Philipsen opens his season with a win on his birthday in Kuurne, Visma | Lease a Bike's lead-out too early for Kooij

Jasper Philipsen claimed victory in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. The Belgian from Alpecin-Deceuninck got a great lead-out from Kaden Groves and thus finished the race relatively quickly. Olav Kooij came in second on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike, whose lead-out may have been too early.

After Saturday's sprint fest, the sprinters were looking forward to the course of the second cobblestone classic of the weekend on Sunday. The relatively flat final of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne was often a favorite of the fast men, who then had to survive the difficult middle section.

This was no walk in the park because the 196-kilometer course included beautiful climbs like the Kruisberg, Hotond, Berg Ten Houte, Côte du Trieu, and the Kluisberg (not to be confused with the Kruisberg), as well as many tough climbs. Last year, Wout van Aert proved that a bunch sprint is no guarantee at all. On the tough Mont Saint-Laurent, he kept going and later got rid of some of his fellow breakaway riders. He won in a three-man sprint.

Read more below the photo!

Seven leaders dominate the first hours, Unibet Tietema Rockets again

The Omloop did not go according to plan for Visma | Lease a Bike and Van Aert, who, after a chase, had run out of steam for a sprint. Søren Wærenskjold won, surprisingly, and the Norwegian from Uno-X was back on Sunday. The big question was: who would join the breakaway? Was that group strong enough to cause the sprinters some concern? The battle lasted long because many riders knew this was the only way to survive the difficult middle phase at the front.

After just an hour of fierce racing, Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Tomas Kopecky (Unibet Tietema Rockets), Huub Artz (Intermarché-Wanty), Ward Vanhoof (Team Flanders-Baloise), Marius Mayrhofer (Tudor Pro Cycling), Ceriel Desal and Alexandre Van Petegem (both Wagner Bazin WB), who were given a free pass. They quickly gained almost five minutes before the sprinter teams organized themselves.

Alpecin-Deceuninck showed determination as they did in the Omloop by making no secret of their ambitions. That's how things went for the first few hours, and it wasn't until 94 kilometers from the finish that the pack split up. Shortly after Jan Tratnik (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) had suffered a flat tire and Wærenskjold had been dropped, Timo Kielich (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) and Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) launched a counterattack.

Read more below the video

Sprint teams maintain perfect control in most difficult phase

After Kielich suffered a flat tire as Jasper Philipsen's domestique, things looked potentially dangerous, especially with Narváez unleashed. The Ecuadorian powerfully rode over the Mont Saint Laurent, while Jordi Meeus (also of Red Bull) fell behind due to equipment problems. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) and Narváez's teammate Tim Wellens attempted to cover the distance. Still, no one could distance themselves in the phase in which the climbs followed each other in rapid succession.

With only the Oude Kruisberg, Hotond, Côte du Trieu, and Kluisberg ahead, the peloton returned with 75 kilometers to go, with the seven early breakaway riders still having a minute and a half left. UAE and Visma, in particular, tried desperately to make a difference over the Oude Kruisberg and Hotond. Still, the sprint teams were always on the alert to ensure that everything would come back together in the subsequent phases.

Read more below the video

A last-ditch attempt for Van Aert and Wellens, but still more than 50 kilometers to go...

Before and on the Kluisberg, all registers were opened once more, the last chance for men who did not want to sprint. Wellens again, Stefan Bissegger of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and Van Aert with Red Bull man Roger Adrià shortly after that. Interesting names, of whom Wellens and Bissegger headed towards the seven early breakaway riders. Van Aert had to try to bridge the gap alone because Adrià and Meeus in the peloton were a force to be reckoned with as sprinters.

When Adrià declined after Van Aert's final attempt, the Belgian rider had had enough and let themselves be caught. The remaining nine breakaway riders then briefly extended their lead to 43 seconds, but by then, the sprint teams had organized themselves and slowly closed the gap. Even when Wellens accelerated with 33 kilometers to go, he left only himself, De Bondt, Mayrhofer, and Desal.

In the race's final hour, no one could prevent a sprint. After De Bondt won a sprint for €2,500, the courageous men were caught, and in the final 10 kilometers, all that was left was to pray that everyone would stay upright. Except for a hard crash by Matevž Govekar (Bahrain Victorious), everyone remained on their bikes, and we were rewarded with a royal sprint between the best of the best. Visma | Lease a Bike seemed perfectly placed, but it came in a little too early in the end. Alpecin-Deceuninck timed their move perfectly and put Philipsen in the lead for the win ahead of Kooij.

Results Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2025

Read back Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2025 in our liveblog

Please note: if the liveblog does not load, please press F5 or refresh your mobile page or the app.

Read also

"Not a blame game, but the start of misery" – Visma | Lease a Bike seeks answers after Omloop

"I won't race for any other team than Visma | Lease a Bike for the rest of my career"—It’s a huge compliment to the team

Pogacar's racing style is heavily criticized, meanwhile he fuels Roubaix rumors: "Big chance in the near future"

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get every week the latest news about CYCLING in your inbox!

Subscribe