2020 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (1.Pro), Belgium
72nd edition: Sunday, March 1, 2020
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne podium history | 2019 edition | 2021 edition | Map | Race photos | Start list
Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne, 201 km
Kasper Asgreen takes a brilliant solo win.
Weather at the start/finish city of Kuurne at 1:30 PM, local time: 9C (48F), cloudy, with the wind from the southwest at 26 km/hr (16 mph). No rain is forecast.
The race: Here's the report from winner Kasper Asgreen's Deceuninck-Quick Step team.
Kasper Asgreen notched up Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s eighth victory at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne after a towering effort which saw him attack with more than 30 kilometers to go, catch and drop the members of the breakaway and hold off an entire furious peloton, thus leaving an indelible impression on the Opening Weekend.
“It’s definitely the biggest victory of my career! Taking a classic is so important, because when I turned pro, I had the goal of developing myself into a classics-type of rider, and to win this hard but beautiful race, just two years into my pro career, means so much to me! We had such an incredible start of the season and we hope to rack up many more solid results”, a jubilant Kasper said immediately after his big day in Belgium.
Twenty-four hours after an untimely mechanical took him out of contention at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Asgreen was one of the prominent riders on Sunday, drilling the pace for the Wolfpack and getting himself involved in several moves that went clear on the challenging course comprising eleven hills. Crosswinds contributed to these skirmishes, with attacks happening everywhere inside the last 100 kilometers, and our squad always had at least one man in every single one of these groups.
Riding just his second Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Asgreen married imagination and adventure in attacking with 44 kilometers to go, swiftly opening a small gap and catching the escapees, of whom two latched onto his wheel. Fully committed to pulling at the front of this newly-formed group, the 25-year-old single-handedly took the gap to 45 seconds, before riding the remains of the break off his wheel, with 16, respectively 9 kilometers to go, and going into time trial mode, tucked over the handlebars of his Specialized machine.
When the gap dropped to ten seconds inside the last kilometers, it looked like the catch would be inevitable, but Kasper gritted his teeth and kept pushing through the pain, going under the flamme rouge with the smallest of margins. The bunch drew closer in this nail-biting finale, but there was nothing else they could do, as the Dane finally eased up and stretched his arms to celebrate an incredible victory that came as testament of his bravery and determination.
“Bob told me in the bus this morning to do what he did last year, when he too attacked and claimed a solo victory here, so I just followed his advice, knowing the small and narrow roads would play into my favour. I jumped to counter an attack after the Kluisberg, joined the guys in the break and then dropped them one by one. It was really tough, my legs were screaming and I really suffered out there, but I kept going and began believing only at the 300-meter-to-go sign. The Opening Weekend was very good for us, we showed incredible teamwork and these results cement our confidence before the next Classics, when we want to be again up there”, said Kasper after his spectacular solo display, which saw him become just the second Dane in history to conquer Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.
Complete Results:
201 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.977 km/hr
| 1 | ASGREEN Kasper | Deceuninck-Quick Step | 4hr 47min 18sec |
| 2 | NIZZOLO Giacomo | NTT Pro Cycling | @ 3sec |
| 3 | KRISTOFF Alexander | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 4 | JAKOBSEN Fabio | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 5 | STUYVEN Jasper | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 6 | HOFSTETTER Hugo | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 7 | COLBRELLI Sonny | Bahrain-McLaren | s.t. |
| 8 | SWIFT Ben | Team INEOS | s.t. |
