2019 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (HC), Belgium
71st edition: Sunday, March 3, 2019
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne podium history | 2018 edition | 2020 edition | List of climbs and map | Photos | Start list
Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne, 201.1 km
Bob Jungels wins a big one. Photo: GettySport
Weather at the start/finish city of Kuurne at 2:00 PM, local time: 13C (55F), cloudy, with the wind from the SSW at 27 km/hr (17 mph). Rain is forecast at 6:00 PM.
The race: Here's a race summary from winner Bob Jungel's Deceuninck-Quick Step team.
Deceuninck – Quick-Step stomped their authority on the Opening Weekend, registering another brilliant victory, twenty-four hours from Zdenek Stybar’s solo success at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. This time, it was Bob Jungels’ time to shine, and the 26-year-old – one of the most versatile riders in the peloton – put in a sumptuous solo performance which landed what was arguably the most unexpected victory of his career, as he described it minutes after the crossing the finish line.
“Winning races like this is the hardest way to do it, but also really nice to look at. We had a plan today and we fulfilled it, but it’s a win I wasn’t expecting at all, as the original plan at the start of the classics campaign was to gain experience on the cobbles and adapt to the style of racing, which is so different and more nervous than that of the Ardennes races.”
The 71st Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne came to life on the Oude Kwaremont, where Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert and Zdenek Stybar blew the peloton to pieces and forced an important selection, which led to only 14 riders making the split and overhauling the seven-man breakaway ahead of the last three climbs. A strong contingent of Deceuninck – Quick-Step was present in the move and from there Jungels emerged on the Varent to forge a gap together with four other riders.
The final circuit, which the riders had to cover twice, didn’t play into the escapees’ advantage due to the open roads and strong headwind, but that didn’t prevent Bob Jungels from attacking off the front with a shade under 17 kilometers left and going in full time trial mode, with his forearms resting on the top of his Specialized’s handlebars, while from behind his teammates made sure of disrupting the chase, a more than welcome help for which the Luxembourger was full of praise: “The guys did an outstanding job protecting me from behind, we have a wonderful spirit in this team and it’s a real pleasure to be part of this squad.”
With one lap left, the peloton trailed the Liège–Bastogne–Liège reigning champion by half a minute, and despite having his advantage reduced to less than 20 seconds with two kilometres left, he managed to outlast the chase of the peloton, putting up a fierce resistance and crossing the line victorious, thus enhancing his burgeoning reputation of being one of the finest time trial specialists in the peloton.
“I knew it would be really close when we were in five, especially with the headwind, but I felt I was the strongest in the group and decided that I had to try something when the bunch was coming closer. I thought it was a bit of a mission impossible, but I always say that you have to listen to your gut and that’s what I did today and it paid off handsomely in the end”, concluded Jungels after helping Deceuninck – Quick-Step become the first team in 35 years to win both races of the Opening Weekend in the same season.
Complete Results:
201.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.651 km/hr
| 1 | Bob Jungels | Deceuninck-Quick Step | 4hr 42min 54sec |
| 2 | Owain Doull | Sky | @ 12sec |
| 3 | Niki Terpstra | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 4 | Dylan Groenewegen | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
| 5 | Yves Lampaert | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 6 | Florian Senechal | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 7 | Jens Keukeleire | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 8 | André Greipel | Arkea Samsic | s.t. |
| 9 | Jasper De Buyst | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 10 | Carlos Barbero | Movistar | s.t. |
| 11 | Hugo Hofstetter | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 12 | Tom Van Asbroeck | Israel Cycling Academy | s.t. |
| 13 | Ivan Garcia | Bahrain-Merida | s.t. |
