Welcome back! We've got another helping of cobbles for you today with Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. I hope you're not too full after yesterday.
It is another very cold day out there in Belgium as the 'Beast from the East' keeps Europe cool. No snow, thankfully. The sun is out and we're in for another great day of action.
The organisers issued a slight update on the weather conditions a little earlier, saying that there is a bit more wind out than previously expected. Thankfully, there should be more of a tailwind today, compared to yesterday's headwind, which made it rather difficult for those trying to go on the attack.
Oliver Naesen is expecting a good battle today. The Belgian champion was in the key move yesterday but came away empty handed from it all. He's hoping for much more today.
"The tailwind will allow for real racing. A bunch sprint isn't necessary. I've done it three times and it was never a bunch sprint. A lot will depend on the sprinter teams. Yesterday I wasn't happy. I loved the course and the magnificent old Ronde final. Hopefully today ends better."
We are just a few minutes away from the start in Kuurne. See exactly who is in the peloton today with the start list, here.
Here is the view from today's start line
The peloton is off through the neutral zone, which is three kilometres today.
This is what the riders will be facing today with the Wolvenberg the first climb of the day at 32 kilometres.
Bardet wins Classic de l'Ardeche Schachmann second, Calmejane third https://t.co/ZnKnbdbmjp https://t.co/3Itd72fRpt
Thanks to Lotto Soudal, this is the menu for today. Note the sticker below. The riders are going to have to ride at the limit if they want to combat the cold today.
Today's final stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour is closing in on its conclusion with just 50 kilometres remaining. There is a breakaway up the road with more than six minutes on the chasing peloton.
There have been a number of attacks already but nothing has managed to go clear in the opening kilometres. The peloton is keeping up a fast pace as the thermometer dips to 0 Celsius.
Defending champion Peter Sagan is not present today as he completes an altitude training camp ahead of his Classics debut. While they don't have a big leader, Bora-Hansgrohe has a solid line-up at Kuurne. German champion Marcus Burghardt was their best finisher yesterday in 10th place.
51 Rudiger Selig (Ger) 52 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) 53 Sam Bennett (Irl) 54 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) 55 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) 56 Daniel Oss (Ita) 57 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger)
With no Sagan and Mark Cavendish out of action, although he was never meant to race this weekend, there is only one former champion in the peloton today. 2016 winner Jasper Stuyven finished fourth yesterday and second here last year. He leads Trek-Segafredo, with Giacomo Nizzolo back after his crash yesterday.
1 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) 2 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) 3 Mads Pedersen (Den) 4 Grégory Rast (Swi) 5 Kiel Reijnen (USA) 6 Ryan Mullen (Irl) 7 Boy van Poppel (Ned)
10 kilometres in and we're still without a breakaway despite a barrage of attacks.
There will certainly be an incentive to attack as the riders reach the final local laps with a nice 2,500 Euros on offer for the first rider to enter the local laps.
An interesting rider to watch today is Fernando Gaviria. He crashed yesterday after running over a stray bidon just before the Muur but he's back in the bunch today as part of a strong Quick-Step Floors line-up.
This is Quick-Step Floors line-up for today's race. Note that Philippe Gilbert is not racing today. Dries Devenyns has also replaced Florian Senechal after the Frenchman fell ill.
41 Fernando Gaviria (Col) 42 Maximiliano Ariel Richeze (Arg) 43 Niki Terpstra (Ned) 44 Tim Declercq (Bel) 45 Iljo Keisse (Bel) 46 Dries Devenyns (Bel) 47 Yves Lampaert (Bel)
If you missed yesterday's race then you missed a corker, but you can read up on what went down with our report, with full results and a gallery.
#ICYMI: Siggaard wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite Women Ryan second and Confalonieri third https://t.co/TSusNuI1d2 https://t.co/y6hfYRo9td
It sounds like we might have a breakaway here in Belgium. A group now has a 30-second gap on the bunch and the brakes have been put on a little in the bunch. Will this one stick?
There are seven riders up front with a 1:15 gap on the bunch now. Astana reports that Truls Korsaeth is one of them, but we have no other names for now.
170km remaining from 198km
Here we go, the names of the riders in this move are: Truls Korsaeth (Astana), Gedaminas Bagdonas (AG2R), Marco Marcato (UAE), Piet Allegaert (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Kenneth Van Bilsen (Cofidis), Romain Cardis (Direct Energie) and Ben Perry (Israel Cycling Academy). The gap is still growing so it looks like this is the one.
Just to be clear: bright sun and blue sky in #KBK18 and rain in #RideToAbuDhabi.