| 9 | VAN GESTEL Dries | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 10 | ROELANDTS Jurgen | Movistar | s.t. |
| 11 | HALVORSEN Kristoffer | EF Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 12 | LIENHARD Fabian | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 13 | TURGIS Anthony | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 14 | STANNARD Robert | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 15 | PRADES Eduard | Movistar | s.t. |
| 16 | DRUCKER Jempy | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 17 | TOUZE Damien | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 18 | DEGENKOLB John | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 19 | ARANBURU Alex | Astana | s.t. |
| 20 | VENTURINI Clement | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 21 | ALLEGAERT Piet | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 22 | PASQUALON Andrea | Circus-Wanty Gobert | s.t. |
| 23 | NAESEN Oliver | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 24 | JORGENSON Matteo | Movistar | s.t. |
| 25 | MERLIER Tim | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 26 | VAN AVERMAET Greg | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 27 | HOULE Hugo | Astana | s.t. |
| 28 | VAN POUCKE Aaron | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 29 | VERMOTE Julien | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 30 | DILLIER Silvan | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 31 | HVIDEBERG Jonas | Uno-X Norwegian Development | s.t. |
| 32 | VAN LERBERGHE Bert | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 33 | BOL Cees | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
| 34 | JACOBS Johan | Movistar | s.t. |
| 35 | KUNG Stefan | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 36 | VALLEE Boris | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 37 | POLITT Nils | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 38 | VAN HOECKE Gijs | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 39 | HAUSSLER Heinrich | Bahrain-McLaren | s.t. |
| 40 | TERPSTRA Niki | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 41 | KOCH Jonas | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 42 | STYBAR Zdenek | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 43 | LAENGEN Vegard | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 44 | VALGREN Michael | NTT Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 45 | GENIETS Kevin | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 46 | MAES Nikolas | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 47 | BOIVIN Guillaume | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 48 | VERGAERDE Otto | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 49 | LE GAC Olivier | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 50 | WISNIOWSKI Lukasz | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 51 | JANS Roy | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 52 | LAMPAERT Yves | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 53 | POSTLBERGER Lukas | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 54 | KRIEGER Alexander | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 55 | JUNGELS Bob | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 56 | DURBRIDGE Luke | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 57 | VAN GOETHEM Brian | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 58 | KRAGH ANDERSEN Søren | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
| 59 | VANMARCKE Sep | EF Pro Cycling | 0:15 |
| 60 | RICKAERT Jonas | Alpecin-Fenix | 0:18 |
| 61 | BAUHAUS Phil | Bahrain-McLaren | 0:56 |
| 62 | STANNARD Ian | Team INEOS | 1:17 |
| 63 | ROWE Luke | Team INEOS | s.t. |
| 64 | BENOOT Tiesj | Team Sunweb | 1:56 |
| 65 | TILLER Rasmus | NTT Pro Cycling | 2:08 |
| 66 | LUDVIGSSON Tobias | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 67 | GOGL Michael | NTT Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 68 | LECROQ Jeremy | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 69 | ABRAHAMSEN Jonas | Uno-X Norwegian Development | s.t. |
| 70 | PEDERSEN Casper | Team Sunweb | 3:14 |
| 71 | VAN RENSBURG Reinardt | NTT Pro Cycling | 4:15 |
| 72 | RUTSCH Jonas | EF Pro Cycling | 6:03 |
| 73 | SKAARSETH Anders | Uno-X Norwegian Development | s.t. |
| 74 | DE VREESE Laurens | Astana | s.t. |
| 75 | DOULL Owain | Team INEOS | s.t. |