| 14 | Edward Theuns | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 15 | Jens Debusschere | Katusha-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 16 | Andrea Pasqualon | Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 17 | Pascal Ackermann | Bora-Hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 18 | Adrien Petit | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 19 | Milan Menten | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 20 | Hugo Houle | Astana | s.t. |
| 21 | Stefan Küng | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 22 | Pieter Vanspeybrouck | Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 23 | Boy van Poppel | Roompot-Charles | s.t. |
| 24 | Piet Allegaert | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 25 | Mitchell Docker | EF Education First | s.t. |
| 26 | Silvan Dillier | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 27 | Jurgen Roelandts | Movistar | s.t. |
| 28 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 29 | Antoine Duchesne | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 30 | Kasper Asgreen | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 31 | Sebastian Langeveld | EF Education First | @ 18sec |
| 32 | Reto Hollenstein | Katusha-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 33 | Zdenek Stybar | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 34 | Jean-Pierre Drucker | Bora-Hansgrohe | @ 1min 1sec |
| 35 | Marco Marcato | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 36 | Benoit Jarrier | Arkea Samsic | 01:24 |
| 37 | Jimmy Turgis | Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 38 | Kevin Ledanois | Arkea Samsic | s.t. |
| 39 | Davide Ballerini | Astana | s.t. |
| 40 | Jorge Arcas | Movistar | s.t. |
| 41 | Remy Mertz | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 42 | Oliver Naesen | Ag2r La Mondiale | 01:34 |
| 43 | Nikolas Maes | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 44 | Jenthe Biermans | Katusha-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 45 | Ian Stannard | Sky | s.t. |
| 46 | Danny van Poppel | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
| 47 | Clement Venturini | Ag2r La Mondiale | 02:08 |
| 48 | Cyril Lemoine | Cofidis | 02:22 |
| 49 | Alexander Edmondson | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 50 | Aaron Verwilst | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 51 | Jesper Asselman | Roompot-Charles | s.t. |
| 52 | Dion Smith | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 53 | Imanol Erviti | Movistar | s.t. |
| 54 | Tom Bohli | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 55 | Kenneth Vanbilsen | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 56 | Josef Cerny | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 57 | Bert Van Lerberghe | Cofidis | 02:25 |
| 58 | Iljo Keisse | Deceuninck-Quick Step | 02:31 |
| 59 | Alex Kirsch | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 60 | Robert Stannard | Mitchelton-Scott | 02:55 |
| 61 | Gijs Van Hoecke | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 62 | Guillaume Boivin | Israel Cycling Academy | 03:15 |
| 63 | Lawrence Naesen | Lotto-Soudal | 03:30 |
| 64 | Francisco Ventoso | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 65 | Thomas Boudat | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 66 | Christopher Lawless | Sky | s.t. |
| 67 | Tom Scully | EF Education First | s.t. |
| 68 | Cesare Benedetti | Bora-Hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 69 | Taco van der Hoorn | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
Climbs with their length and maximum gradient:
| 1 | 33km | Volkegemberg | 1000m, max 12% |
| 2 | 47.9km | Eikenmolen | 350m, max 12.5% |
| 3 | 68.3km | Onkerzele berg | 2100mm, max 20% |
| 4 | 83.8km | La Houppe | 1880m, max 10% |
| 5 | 89.3km | Kanarieberg | 1000m, max14% |
| 6 | 96.7km | Kruisberg | 1800m, max 9% |
| 7 | 98.5km | Hotond | 2700m, max 7.5% |
| 8 | 106.7km | Cote de Trieu | 1260m, max 13% |
| 9 | 116.5km | Oude Kwaremont | 2200m, max 11.6% |
| 10 | 123.3km | Kluisberg | 1100m, max 11% |
| 11 | 139.5km | Tiegemberg-Vossenhol | 750m, max 9% |
| 12 | 143.8km | Holstraat | 1000m, max 12% |
| 13 | 151.4km | Nokereberg | 350m, max 7% |
Course map:
Photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:
The Israel Cycling Academy team is presented before the race start.
André Greipel in his 2019 team colors.
Dylan Gorenewegen zips up for the start of the race.
The Vital Concept boys get ready to race.
Riders on the cobbles of the Old Kwaremont
A Wanty-Gobert rider makes his way up the Old Kwaremont
Cesare Benedetti leads a group up the cobbled hill
He's gone! Bob Jungels takes off.
Fifty meters to go. Looks he's got it.
Yes! Bob Jungels wins Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
Sky's Owain Doull wins the field sprint for second place.
Winner Bob Jungels and Jempy Drucker right aftr the race.
Winner Bob Jungels enjoys his victory.