The leaders now have more than two minutes on the bunch as the tackle the first climb of the day, the Wolvenberg.
This is the second straight day in a breakaway for Van Bilsen after he made it into yesterday's 10-man move. With no serious contenders, the breakaway is the best option for the Cofidis team.
Over in Abu Dhabi, Andre Greipel is one of the last three from the breakaway on the one and only climb of the race. This is a good sign for him going into the Classics.
A small change to that front group as it comes down the race radio that it is Matteo Bono in the front group and not Marco Marcato.
I spoke about Gaviria and his crash earlier. Here is what the Colombian had to say at the start of the day.
"It’s going to be a very different race to yesterday. It’s going to be a lot quicker, and it’s going to be tailwind in certain parts. We have a very strong team for the wind, so I’m calm.
"It’s a big change coming from Colombia to the cold weather here in Belgium but these are races that I like and races that I want to win."
The first hour of racing was slightly slower than yesterday's offering with an average speed of 39.5kph. The icy winds have probably not helped.
After 42km, the breakaway has just 2:10 on the bunch. Just the Wolvenberg done with so far, the Onkerzele is up next.
If you were under any doubt as to how cold it is, here is a worker de-icing the road on the Kanarieberg earlier today.
Valgren: Cancellara was a lucky charm for me Astana rider confirms cobbled Classics promise with Omloop Het Nieuws… https://t.co/obwq8xgQwL
Over in Abu Dhabi, Valverde has taken the victory on the final stage, along with the overall classification. Here is how the stage finished.
1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 04:38:47 2 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 3 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors 00:00:15 4 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 5 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 6 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:37 7 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo 00:00:47 8 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:55 9 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates 10 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
This is what that stage did to the overall classification in Abu Dhabi.
1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 16:00:01 2 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 00:00:17 3 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 00:00:29 4 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors 00:00:31 5 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:45 6 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:01:13 7 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 00:01:18 8 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates 00:01:28 9 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 00:01:29 10 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:01:37
Greg Van Avermaet missed out on the podium yesterday. Kuurne provides him a chance to get his own back but he says that it is more about finding form in Kuurne than taking the win.
"Today is a good revenge day but I never have the big expectations here in Kuurne. To me, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is more important. Today, I make a good training and see where I can come."
The peloton keeping a very watchful eye on the leaders. They've given them little more than two minutes and don't look like they'll allow them to have much more.
The Onkerzele berg is up next with 132km still to run to the line. It is one of the longer climbs of the day at 2.1km and it averages three per cent with a maximum of 7.5 per cent.
In the second hour of racing, the pace has dropped slightly to 38kph.
Arnaud Demare was fairly active in yesterday's race, but he missed the key selection when the race broke up on the Muur. He's expecting something a little different today.
"There are lots of sprinters here. There’s a lot of wind, so we should be in for a different finale to yesterday where there was a strong headwind, so that could cause problems.
"It’s good to be back on the pavé for the first time this season. I started my season last week in Algarve so I’m hoping the legs are getting better and better and I can be up there with the best today."
The gap is still holding at about two minutes. It is a brutally cold day out there and that is having an impact. How long will this lead group co-operate with such a slim margin? Will we see some of the stronger riders group together and form another attack?
The peloton is ticking off the climbs now. They're approaching Kruisberg with just over 100km to go. The gap has dropped significantly to 1:35 with Quick-Step Floors doing a lot of work on the front.
Yesterday, Greg Van Avermaet was looking to join the short list of riders that have won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad three times. The race didn't go down as he'd hoped and the Belgian said afterwards that the headwind and different course played against him. Read what he had to say here.
A puncture for Oliver Naesen and he's got to stop to get a new wheel.
Lotto Soudal take the initiative but leave empty handed at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Wellens shows promise on the cobb… https://t.co/BSlcZlOqvL
Apologies, it wasn't a puncture for Naesen. It was actually a problem with his chain. It appears that the chain dropped and got jammed, forcing him to collect a new bike. He gets a shove to help him on his way and is almost pushed off his bike. Thankfully, he's on his way back to the peloton.
95km remaining from 198km
As we close in on the Kruisberg, there are several teams leding a hand to the pace setting and the seven leaders have just 19 seconds.
There has been a push on by the riders out front and they've extended their lead to 46 seconds.
A crash in the peloton and there are about five riders down. It looks like Marcus Burghardt is one of them.
The incident happened right near the head of the bunch, which was strung out in one long line and a replay shows that one of the Sport Vlaanderen riders ended up in a stream. Trek's Boy van Poppel was another that was involved in it.