| 76 | SBARAGLI Kristian | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 77 | CAPIOT Amaury | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 78 | GODON Dorian | Ag2r La Mondiale | 6:31 |
| 79 | PEDERSEN Mads | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 80 | VAN ASBROECK Tom | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 81 | WIRTGEN Tom | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 82 | THEUNS Edward | Trek-Segafredo | 7:10 |
| 83 | RENARD Alexis | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 84 | BARTHE Cyril | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 85 | DE BONDT Dries | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 86 | RESELL Erik Nordsaeter | Uno-X Norwegian Development | s.t. |
| 87 | VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 88 | GAMPER Patrick | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 89 | HOLLMANN Juri | Movistar | s.t. |
| 90 | NAESEN Lawrence | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 91 | DUPONT Timothy | Circus-Wanty Gobert | s.t. |
| 92 | VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter | Circus-Wanty Gobert | s.t. |
| 93 | GRUZDEV Dmitriy | Astana | s.t. |
| 94 | ARNDT Nikias | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
| 95 | STOKBRO Andreas | NTT Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 96 | BACKAERT Frederik | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 97 | VAN MOER Brent | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 98 | BEWLEY Sam | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 99 | EDMONDSON Alex | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 100 | KEISSE Iljo | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 101 | EEKHOFF Nils | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
| 102 | MOSCA Jacopo | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 103 | BASSO Leonardo | Team INEOS | s.t. |
| 104 | SMITH Dion | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 105 | DUVAL Julien | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 106 | CERNY Josef | CCC Team | s.t. |
| 107 | KONYCHEV Alexander | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 108 | OWEN Logan | EF Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 109 | CULLAIGH Gabriel | Movistar | s.t. |
| 110 | FELLINE Fabio | Astana | s.t. |
| 111 | MORIN Emmanuel | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 112 | PLANCKAERT Emiel | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 113 | SPRENGERS Thomas | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 114 | BOASSON HAGEN Edvald | NTT Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 115 | WRIGHT Alfred | Bahrain-McLaren | s.t. |
| 116 | SIEBERG Marcel | Bahrain-McLaren | s.t. |
| 117 | BOHLI Tom | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 118 | SCHILLINGER Andreas | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 119 | LIETAER Eliot | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 120 | DEBUSSCHERE Jens | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 121 | ISTA Kevyn | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 122 | PHILIPSEN Jasper | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 123 | PAASSCHENS Mathijs | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 124 | LEMOINE Cyril | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 125 | COQUARD Bryan | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 126 | SCHELLING Ide | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 127 | DELAGE Mickaël | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 128 | DE BACKER Bert | B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | s.t. |
| 129 | FRISON Frederik | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 130 | HOELGAARD Markus | Uno-X Norwegian Development | s.t. |
| 131 | LAAS Martin | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 132 | NOMMELA Aksel | Wallonie Bruxelles | s.t. |
| 133 | VAN DEN BERG Julius | EF Pro Cycling | s.t. |
| 134 | SAUGSTAD Lars | Uno-X Norwegian Development | s.t. |
| 135 | AFFINI Edoardo | Mitchelton-Scott | 7:52 |
| 136 | MARCATO Marco | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
2020 Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne pictures by Fotoreporter Sirotti:
CCC Team is presented during the starting ceremonies.
Fabio Jakobsen heads to the start
