Stuyven wins Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne

Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) put in a performance straight out of the Fabian Cancellara playbook, with a commanding win in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Belgian rider, who crashed during Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, marked several key moves, including an attack on the Kwaremont from Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), before launching his own bid for glory inside the final 30 kilometres.

Despite a frantic chase from the peloton, Stuyven never looked in trouble, holding a 30- to 40-second lead throughout the closing stages. Even a testing headwind could not slow the Trek-Segafredo rider.

Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won the bunch sprint for third ahead of Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) but the day belonged to Stuyven and his Trek-Segafredo team, with Niccolo Bonifazio and Edward Theuns also finishing inside the top ten. Boy van Poppel also played his part. As well as helping to form the early break the Dutch rider kept the move alive once Stuyven and several others bridged across.

On a day that saw both Katusha and Etixx-QuickStep search for revenge after disappointing outings in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, it was Trek’s precise and clinical game-plan that paid off, much to the delight of the management and Fabian Cancellara, who will lead the team during the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix later this spring.

Stuyven was present in each major split inside the final 70 kilometres and when a move that contained Tom Boonen, Greg Van Avermaet, Luke Rowe and the Trek rider appeared to be losing steam, Stuyven attacked with force and gusto.

How it unfolded

The riders at the start of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne were trying to protect themselves against the cold wind at the start next to the hippodrome in sunny Kuurne. David Boucher (Crelan-Vastgoedservice) didn’t hide from the wind and attacked straight from the start. Ten riders joined the former French – now Belgian – rider. They were his teammate Gerry Druyts (Crelan-Vastgoedservice), the duo Berden de Vries and Sjoerd van Ginneken (Roompot-Oranje),Kevin Van Melsen (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Yanto Barker (ONE), Sebastien Turgot (AG2R), Mirko Trosino (Southeast), Boy van Poppel (Trek-Segafredo), Jaap de Man (Team3M) and Romain Cardis (Direct Energie). The group collected a maximum lead of nine minutes in the headwind section, long before the hilly zone.

After the turning point near Ninove, the pace picked up thanks to a tailwind and at the feed zone fast men Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) abandoned the race.

A crash from Michael Delage (FDJ) caused a split in the peloton, putting 50 riders at a distance. For most of them it was game over as the pace remained high. Despite the high speed the only notable action happened on the Oude Kwaremont climb as World Champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) accelerated, with Stuyven marking his move.

The rest of the peloton didn’t allow the duo to gain much distance but no more than 30 riders survived the cut in the peloton. The pace dropped a little towards the Kluisberg and some fast men were able to come back. There were still 78 windy kilometres and three more climbs left to cover. Few riders in this peloton fancied to work on a ten-kilometre-long, straightforward section towards the cobbles of the Varent. As a result a second peloton managed to bridge back up.

The Lotto-Soudal team took the initiative when hitting the last three climbs of the day, between kilometres 62 and 50 in a crosswinds section. They received support from IAM Cycling and created echelons. Caleb Ewan and Kristoff were caught behind but managed to bounce back solo.

On Nokereberg, the last climb of the day, Julien Vermote (Etixx-QuickStep) tried hard to get away. He received the company of Stuyven, Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Sagan, Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto-Soudal), Dries Devenyns (IAM) and Salvatore Puccio (Sky).

The group quickly caught up with most riders from the lead group, except Trosino, but didn’t get much of a bonus. When riding through Waregem there was only one leader left, riding a handful of seconds ahead of an uncontrolled peloton.

A few new accelerations followed with Stuyven tearing the peloton apart. Trosino was caught at 39 kilometres from the finish. At that point the peloton was split into several groups, all battling the crosswinds. Ewan, Bouhanni and Debusschere were among the riders at the back of the race. Still, there was no organization in front with new attacks as a result.

The winning move is made

Eventually a large group rode away, building a 40-second lead on the peloton. The group featured former leaders Trosino and De Vries, Saturday’s winner Van Avermaet, Boonen and Vermote for Etixx-QuickStep, Stuyven, Boy van Poppel (Trek-Segafredo), Pim Ligthart (Lotto-Soudal), Magnus Cort Nielsen (Orica-GreenEdge), Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fortuneo-Vital Concept), Olivier Naesen (IAM), Luke Rowe (Sky), Tom Stamsnijder (Giant-Alpecin), Antoine Duchesne (Direct Energie) and Twan Castelijns (LottoNL-Jumbo).