Most of the riders involved in the crash are back on their way, but Van Poppel didn't look like he would be carrying on too soon.
Naesen tells television reporters that he's "fast but not fast enough. The only way I can win today is if I go to the finish with a group that is slower than me."
We can expect Naesen to have a go in the finale today. Whether or not it works is another question.
86km remaining from 198km
The riders hit the Oude Kwaremont with just 22 seconds between the bunch and the leaders. Meanwhile, Trek confirms that Van Poppel has abandoned. No surprise really. Once he was off the bike for more than a couple of minutes it didn't make sense to make him carry on.
Bono is dropped from the lead group and is now back with the peloton. Bagdonas decides to go on the attack but he's almost caught by the peloton.
Quick-Step Floors collect Bagdonas and with 85km to go the race is one.
The bunch has actually split. Van Avermaet missed the split initially but chased hard to make the juncture. Vanmarcke is one of the riders who made it across, as is Jasper Stuyven.
This front group has grown to around 20 riders with Trentin, Benoot and Haussler also up there.
That is a good effort from Haussler after he broke his collarbone earlier this year.
No definitive list of riders in this move. Doing my best to pick out the faces and I will bring you names as and when I can.
Yesterday's second placed rider Wisniowski is one of those who have missed out on the split. He's sitting second in the second bunch looking for his teammates. LottoNL-Jumbo doing the chasing for now.
The front group has grown to more than 30 riders. Meanwhile, Fernando Gaviria is having problems and has been dropped. He's going slow and it looks like it's physical but he's also looking at his bike.
Daniel Oss and Arnaud Demare are reportedly in that leading group, which now has 30 seconds. Dylan Groenewegen has missed out, which is why his team is chasing despite having Wynants in the lead group.
73km remaining from 198km
LottoNl-Jumbo are struggling to get any help from the other teams in this bunch. Most squads have a strong rider up front and don't see the point in chasing. With 73km to go, the gap is 43 seconds.
A slow wheel change for Bettiol but he's back on his way.
Watching @KuurneBxlKuurne on tv and taking notes on what to wear next tuesday in GP Samyn. No clothes needed in @tourdownunder
The chase by Lotto was making some inroads and had the gap down to about 25 seconds. A umber of other teams have no moved to the front and it has gone out a bit to 30 seconds as Lampaert pushes on out front.
The leaders heading through a cobbled sector with 38 seconds of an advantage. Not one of them is actually riding on the cobbles and have taken to the dirt track on the side of the road. It's against the rules but with so many doing it there are unlikely to be any punishments.
Without LottoNL making the chase, the gap has ballooned out to 52 seconds. Still a long way to go but that is a sizeable advantage.
A full list of those riders in that leading group as the gap goes out to 1:05.
Astana have Korsaeth in the leading group but they would have much preferred someone else up there so they are helping make a chase but the gap is still at 1:07. There was a touch of disagreement in the leading group but they have got their act together.
Result #KBKJuniors 1) Remco Evenepoel 2) Hindsgaul Madsen Jacob 3) Calvert Charley (Note: another danish rider on… https://t.co/JSlhruL29F
The leaders are onto the Holstraat. It won't be long until they are into the finishing loops. Can this group work together and stay away? The slight tailwind will certainly help.
56km remaining from 198km
Astana is finally bringing this leading group a little closer. For the first time in a while, the gap is less than a minute.
Sensing that it might be coming back, LottoNL have thrown a rider up front to help Astana. They did a lot of work before but none of the other teams was willing to help out.
A crash in the bunch as one of the riders veers out of the peloton and heads into the ditch. He takes nobody else out and seems to be ok. Perhaps a small touch of wheels there.
Astana now has four riders on the front of this chase group with one BMC Racing rider sitting just behind them. The gap is down to 42 seconds but it is leveling out and they're going to have to find a bit more if they want to bring this elite group up front back to them. The leaders are working very well together at the moment.
Some echelons forming in the peloton but there is no panic at the moment.
The peloton is back together as the leaders hit the Nokereberg. Stuyven pushes on and makes a gap.
49km remaining from 198km
Stuyvan has been joined by Oss and they're pulling away.
49km remaining from 198km
Stuyven has been joined by Oss and they're pulling away.
The gap is small for now as the chasers behind continue to ride as they were.
A time check has Stuyven and Oss at 19 seconds ahead of group 2 and 57 seconds on the peloton.
45km remaining from 198km
There seems to be a bit more concern in the peloton and the chase from Astana is becoming a little more frenetic. They've brought it down on a couple of occasions but each time they do the leaders extend their advantage.