The podium, from left: Owain Doull (3rd), winner Bob Jungels and Niki Terpstra (3rd)
Start list with back numbers, March 2, 2019:
| JUMBO-VISMA | |
| DS: | Nico Verhoeven |
| 1 | GROENEWEGEN Dylan |
| 2 | JANSEN Amund |
| 3 | EENKHOORN Pascal |
| 4 | LINDEMAN Bertjan |
| 5 | VAN POPPEL Danny |
| 6 | ROOSEN Timo |
| 7 | WYNANTS Maarten |
| BORA-HANSGROHE | |
| DS: | André Schulze |
| 11 | ACKERMANN Pascal |
| 12 | DRUCKER Jean Pierre |
| 13 | PÖSTLBERGER Lukas |
| 14 | SAGAN Juraj |
| 15 | SCHWARZMANN Michael |
| 16 | SCHILLINGER Andreas |
| 17 | SELIG Rüdiger |
| DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP | |
| DS: | Wilfried Peeters |
| 21 | ASGREEN Kasper |
| 22 | SERRY Pieter |
| 23 | JUNGELS Bob |
| 24 | KEISSE Iljo |
| 25 | LAMPAERT Yves |
| 26 | SENECHAL Florian |
| 27 | STYBAR Zdenek |
| CCC TEAM | |
| DS: | Steve Bauer |
| 31 | BERNAS Pawel |
| 32 | CERNY Josef |
| 33 | GRADEK Kamil |
| 34 | VAN HOECKE Gijs |
| 35 | VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan |
| 36 | VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume |
| 37 | VENTOSO Francisco |
| AG2R LA MONDIALE | |
| DS: | Julien Jurdie |
| 41 | BAGDONAS Gediminas |
| 42 | DENZ Nico |
| 43 | DILLIER Silvan |
| 44 | GODON Dorian |
| 45 | NAESEN Oliver |
| 46 | VANDENBERGH Stijn |
| 47 | VENTURINI Clément |
| LOTTO-SOUDAL | |
| DS: | Herman Frison |
| 52 | DE BUYST Jasper |
| 53 | DE WULF Stan |
| 54 | MAES Nikolas |
| 55 | MERTZ Rémy |
| 56 | NAESEN Lawrence |
| 57 | VAN GOETHEM Brian |
| KATUSHA-ALPECIN | |
| DS: | Dirk Demol |
| 61 | BIERMANS Jenthe |
| 62 | DEBUSSCHERE Jens |
| 63 | HOLLENSTEIN Reto |
| 64 | KUZNETSOV Vyacheslav |
| 65 | POLITT Nils |
| 66 | TANFIELD Harry |
| 67 | WÜRTZ SCHMIDT Mads |
| SKY | |
| DS: | Servais Knaven |
| 71 | DOULL Owain |
| 72 | KNEES Christian |
| 73 | LAWLESS Christopher |
| 75 | STANNARD Ian |
| 76 | BASSO Leonardo |
| 77 | VAN BAARLE Dylan |
| GROUPAMA-FDJ | |
| DS: | Frederic Guesdon |
| 81 | HOELGAARD Daniel |
| 82 | DUCHESNE Antoine |
| 83 | SINKELDAM Ramon |
| 84 | KONOVALOVAS Ignatas |
| 85 | KÜNG Stefan |
| 86 | LE GAC Olivier |
| TREK-SEGAFREDO | |
| DS: | Steven de Jongh |
| 91 | FRAME Alex |
| 92 | BEPPU Fumiyuki |
| 93 | KIRSCH Alex |
| 94 | MULLEN Ryan |
| 95 | PEDERSEN Mads |
| 96 | STUYVEN Jasper |
| 97 | THEUNS Edward |
| MITCHELTON-SCOTT | |
| DS: | Laurenzo Lapage |
| 101 | TRENTIN Matteo |
| 102 | DURBRIDGE Luke |
| 103 | EDMONDSON Alexander |
| 104 | HEPBURN Michael |
| 105 | JUUL JENSEN Christopher |
| 106 | SMITH Dion |
| 107 | STANNARD Robert |
| BAHRAIN-MERIDA | |
| DS: | Tristan Hoffman |
| 111 | AGNOLI Valerio |
| 112 | BOLE Grega |
| 113 | COLBRELLI Sonny |
| 114 | GARCIA Ivan |
| 115 | KOREN Kristjan |
| 117 | PIBERNIK Luka |
| EF EDUCATION FIRST | |
| DS: | Ken Vanmarcke |
| 121 | BRESCHEL Matti |
| 122 | DOCKER Mitchell |
| 123 | OWEN Logan |
| 124 | HOWES Alex |
| 125 | LANGEVELD Sebastian |