In the peloton, Stig Broeckx (Lotto-Soudal) suddenly found himself on the ground after being hit by a medical motorbike. The rider was immediately taken to hospital for scans.

Back in the race, Lotto-Soudal were still working hard in the peloton to bring the leaders back. They received support from the Katusha team, while the co-operation in front wasn’t great with Boonen often neutralizing the attacks. Just before hitting the final lap Stuyven blasted away.

The Belgian rider quickly established a lead of 16 seconds on the first group, while the peloton was 34 seconds back on Stuyven.

When blasting through the streets of Kortrijk with 10 kilometres to go Stuyven had a lead of half a minute on a small first group with Boonen, Vermote, Rowe, Ligthart, Naesen and Van Avermaet. The peloton was 43 seconds down on Stuyven and despite a late rally, and Stuyven almost crashing on a left hand corner, the Belgian had enough to take the win. 

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo4:53:50
2Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha0:00:17
3Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 2 - Cell 2
4Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 3 - Cell 2
5Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 4 - Cell 2
6Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-SegafredoRow 5 - Cell 2
7Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff TeamRow 6 - Cell 2
8Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-SegafredoRow 7 - Cell 2
9Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM CyclingRow 8 - Cell 2
10Scott Thwaites (GBr) Bora-Argon 18Row 9 - Cell 2
11Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJRow 10 - Cell 2
12Maxime Daniel (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 11 - Cell 2
13Adrien Petit (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 12 - Cell 2
14Raymond Kreder (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 13 - Cell 2
15Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 14 - Cell 2
16Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 15 - Cell 2
17Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 16 - Cell 2
18Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 17 - Cell 2
19Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 18 - Cell 2
20Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 19 - Cell 2
21Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 20 - Cell 2
22Gerry Druyts (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 21 - Cell 2
23Andrew Fenn (GBr) Team SkyRow 22 - Cell 2
24Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step0:00:21
25Eugert Zhupa (Alb) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 24 - Cell 2
26Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Trek-SegafredoRow 25 - Cell 2
27Laurent Evrard (Bel) Team 3MRow 26 - Cell 2
28Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 27 - Cell 2
29Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La MondialeRow 28 - Cell 2
30Simone Antonini (Ita) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 29 - Cell 2
31Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 30 - Cell 2
32Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJRow 31 - Cell 2
33Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 32 - Cell 2
34Pieter Jacobs (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 33 - Cell 2
35Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 34 - Cell 2
36Matteo Busato (Ita) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 35 - Cell 2
37Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 36 - Cell 2
38Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 37 - Cell 2
39Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 38 - Cell 2
40Grégory Rast (Swi) Trek-SegafredoRow 39 - Cell 2
41Piotr Havik (Ned) Team 3MRow 40 - Cell 2
42Ralf Matzka (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 41 - Cell 2
43Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 42 - Cell 2
44Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 43 - Cell 2
45Ryan Anderson (Can) Direct EnergieRow 44 - Cell 2
46Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Trek-SegafredoRow 45 - Cell 2
47Yanto Barker (GBr) ONE Pro CyclingRow 46 - Cell 2
48Sébastien Turgot (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 47 - Cell 2
49Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky0:00:30
50Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team SkyRow 49 - Cell 2
51Jaap De Man (Ned) Team 3MRow 50 - Cell 2
52Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team SkyRow 51 - Cell 2
53Martin Velits (Svk) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 52 - Cell 2
54Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 53 - Cell 2
55Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 54 - Cell 2
56Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx - Quick-Step0:00:33
57Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing TeamRow 56 - Cell 2
58Antoine Duchesne (Can) Direct Energie0:00:35
59Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 58 - Cell 2
60Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La MondialeRow 59 - Cell 2
61Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge0:00:37
62Berden De Vries (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 61 - Cell 2
63Floris De Tier (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise0:00:39
64Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 63 - Cell 2
65Romain Cardis (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 64 - Cell 2
66Michel Kreder (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton0:00:42
67Leigh Howard (Aus) IAM CyclingRow 66 - Cell 2
68Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 67 - Cell 2
69Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step0:00:44
70Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team0:00:47
71Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto SoudalRow 70 - Cell 2
72Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing TeamRow 71 - Cell 2
73Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing TeamRow 72 - Cell 2
74Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing TeamRow 73 - Cell 2
75Mirko Trosino (Ita) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 74 - Cell 2
76Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM CyclingRow 75 - Cell 2
77Oliver Naesen (Bel) IAM CyclingRow 76 - Cell 2
78Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 77 - Cell 2
79Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 78 - Cell 2
80Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling0:00:58
81Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Soudal0:01:00
82Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step0:01:08
83Nils Politt (Ger) Team Katusha0:01:40
84Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky0:01:58
85Twan Castelijns (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 84 - Cell 2
86Damien Gaudin (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 85 - Cell 2
87Marco Haller (Aut) Team Katusha0:02:54
88Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal0:03:15
89Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge0:03:55
90Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 89 - Cell 2
91Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 90 - Cell 2
92Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team KatushaRow 91 - Cell 2
93Aleksei Tcatevich (Rus) Team KatushaRow 92 - Cell 2
94Sjoerd Van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton0:06:47
95Sam Bewley (NZl) Orica-GreenEdge0:07:30
96Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 95 - Cell 2
97Alexander Edmonson (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 96 - Cell 2
DNFDaniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff TeamRow 97 - Cell 2
DNFManuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff TeamRow 98 - Cell 2
DNFMaciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff TeamRow 99 - Cell 2
DNFAdam Blythe (GBr) Tinkoff TeamRow 100 - Cell 2
DNFNikolay Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff TeamRow 101 - Cell 2
DNFJay Mccarthy (Aus) Tinkoff TeamRow 102 - Cell 2
DNFOscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff TeamRow 103 - Cell 2
DNFElia Viviani (Ita) Team SkyRow 104 - Cell 2
DNFAlex Peters (GBr) Team SkyRow 105 - Cell 2
DNFGreg Henderson (NZl) Lotto SoudalRow 106 - Cell 2
DNFStig Broeckx (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 107 - Cell 2
DNFVladimir Isaychev (Rus) Team KatushaRow 108 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Morkov (Den) Team KatushaRow 109 - Cell 2
DNFSven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Team KatushaRow 110 - Cell 2
DNFGuillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 111 - Cell 2
DNFSondre Holst Enger (Nor) IAM CyclingRow 112 - Cell 2
DNFRoger Kluge (Ger) IAM CyclingRow 113 - Cell 2
DNFMatteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM CyclingRow 114 - Cell 2
DNFMickael Delage (Fra) FDJRow 115 - Cell 2
DNFMarc Sarreau (Fra) FDJRow 116 - Cell 2
DNFMatthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJRow 117 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Hoelgaard (Nor) FDJRow 118 - Cell 2
DNFJohan Le Bon (Fra) FDJRow 119 - Cell 2
DNFIgnatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJRow 120 - Cell 2
DNFChristopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 121 - Cell 2
DNFFloris Gerfs (Ned) BMC Racing TeamRow 122 - Cell 2
DNFNico Denz (Ger) AG2R La MondialeRow 123 - Cell 2
DNFAlexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 124 - Cell 2
DNFJesse Sergent (NZl) AG2R La MondialeRow 125 - Cell 2
DNFBram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 126 - Cell 2
DNFRobert Wagner (Ger) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 127 - Cell 2
DNFGiacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-SegafredoRow 128 - Cell 2
DNFMarco Coledan (Ita) Trek-SegafredoRow 129 - Cell 2
DNFSøren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 130 - Cell 2
DNFNikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 131 - Cell 2
DNFAlbert Timmer (Ned) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 132 - Cell 2
