco AlUla was joined by gravel specialist Frits Biesterbos (Picnic PostNL), who also doesn’t mind a day of suffering. With Johan Jacobs (Groupama-FDJ United), Matis Louvel (NSN Cycling) and Cole Kessler (Modern Adventure) added, it became a strong group of five.

Two more riders then made a big effort to bridge across — and they managed it: Roger Adrià (Movistar) and Storm Ingebrigtsen (Uno-X) made it seven leaders out front. That brought some calm to the bunch: the break steadily stretched its advantage and was given more than four minutes.

But the peace did not last long. Mid-race, there were multiple crashes — with the worst coming around halfway, when roughly ten riders went down hard. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) ended up in a ditch and limped away into the grass. It looked immediately like game over for the Belgian champion, who was clutching at his collarbone.

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The race waits for no one. It was Visma | Lease a Bike who first tried to force things with an attack from Timo Kielich. He didn’t get away, but it sparked a superb phase of racing. Several specialists were moving at the front — but it was Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin–Premier Tech) who truly took matters into his own hands. The defending champion accelerated on the steep Mont Saint-Laurent.

There, Philipsen looked clearly the strongest. Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) punctured at the worst possible moment, while favourites Jonathan Milan (Lidl–Trek) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto–Intermarché) — who had earlier tried to accelerate himself — were simply dropped. Philipsen’s surge caused a major selection, and riders like Brennan, Dylan van Baarle and Tim van Dijke (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe) were among those who made the cut.

On the Kruisberg, the highest point of the day, Philipsen accelerated again — but this time the Dutch riders of Decathlon CMA CGM reacted instantly. Daan Hoole and Cees Bol latched on, a small group came back, and the race briefly re-formed. That group included the Van Dijke brothers along with team-mate Laurence Pithie, plus Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) and Brennan. But cooperation was missing — and once again it all came back together.

Had the moment to make the difference passed? Not yet, because the Knokteberg was still to come. Mohoric drove the pace there, but it was Van Baarle who really put rivals on the rack. The Dutchman formed an elite group with Mohoric, Kielich, Hoole, Riley Sheehan (NSN) and Mikkel Honoré (EF Education–EasyPost). The gap was never huge, and a little later it was all together again.

Meanwhile, the original break was still dangling in front of the peloton, albeit with just half a minute. They started the Kluisberg, the final climb of the day, with that small advantage. Mick van Dijke lifted the tempo — and this time it did real damage. A group of around fifteen riders ripped clear, including Van Baarle, Mohoric and Brennan, who also had two team-mates with him.

Behind, there was reason to worry. Decathlon had missed the move this time and had to chase. And Philipsen — so strong on the hills earlier — was not in that front group. The leaders bridged across to the remnants of the early break and gradually extended their advantage over the peloton. Visma | Lease a Bike had Brennan up there along with Kielich and the very young Matisse Van Kerckhove, and they sensed the chance: full gas.

Decathlon, however, threw a spanner in the works and brought things back together. Were we heading for a sprint after all? Right at that moment, the crosswind alarm went off. Christophe Laporte accelerated and shattered the peloton for what felt like the umpteenth time. Once again, around fifteen riders got separation, and the bunch had to chase from behind.

In the front group, it was attack after attack — there was no real cooperation. Alpecin–Premier Tech stayed quiet, and there was a reason: Philipsen punctured and had to fight his way back via the chasing group. Thankfully for him, the regrouping happened quickly, but he was still riding on a borrowed bike.

The peloton grew larger and larger, and a sprint began to look inevitable. With around fifty riders, the race rolled back towards Kuurne and the finish.

Decathlon CMA CGM and Visma | Lease a Bike had the most riders and did the most work. Lotto–Intermarché and UAE Team Emirates – XRG also contributed in the finale, but a late move caused a moment of panic. Laporte then delivered Brennan perfectly, and the Brit finished it off with ease. Tudor placed two riders on the podium: Luca Mozzato and Matteo Trentin.