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Stuyven pounces to take Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

Trek-Segafredo's Jasper Stuyven (Belgium), who crashed on his way to making contact with Saturday's winning move at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, won Sunday's 68th Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne with a solo attack launched with great élan under 20-km to go.

February 28, 2016
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Trek-Segafredo’s Jasper Stuyven (Belgium), who crashed on his way to making contact with Saturday’s winning move at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, won Sunday’s 68th Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne with a solo attack launched with great élan under 20-km to go. Even with a Vuelta a España stage under his belt, it was Stuyven’s biggest career win.

At first it didn’t look like the day’s 11-man breakaway was going to be let off the leash, but finally the peloton sat up and the fugitives pulled out a 7:30 gap in a wind. By the fifth climb of the day, the Cote de Triue at 90-km to go, the gap was 5:20.

The peloton had already split at that point after FDJ men crashed in the field. On the famed Oude de Kwaremont, Peter Sagan (Slovakia/Tinkoff) pushed the pace when the pitch reached double digits and split the group even more. The 30-riders who remained were more Classics riders than the sprinters who usually win the KBK. However, Jumbo-Lotto brought things back together. All this activity chopped the break’s lead down to 2:10 with 67-km and three climbs remaining.

Lotto-Soudal went to work on the cobbled Tiegemberg, putting riders in the gutter and distancing Sagan and Alexander Kristoff (Norway/Katusha). Kristoff, Sagan and Caleb Ewan (Australia/Orica-GreenEdge) made it back to the select group that contained three-time winner Tom Boonen (Belgium/Etixx-QuickStep).

The last of the 11-climbs were completed with 50-km remaining. The escapees had only 48-seconds’ lead and with the two main groups of the field freshly reunited, the breakaways knew they were doomed. Several attacks flared off and were reabsorbed before the final fugitive was brought to heel with 40-km remaining.

The finale of the KBK took place on two 15.3-km circuits around Kuurne. A 16-man move containing Sagan, Boonen, Saturday’s Omloop winner Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium/BMC) and Canadian Antoine Duchesne (Direct Energie) that had formed in the crosswinds led onto the circuits, with Kristoff’s Katusha whipping along the peloton.

In the middle of all this action, a medical moto hit poor Stig Broeckx (Belgium/Lotto Soudal).

A lack of cohesion looked like it was going to scupper the platoon’s chances, but Stuyven lit out from the leading group just before the race entered the last circuit. He had 16-seconds on his former companions and 34-seconds on the field when he heard the bell. Under 10-km to go, Boonen and Van Avermaet decided to try to salvage something from their gap on the field. They took four men with them and tried to bring back Stuyven.

With 5-km to go, Stuyven had 24-seconds over the first chasing group. The peloton nabbed the Boonen chase sextet. The champion had plenty of time to celebrate. Kristoff was first out of the galloping peloton.

Ryan Anderson of Direct Energie was first Canadian at 45th, 21-seconds back.
2016 Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
1) Jasper Stuyven (Belgium/Trek-Segafredo) 4:53:50
2) Alexander Kristoff (Norway/Katusha) +0:17
3) Nacer Bouhanni (France/Cofidis) s.t.
45) Ryan Anderson (Canada/Direct Energie) +0:21
58) Antoine Duchesne (Canada/Direct Energie) +0:35
60) Hugo Houle (Canada/AG2R) s.t.