Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) delivered an emphatic sprint to win Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne from a five-man group Sunday. Last year's winner Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) had to settle for second place, while Luke Rowe (Sky) claimed the third step of the podium. Already part of an elite selection that formed after the Oude Kwaremont, the quintet forged clear on the finishing circuit in Kuurne to fight out the victory.
The beauty of Belgium's Opening Weekend is that it gives an instant shot at redemption. Sagan, beaten into second place by Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 24 hours prior, made amends with a powerful sprint in Kuurne. In truth, Sagan hardly seemed too distraught at missing out in Ghent on Saturday, but the Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne victory – his first for Bora-Hansgrohe – bodes well for the remainder of his spring.
"We will see. The big goal is to stay good," Sagan said gnomically as he waited to mount the podium. "After that, whatever comes, everything is good."
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The winning move took shape when Stuyven attacked from the front group with a little under 30 kilometres remaining, shortly after the race came through the finish line in Kuurne for the first time. Sagan wasted little time in jumping across to the Belgian, dragging Matteo Trentin (Quick-Step Floors) with him.
Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) show-cased his prodigious talent by bridging across alone shortly afterwards, while Rowe was the final man to hitch onto the winning train. BMC, with four riders in the front group including Van Avermaet, were inexplicably left standing on the platform, tickets flapping in the wind. Despite the efforts of Stefan Küng, they never got back on terms.
By the time Sagan and company took the bell for the final lap, their advantage over the chasers had nudged out beyond 30 seconds, but with the main peloton – which had earlier seemed irretrievably distanced – now closing to within a minute, they couldn't afford to start eyeing one another ahead of the finale. Instead, the quintet put their shoulders to the wheel to such good effect that they entered the final three kilometres with a lead of 45 seconds.
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