The winner of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne gets a toy donkey (Image credit: Getty Images)
Date: Sunday, February 27, 2022
Distance: 195 km
Start: Kuurne
Finish: Kuurne
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne is a one-day race in Belgium that forms part of the Spring Classics campaign.
Together with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on the Saturday, it forms part of what's known as the Opening Weekend of the Belgian Classics season - a tone-setter ahead of the bigger prizes to be won in the main spring period.
While the Omloop shares a similar race identity to the Tour of Flanders, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne is more geared towards the sprinters, with Mark Cavendish a two-time winner. That has been changing in recent years as the organisers have sought to intensify the route and racing has become more open, but two of the last four editions have culminated in bunch sprints.
As indicated by the name, the race starts and finishes in Kuurne, but, although it heads south east through the Flemish Ardennes, it doesn't come anywhere near Brussels.
The winner of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne receives a toy donkey, stemming from the not-so-affectionate nickname for locals of this sleepy town just outside of Kortrijk.
The profile of the 2022 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (Image credit: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne)
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne sits between a race for the sprinters and one for the Classics riders, and while the organisers have spoken of a 'revamped' course in 2022, it still offers the same complexion.
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They've taken out the Oude Kwaremont - as it's used enough in other races, they say - but have added a new section in Wallonia, taking the race out of Flanders for a trio of climbs that could break open the race just past the half-way mark.
From there, though, it's familiar stuff, with the Kruisberg, Hotond, Côte de Trieu and Kluisberg forming the critical section of the race, before what remains a 52km run-in to Kuurne. That will once again give the sprint teams some hope of controlling the race but there will be just one loop of the 12.5km finishing circuit, with the approach to it set to see a tailwind that could favour the attackers.
The map for the 2022 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (Image credit: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne)
Contenders for Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
The updated route hasn't put many sprinters off. The start list is, in fact, packed full of them.
Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) and Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) are perhaps the fastest pure sprinters and it'll be interesting to see how their teams proceed with them in the field. It will define the race.
Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) is arguably the next fastest on paper, while others include Alexander Kristoff at (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates), John Degenkolb (Team DSM), Matt Walls (Bora-Hansgrohe).
And then there are fast finishers who are more rounded Classics riders, such as 2017 winner Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) and Paris-Roubaix champion Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious).
Jasper Stuyven leads Trek-Segafredo in the absence of 2021 champion Mads Pedersen, while other thoroughbred Classics riders include Greg van Avermaet and Oliver Naesen (AG2R Citroën), Zdenek Stybar (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl), Sep Vanmarcke (Israel-Premier Tech), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), and Stefan Kung (Groupama-FD).
There's no Mathieu van der Poel, who is still recovering from a back injury, and no Wout van Aert, who only races Omloop on Saturday, but there is one big multi-disciplinarian star, with Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) lining up for his second Opening Weekend.
2022 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne teams
AG2R Citroen Team
Alpecin-Fenix
B&B Hotels-KTM
Bahrain Victorious
Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB
Bora-Hansgrohe
Cofidis
EF Education-EasyPost
Groupama-FDJ
Human Powered Health
Ineos Grenadiers
Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
Israel-Premier Tech
Jumbo-Visma
Lotto Soudal
Movistar Team
QuickStep-AlphaVinyl
Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
Team Arkéa-Samsic
BikeExchange-Jayco
Team DSM
TotalEnergies
Trek-Segafredo
UAE Team Emirates
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne race history
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne was first held in 1945 and is now about to hold its 74th edition.
Valère Olivier was the first winner and Belgians have gone on to dominate the race, with a total of 53 home winners. Of them, the decorated Tom Boonen holds the record of three victories, in 2007, 2009, and 2014.
The late February date has often seen wintery conditions, and the race has had to be cancelled on three occasions: 1986, 1993, and 2013. That makes it 73 editions in the past 76 years, but there have in fact been 74 winners, with Alfred De Bruyne and Leon Van Daele sharing the honours in 1961 after a close finish that the officials were unable to call.
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