The local laps are coming up very soon, where the riders will complete two loops of a 15.3km circuit. There will certainly be attacks from this leading group. The question is when.
Nils Pollit has decided that now is the time for him to attack. Oss and Stuyven have 20 seconds and he wants to join them.
Polit is brought back though and he does a turn on the front of the chase group.
The peloton has finally been able to close the gap to the second group on the road. Only a handful of seconds separate them.
The gap to Oss and Styuven is just 25 seconds still as the two groups come together. There is a slight crosswind and the peloton is in one very long line.
The leading duo look calm and collected for now as they swap turns and just pedal along. Their gap is holding but it's not that big as Vliegen and Van der Sande attack from the bunch.
Interesting that Van der Sande has gone up the road for Lotto Soudal. He wasn't racing yesterday so will have fresher legs. He's also less of a threat to the bunch. The same can be said for Vliegen of BMC.
Vliegen and Van der Sande have been brought back to the peloton. In the meantime, the pair up front has 43 seconds now. Bagdonas has been put to work on the peloton after spending the day in the break. He's one tough cookie.
Puncture for Oss and it takes some time to change the wheel.
33km remaining from 198km
He had to wait for neutral service because the cars are in the break. Stuyven is now on his own while Oss is in no man's land. Stuyven would probably like to wait but he can't with the gap being what it is, 37 seconds.
33km remaining from 198km
He had to wait for neutral service because the cars are not behind the break. Stuyven is now on his own while Oss is in no man's land. Stuyven would probably like to wait but he can't with the gap being what it is, 37 seconds.
With just one man out front, the gap is dropping. Stuyven won this race with a long-range attack but this is a long way to go on his own. He looks over his shoulder to see if he can find Oss, but he's not there.
If Stuyven wants to win, he's going to have to time trial this all the way to the finish line. He looks unsure as he keeps glancing over his shoulder.
Oss has not yet been caught by the peloton and he's pushing but they're not that far behind. Stuyven has pushed out his advantage to 51 seconds and growing, but the chase behind is not as fast as it could be.
Oss looks over his shoulder, he's realised that the puncture has killed his chances and he sits up and waits for the bunch to catch up with him.
That is a bit of a bummer for Oss. He has been looking strong over this weekend and with no Sagan here it was a chance to gt a result for himself. This is cycling, as the riders often tell me. Luck often plays a big factor.
Sacha Modolo has crashed in the middle of the bunch. He appears to be in quite a lot of pain.
It's hard to say what caused the crash. He fell onto his right side pretty hard and was lying on his back on the pavement covering his face with his hands. Let's hope that it's not too serious. A shame for him too because he could have challenged here in a bunch sprint.
25km remaining from 198km
Stuyven took the 2,500 Euros as he came into the local laps. It might be some consolation because it looks like he may well be caught. The peloton has him at 33 seconds now with several teams working together again.
No news yet on Modolo's condition, but I imagine he has called it a day. He deserves to put his feet up after that fall.
Stuyven still holding that small advantage of just over 30 seconds. He's got 22km to go. It's a very long shot, but his winning advantage in 2016 was just 17 seconds, so who knows.
Away from Belgium, Hannah Barnes continued her good week with stage and overall victory in Valencia. Take a look at the results here.
19km remaining from 198km
Alexey Lutsenko and Magnus Cort of Astana both involved in a small crash. That's two of their key riders and a big blow with just 20km to go. Meanwhile, Lotto Soudal are stepping things up as the gap to Stuyven falls to seven seconds.
Stuyven is back with the main group, which has split in two following that push from Lotto Soudal. The second group is not too far behind.
Lotto Soudal has their whole team hammering it on the front. They're really trying to do some damage but the main chunk of the peloton is about to come back to them.
The Belgian team has obviously had a big telling off over night because they're really working hard today.
AG2R La Mondiale has brought things back together. This is yet another move that Naesen has missed and had to rely on his team to get him back.
Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) wins the Royal Bernard Drôme Classic #BDA2018
For the first time in a long time, the peloton is all together, minus the dropped/abandoned riders. They cross the line for the penultimate time today and we've got just 15 kilometres until we find out the winner of the 2018 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.
Niki Terpstra moves slowly up the side of the bunch and then moves off the front with ease.
Terpstra is brought back and his former teammate Van Keirsbulck has a go.
The gap is small for the Wanty-Group Gobert rider and there is another rider trying to bridge across to him.
It's one of the AG2R La Mondiale riders in the middle. All he seems to be doing, though, is dragging the peloton across.
Van Keirsbulck is brought back and one of the AG2R La Mondiale riders goes again.
