Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike) won a three-man sprint to take the victory at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne after he outsprinted breakaway companions Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) and Oier Lazkano (Movistar) at the finish line.
It was Van Aert first time competing at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. Visma-Lease a Bike once again dominated Opening Weekend with Jan Tratnik winning the previous day's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne information
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, a one-day race in Belgium, comes one day after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and together the races form the Opening Weekend of the Belgian Classics season.
While Omloop het Nieuwsblad uses much of the course for the Tour of Flanders, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne only skirts the numerous bergs that pepper the Flemish Ardennes. The course uses the Tiegemberg, Berg ten Houte, Kruisberg/Hotond, Cote du Trieu and Kluisberg but a flat final 61km tips the race in favour of the sprinters.
The race starts in Kortrijk in 2024 and finishes in Kuurne.
Map for the 2024 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (Image credit: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne)
The race organisers for Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne have paired with RouteYou to create an interactive map and profile for the 2023 edition. The 193km route around Kuurne tackles some of the most popular climbs of the Spring Classics.
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The early loop sends riders over the famed Koppenberg and the Wolvenberg, while the foray into Wallonia uses lesser known but equally punishing ascents of the Hameau des Papins, Le Bourliquet and Croisette.
Luckily for the sprinters, all of those are out of the way with 60km to go and a pan-flat run-in almost always ensures a fast finish.
2024 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne teams
Alpecin-Deceuninck
Arkéa-Samsic
Astana Qazaqstan
Bahrain Victorious
Bora-Hansgrohe
Cofidis
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
Groupama-FDJ
Ineos Grenadiers
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty
Jayco-AlUla
Movistar
Soudal-QuickStep
DSM-Firmenich-PostNL
Lidl-Trek
UAE Team Emirates
Visma-Lease a Bike
Bingoal WB
Israel-Premier Tech
Lotto-Dstny
Team Flanders-Baloise
TotalEnergies
Tudor Pro Cycling
Q36.5 Pro Cycling
Uno-X Pro Cycling
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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