Sprinters favoured on Sunday in Kuurne

2004 winner Steven De Jongh (Rabobank) (Image credit: Luc Claessen)

By Jeff Jones

Normally taking place the day after Omloop Het Volk, Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne forms the second half of the Belgian opening weekend. It's a different style of parcours compared with Het Volk, and often the hardened sprinters prevail in Kuurne, a West Flemish town on the outskirts of Kortrijk. As with Het Volk, the weather conditions will play a role, and even though the snow will probably stay away, it will still be extremely cold with temperatures hovering just above the freezing point.

After the start in Kuurne, the race heads due east to the turning point at Ninove (km 60), which is as close to Brussels (25 km) as the riders get. The outward journey is fairly uneventful, as nearly all the climbs are reserved for the second two thirds. After passing through Geraardsbergen, but not via the Muur, the real climbing begins at La Houppe (km 91). Then it's onto the Kanarieberg (km 98), Kruisberg (km 103), Oude Kwaremont (km 108), Mont Du Trieu (km 123), Tiegemberg (km 134), and the final climb, the Nokereberg (km 144).

As with Het Volk, there are still 45 km to go to the finish after the last climb, so a regrouping is possible, depending on how hard the race has been ridden up to this point. Following the cancellation of Het Volk last year, K-B-K was a little more intense than normal, and a group of eight riders got away in the closing kilometres to contest the sprint. Steven de Jongh (Rabobank), who relishes cold conditions, won ahead of Paolo Bettini and Gerben Löwik.