DNFFilippo Pozzato (Ita) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 133 - Cell 2
DNFManuel Belletti (Ita) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 134 - Cell 2
DNFAndrea Fedi (Ita) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 135 - Cell 2
DNFMirko Tedeschi (Ita) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 136 - Cell 2
DNFEnrique Sanz (Spa) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 137 - Cell 2
DNFShane Archbold (NZl) Bora-Argon 18Row 138 - Cell 2
DNFSam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18Row 139 - Cell 2
DNFZakkari Dempster (Aus) Bora-Argon 18Row 140 - Cell 2
DNFLukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Argon 18Row 141 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 142 - Cell 2
DNFRudiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 143 - Cell 2
DNFRoy Jans (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 144 - Cell 2
DNFKenny De Haes (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 145 - Cell 2
DNFTom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 146 - Cell 2
DNFMark Mcnally (GBr) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 147 - Cell 2
DNFRobin Stenuit (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 148 - Cell 2
DNFFrederik Veuchelen (Bel) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 149 - Cell 2
DNFYauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 150 - Cell 2
DNFFranck Bonnamour (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 151 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Mclay (GBr) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 152 - Cell 2
DNFBoris Vallee (Bel) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 153 - Cell 2
DNFSteven Tronet (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 154 - Cell 2
DNFBenoit Jarrier (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 155 - Cell 2
DNFVegard Breen (Nor) Fortuneo - Vital ConceptRow 156 - Cell 2
DNFPreben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 157 - Cell 2
DNFAmaury Capiot (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 158 - Cell 2
DNFMaxime Farazijn (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 159 - Cell 2
DNFKenneth Van Bilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 160 - Cell 2
DNFBorut Bozic (Slo) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 161 - Cell 2
DNFJerome Cousin (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 162 - Cell 2
DNFGert Joeaar (Est) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 163 - Cell 2
DNFJonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Cofidis, Solutions CreditsRow 164 - Cell 2
DNFYohann Gene (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 165 - Cell 2
DNFTony Hurel (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 166 - Cell 2
DNFJulien Morice (Fra) Direct EnergieRow 167 - Cell 2
DNFIuri Filosi (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 168 - Cell 2
DNFEduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 169 - Cell 2
DNFYuma Koishi (Jpn) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 170 - Cell 2
DNFNicolas Marini (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 171 - Cell 2
DNFRiccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 172 - Cell 2
DNFAntonio Viola (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 173 - Cell 2
DNFJesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 174 - Cell 2
DNFWesley Kreder (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 175 - Cell 2
DNFAndré Looij (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 176 - Cell 2
DNFBrian Van Goethem (Ned) Roompot - Oranje PelotonRow 177 - Cell 2
DNFMarcin Bialoblocki (Pol) ONE Pro CyclingRow 178 - Cell 2
DNFSebastian Lander (Den) ONE Pro CyclingRow 179 - Cell 2
DNFHayden Mccormick (NZl) ONE Pro CyclingRow 180 - Cell 2
DNFMartin Mortensen (Den) ONE Pro CyclingRow 181 - Cell 2
DNFChris Opie (GBr) ONE Pro CyclingRow 182 - Cell 2
DNFSamuel Williams (GBr) ONE Pro CyclingRow 183 - Cell 2
DNFSteele Von Hoff (Aus) ONE Pro CyclingRow 184 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Boucher (Fra) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 185 - Cell 2
DNFYannick Eijssen (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 186 - Cell 2
DNFRob Ruijgh (Ned) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 187 - Cell 2
DNFFrederique Robert (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 188 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Geuens (Bel) Crelan-Vastgoedservice Continental TeamRow 189 - Cell 2
DNFEdwig Cammaerts (Bel) Team 3MRow 190 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Vingerling (Ned) Team 3MRow 191 - Cell 2
DNFYoeri Havik (Ned) Team 3MRow 192 - Cell 2
DNFChristophe Sleurs (Bel) Team 3MRow 193 - Cell 2
DNFJimmy Janssens (Bel) Team 3MRow 194 - Cell 2
DNSChristian Knees (Ger) Team SkyRow 195 - Cell 2
DNSRick Zabel (Ger) BMC Racing TeamRow 196 - Cell 2
DNSKenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 197 - Cell 2
DNSTim Declercq (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 198 - Cell 2

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