| 126 | SCULLY Thomas |
| 127 | VAN DEN BERG Julius |
| ASTANA | |
| DS: | Stefano Zanini |
| 131 | BALLERINI Davide |
| 132 | BIZHIGITOV Zhandos |
| 133 | DE VREESE Laurens |
| 134 | GIDICH Yevgeniy |
| 135 | HOULE Hugo |
| 136 | LUTSENKO Alexey |
| 137 | CORT NIELSEN Magnus |
| DIMENSION DATA | |
| DS: | Jean-Pierre Heynderickx |
| 141 | BOASSON HAGEN Edvald |
| 142 | NIZZOLO Giacomo |
| 143 | VENTER Jacobus |
| 144 | VERMOTE Julien |
| 145 | BAK Lars Ytting |
| 146 | VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael |
| 147 | TILLER Rasmus |
| UAE-TEAM EMIRATES | |
| DS: | Allan Peiper |
| 151 | BYSTROM Sven Erik |
| 152 | FERRARI Roberto |
| 153 | MARCATO Marco |
| 154 | MOLANO Juan |
| 155 | PHILIPSEN Jasper |
| 156 | SUTHERLAND Rory |
| 157 | BOHLI Tom |
| MOVISTAR | |
| DS: | Pablo Lastras |
| 161 | ARCAS Jorge |
| 162 | BARBERO Carlos |
| 163 | BETANCUR Carlos |
| 164 | ERVITI Imanol |
| 165 | ROELANDTS Jurgen |
| 166 | SEPULVEDA Eduardo |
| 167 | PEDRERO Antonio |
| SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE | |
| DS: | Hans de Clercq |
| 171 | ALLEGAERT Piet |
| 172 | MENTEN Milan |
| 173 | NOPPE Christophe |
| 174 | VAN ROOY Kenneth |
| 175 | VERWILST Aaron |
| 176 | WEEMAES Sasha |
| 177 | WILLEMS Thimo |
| WANTY–GOBERT | |
| DS: | Hilaire Van der Schueren |
| 181 | DE WINTER Ludwig |
| 182 | DEVRIENDT Tom |
| 183 | DUPONT Timothy |
| 184 | KREDER Wesley |
| 185 | VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter |
| 186 | PASQUALON Andrea |
| 187 | VALLEE Boris |
| COFIDIS | |
| DS: | Alain Deloeuil |
| 191 | BOUHANNI Nacer |
| 192 | MORIN Emmanuel |
| 193 | HOFSTETTER Hugo |
| 194 | LEMOINE Cyril |
| 195 | VANBILSEN Kenneth |
| 196 | VAN LERBERGHE Bert |
| 197 | WAEYTENS Zico |
| ROOMPOT-CHARLES | |
| DS: | Eik Breukink |
| 201 | BOOM Lars |
| 202 | DE BIE Sean |
| 203 | VAN POPPEL Boy |
| 204 | VAN STAEYEN Michael |
| 205 | LEYSEN Senne |
| 206 | ASSELMAN Jesper |
| 207 | REINDERS Elmar |
| DIRECT ENERGIE | |
| DS: | Dominique Arnould |
| 211 | CARDIS Romain |
| 212 | BOUDAT Thomas |
| 213 | LIGTHART Pim |
| 214 | PETIT Adrien |
| 215 | TURGIS Anthony |
| 216 | TERPSTRA Niki |
| 217 | TULIK Angelo |
| ARKEA-SAMSIC | |
| DS: | Sebastien Hinault |
| 221 | GREIPEL André |
| 222 | WELTEN Bram |
| 223 | VACHON Florian |
| 224 | BONNAMOUR Franck |
| 225 | JARRIER Benoit |
| 226 | RUSSO Clement |
| 227 | LEDANOIS Kevin |
| ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY | |
| DS: | Eric Van Lancker |
| 231 | BOIVIN Guillaume |
| 232 | CARISEY Clément |
| 233 | DUNNE Conor |
| 234 | JENSEN August |
| 235 | RÄIM Mihkel |
| 236 | DEMPSTER Zakkari |
| 237 | VAN ASBROECK Tom |
| VITAL CONCEPT-B&B HOTELS | |
| DS: | Jimmy Engoulvent |
| 241 | BOECKMANS Kris |
| 242 | ERMENAULT Corentin |
| 243 | FOURNIER Marc |
| 244 | LECROQ Jérémy |
| 245 | MANZIN Lorrenzo |
| 246 | TURGIS Jimmy |
| 247 | VAN GENECHTEN Jonas |