10km remaining from 198km
The pace is exceptionally high and it is very tough for any rider to make a significant gap. We could have a small bunch finish the way that this is going.
One of the Dimension Data riders has jumped across to the AG2R rider and we now have a duo up front.
The Dimension Data rider is Vermote and the AG2R rider is Duval.
8km remaining from 198km
Quick-Step, BMC and EF Education First are all trying to pull this back together.
Vermote is pushing on but Duval doesn't look so convinced. He looks over his shoulder and reluctantly slots into Vermote's wheel.
Vermote is flicking his elbow but Duval looks cooked.
6km remaining from 198km
One of the BMC riders is now bridging the gap. This is all very close together though.
It is Vliegen up front again and we now have three riders in the lead with an advantage of less than 10 seconds.
5km remaining from 198km
Another crash and it's one of the Cofidis riders
Up front, Vermote has ramped things up and Vliegen has to almost sprint to keep up with him. Duval still hanging in there.
4km remaining from 198km
Vermote is definitely the strongest in this group and a small acceleration leaves his two companions behind him briefly. They come back to him and he flicks the elbow again.
The peloton doesn't look troubled behind. They're riding at a relatively sedate pace and they still have this trio in their sights. Just 15 seconds between the two groups.
2km remaining from 198km
Varying expressions of pain across the riders out front. They're having to work extremely hard to keep the peloton at bay and they're being closed down.
Adrien Petit has attacked the peloton
1km remaining from 198km
Just 10 seconds now between the two groups as Petit labours up to the front trio.
The catch looks inevitable as the gap ticks down and FDJ start pushing behind.
Sinkledam is pulling the peloton along for Arnaud Demare, one of the only riders mad enough not to wear leg warmers today.
Into the final kilometre, the leaders are about to be caught.
Duval is brought back and Vermote pushes on
Groenewegen wins
Vermote was caught in the last few metres by a charging Groenewegen with Demare finishing in second place. The Frenchman never looked like he would pass the Dutchman.
Sonny Colbrelli managed to come through for third place. That's his biggest result in the Classics so far.
Since winning the Champs Elysees stage of the Tour last year, Groenewegen has gone from strength to strength.
Groenwegen had this to say after his victory.
"It was cold. We came into the Kwaremont and it all broke up. My teammates brought me back perfectly. When we got back, Stuyven was still a bit further up but we caught him and in the final kilometres I was able to put myself into the right position.
"We were coming from behind with a fair amount of speed so I was able to come around Arnaud Demare. I do like these kinds of races and I like it when it is harder."
1 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 2 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 3 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 4 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij 5 Justin Jules (Fra) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic 6 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team 7 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Cycling Academy 8 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Team Sky 9 Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data 10 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
Groenewegen definitely has a lot of thanks to give his teammates after that result. He missed that big split earlier in the race and they did a lot of work to bring him back. Astana also helped him out of a sticky spot too, after their big names missed that big group.
A massive grin from Groenewegen as he sits down for his race winner's press conference.
Sonny Colbrelli is learning English with his new team and he said a few words in the language after claiming third today.
"It was a very tough race for me and the team but I had good sensations and I have to say thank you so much for the support from the guys. It was a good result today for me and the team and I’m happy."
Terrible legs today nothing in them what so ever. At least it was a good weekend of learning ready for the classics. Next up Paris-Nice
EF Education First DS - and Sep Vanmarcke's brother - Ken Vanmarcke was not a happy chappy after missing out on a result today.
"I don’t have a happy feeling now, which is normal, but we have a good team and everyone knows who can do what. We’re going to go to really nice days in a few weeks."
More on Gaviria, who we saw in big trouble midway through the race. It seems that yesterday's fall had a bigger impact than first thought.
"I felt pain today after my crash in Omloop, so stopping was the best thing I could do. Not a great weekend for me, but I definitely learnt a lot from riding these Belgian races. Now I'll look to recover and be in the best condition for the next races," said Gaviria.
And Alejandro Valverde took victory on the final stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour to give him the overall win too. Read about that here.
Today's podium
Matteo Trentin had this to say after today's racing: “This weekend is the first time we have raced together as a classics squad and I think that we have a really good base to build on going into the next races and the spring.”
The opening weekend is gone for this year. I couldnt bring home any results but ot was a solid… https://t.co/8RgbAyLyZF
We have put together a big gallery from today's racing, with a full report and results so if you missed anything then you can read up on it here.
With that, we finish our coverage of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. I hope you enjoyed it and make sure to keep tuned to the website this evening for plenty of reaction from Belgium and this morning's racing in Abu Dhabi.
