The 69th edition of Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne takes place on Sunday (26th February, 2016) in Belgium. This follows hot on the heels of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – raced on Saturday.
As yet no rider has managed to win both races in the same season. This is not surprising as they are run on consecutive days and the courses tend to favour different types of riders. From a tipping perspective, this race is tricky because a lot of the riders race on consecutive days following on from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. Some of the scheduled starters for this race fare poorly on Saturday and pull out of this race. This explains why my preview for Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne is so close to the start of the race. I do not want to tip non-starters!
I’m happy to report I had a succesful day on Saturday with Peter Sagan taking 2nd place at 4/1 and Fabio Felline also providing a payout for his 4th place – at 50/1!
Recent winners of Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne
- 2011 – Christopher Sutton – (Aus) – Team Sky
- 2012 – Mark Cavendish – (GB) – Team Sky
- 2013 – race cancelled due to snow
- 2014 – Tom Boonen – (Bel) – Etixx-Quickstep
- 2015 – Mark Cavendish – (GB) – Omega Pharma-Quickstep
- 2016 – Jesper Stuyven – (BEL) – Trek-Segafredo
Of these riders Boonen is classed as one of the strong classics type of riders whilst Sutton and Cavendish are more out-and-out sprinters. Stuyven won in 2016 with a rare late solo break.
The Route and Profile
Despite its name, the race does not go to Brussels. The race starts at the hippodrome in Kuurne, in the south of West-Flanders. From here it heads eastwards in the direction of Brussels, but its easternmost point is somewhere near Ninove, 23 km west of Brussels. From Ninove the race moves towards the Flemish Ardennes where a number of hills feature, before finishing in Kuurne after approximately 200 km.
The route in the Flemish Ardennes changes every year, but does include some regular climbs like Edelareberg, La Houppe, Kanarieberg, Kruisberg, Oude Kwaremont, Tiegemberg and Nokereberg.
Weather can be a factor in this race – 2013 was cancelled due to snow. Headwinds are troublesome too and can result in splits within the peloton.
The first part of the race is fairly easy in terms of terrain. A break will definitely develop in the first 30kms and probably survive through the Oude Kwaremont climb and possibly a little later. From here onwards the peloton will close rapidly, with the sprinters teams taking close control of proceedings. The three climbs following the tough Kluisberg come quickly after one another. Holstraat could be a launching point for a late break as it comes close enough to the line for a rider to escape from a small group like Stuyven in 2016.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see a larger group together at the finish line with a bunch sprint determining the winner.
Main Contenders
The bookmakers think that the sprinters will prevail on Sunday and I’m in agreement with them. A small group of riders lead the betting market. They include Peter Sagan (Bora Hansgrohe), Alexander Kristoff (Katusha Alpecin) and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis). Each can be backed around 7.0. I have reservations about each of their chances in KBK.
Sagan raced on Saturday and was in the leading group for a long time. He will have exerted a lot of energy and I don’t think he can back up with effort on consecutive days this early in the season. Kristoff was caught up in the huge crash in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. He was one of the last riders to be extracted from the huge tangle of men and machines on the road. I’m not sure of his physical state but there must be aches and bruises at the very least. Bouhanni runs hot and cold. He needs an almost perfect leadout to win races. He is also very temperamental – so I cannot trust him either!
Next in the market is Dylan Groenewegen (Lotto NL-Jumbo) at 9.0. He to raced on Saturday and was involved in the crash. Unlike Kristoff it looked like he was only delayed behind the crash – it didn’t look like he hit the deck. This scuppered his chances of making it back to the front group on the road. I would have hoped he didn’t use too much energy chasing and I like his chances a little more than the top three in the market.
Another rider caught behind the crash that was expected to feature on Saturday was Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Floors). Like most the peloton he was also trapped by the crash and was never able to return tot he front group. The Eurosport commentators kindly pointed out that Quick Step-Floors have a history of performing badly in one of the two races on this weekend and then well in the other. If that rings true today then Boonen at 15.0-19.0 might be worth a flutter EW.
The Rest
Arnaud Demarre (FDJ) raced on Saturday and was delayed by the crash. KBK is a better course for him than Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. He has the speed to challenge this group of sprinters – especially with the potential issues that the top 3 in the market face. Demarre has gone fairly well early this season and a price as high as 17.0 is great for an EW bet.
Two other sprinters that I feel have a decent chance here are Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) and Danny Van Poppel (Team Sky). Coquard was a DNF on Saturday – he pulled out and has less miles in his legs than his rivals. In an event sans the elite sprinters (with the exception of Sagan) Coquard has the speed and team support to challenge for the win here. Danny Van Poppel has a solid start of the 2017 season with numerous top 5 finishes. He trailed in some 12 minutes behind the race winner on Saturday but the weekends target was always KBK. You can back them at 16.0 and 25-41 respectively.
Others you could look at include Magnus Cort Neilsen (Orica Scott), Fabio Felline (Trek Seagfredo), Moreno Hofland (Lotto Soudal), Edward Theuns (Trek Segafredo), Jempy Drucker (BMC Racing) and Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Merida). Most raced at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with varying degrees of success. Of this group I think Colbrelli has the best value at 41.0
Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne – Tips
Bet on Dylan Groenewegen to win Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne with a 0.75/10 stake EW (1/4 odds top 4) at 17/2 with Betfred.
Back Danny Van Poppel to win Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne with a 0.50/10 stake EW (1/4 odds top 4) at 40/1 with Betfred.
Bet on both here:
Back Bryan Coquard to win Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne with a 0.50/10 stake EW (1/4 odds top 3) at 16/1 with Bet365.
Bet here:
Back Arnaud Demarre to win Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne with a 0.75/10 stake EW (1/4 odds top 4) at 16/1 with SkyBet.
Bet here:
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