Gianni Moscon
Tobias Ludvigsson on Mont Saint Laurent
Eventual third place Giacomo Nizzolo
Hugo Houle climbs the Old Kwaremont.
Lukas Postlberger has crashed on the Old Kwaremont.
Kasper Asgreen has shed all but one breakaway complanion. Soon Asgreen will be alone and heading for home.
Luke Rowe leading the Peloton in the city of Kuurne.
Kasper Asgreen wins a big one.
Asgreen right after the race.
Kasper Asgreen enjoys his victory.
The podium, from left: Giacomo Nizzolo (2nd), Kasper Asgreen (1st) & Alexander Kristoff (3rd)
Start list with back numbers, February 29, 2020:
174 riders signed up to ride.
| TREK-SEGAFREDO | |
| 1 | PEDERSEN Mads |
| 2 | MOSCA Jacopo |
| 3 | LIEPINS Emils |
| 4 | MULLEN Ryan |
| 5 | SIMMONS Quinn |
| 6 | STUYVEN Jasper |
| 7 | THEUNS Edward |
| DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP | |
| 11 | JUNGELS Bob |
| 12 | ASGREEN Kasper |
| 13 | JAKOBSEN Fabio |
| 14 | KEISSE Iljo |
| 15 | VAN LERBERGHE Bert |
| 16 | LAMPAERT Yves |
| 17 | STYBAR Zdenek |
| CCC TEAM | |
| 21 | VAN AVERMAET Greg |
| 22 | TRENTIN Matteo |
| 23 | CERNY Josef |
| 24 | KOCH Jonas |
| 25 | VAN HOECKE Gijs |
| 26 | VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume |
| 27 | WISNIOWSKI Lukasz |
| TEAM INEOS | |
| 31 | BASSO Leonardo |
| 32 | LAWLESS Christopher |
| 33 | DOULL Owain |
| 34 | ROWE Luke |
| 35 | STANNARD Ian |
| 36 | SWIFT Ben |
| 37 | MOSCON Gianni |
| AG2R LA MONDIALE | |
| 41 | DILLIER Silvan |
| 42 | DUVAL Julien |
| 43 | GODON Dorian |
| 44 | NAESEN Lawrence |
| 45 | NAESEN Oliver |
| 47 | VENTURINI Clement |
| LOTTO-SOUDAL | |
| 51 | DEGENKOLB John |
| 52 | DIBBEN Jonathan |
| 53 | IVERSEN Rasmus |
| 54 | MAES Nikolas |
| 55 | VAN GOETHEM Brian |
| 56 | FRISON Frederik |
| 57 | VAN MOER Brent |
| ISRAEL START-UP NATION | |
| 61 | BIERMANS Jenthe |
| 62 | BOIVIN Guillaume |
| 63 | POLITT Nils |
| 64 | HOFSTETTER Hugo |
| 65 | MCCABE Travis |
| 66 | VAN ASBROECK Tom |
| 67 | RENARD Alexis |
| GROUPAMA-FDJ | |
| 71 | LUDVIGSSON Tobias |
| 72 | DELAGE Mickael |
| 73 | GENIETS Kevin |
| 74 | KUNG Stefan |
| 75 | LE GAC Olivier |
| 76 | LIENHARD Fabian |
| 77 | SARREAU Marc |
| UAE-TEAM EMIRATES | |
| 81 | KRISTOFF Alexander |
| 82 | BOHLI Tom |
| 83 | BJERG Mikkel |
| 84 | MOLANO Juan |
| 85 | LAENGEN Vegard |
| 86 | MARCATO Marco |
| 87 | PHILIPSEN Jasper |
| EF EDUCATION FIRST | |
| 91 | HALVORSEN Kristoffer |
| 92 | RUTSCH Jonas |
| 93 | KEUKELEIRE Jens |
| 94 | OWEN Logan |
| 95 | SCULLY Thomas |
| 96 | VAN DEN BERG Julius |
| 97 | VANMARCKE Sep |
| BORA-HANSGROHE | |
| 101 | BASKA Erik |
| 102 | DRUCKER Jempy |
| 103 | GAMPER Patrick |
| 104 | LAAS Martin |
| 105 | POSTLBERGER Lukas |
| 106 | SCHELLING Ide |
| 107 | SCHILLINGER Andreas |
| MOVISTAR | |
| 111 | CULLAIGH Gabriel |
| 112 | HOLLMANN Juri |
| 113 | JACOBS Johan |
| 114 | JORGENSON Matteo |
| 115 | MAS Lluis |
| 116 | PRADES Eduard |
| 117 | ROELANDTS Jurgen |
| BAHRAIN-MCLAREN | |
| 121 | BAUHAUS Phil |
| 122 | BOLE Grega |
| 123 | COLBRELLI Sonny |
| 124 | HAUSSLER Heinrich |
| 125 | PIBERNIK Luka |
| 126 | SIEBERG Marcel |
| 127 | WRIGHT Fred |
| COFIDIS | |
| 131 | ALLEGAERT Piet |
| 132 | CLAEYS Dimitri |
| 133 | LEMOINE Cyril |
| 134 | MORIN Emmanuel |
| 135 | TOUZE Damien |
| 136 | VANBILSEN Kenneth |
| 137 | VERMOTE Julien |
| ASTANA | |
| 141 | ARANBURU Alex |
| 142 | BIZHIGITOV Zhandos |
| 143 | DE VREESE Laurens |
| 144 | FELLINE Fabio |
| 145 | GRUZDEV Dmitriy |
| 146 | HOULE Hugo |
| 147 | BOARO Manuele |
| MITCHELTON-SCOTT | |
| 151 | AFFINI Edoardo |
| 152 | BEWLEY Sam |
| 153 | DURBRIDGE Luke |
| 154 | EDMONDSON Alexander |
| 155 | KONYCHEV Alexander |
| 156 | SMITH Dion |
| 157 | STANNARD Robert |
| NTT PRO CYCLING | |
| 161 | BOASSON HAGEN Edvald |
| 162 | GOGL Michael |
| 163 | ANDERSEN Michael |
| 164 | VAN RENSBURG Reinardt |
| 165 | NIELSEN Andreas |
| 166 | NIZZOLO Giacomo |
| 167 | TILLER Rasmus |
| TEAM SUNWEB | |
| 171 | ANDERSEN Soren |
| 172 | ARNDT Nikias |
| 173 | BOL Cees |
| 174 | DENZ Nico |
| 175 | EEKHOFF Nils |
| 176 | PEDERSEN Casper |
| 177 | BENOOT Tiesj |
| ALPECIN-FENIX | |
| 181 | KRIEGER Alexander |
| 182 | SBARAGLI Kristian |
| 183 | MERLIER Tim |
| 184 | VERGAERDE Otto |
| 185 | RICKAERT Jonas |
| 186 | JANS Roy |
| 187 | DE BONDT Dries |
| CIRCUS-WANTY GOBERT | |
| 191 | DE DECKER Alfdan |
| 192 | DUPONT Timothy |
| 193 | DEVRIENDT Tom |
| 194 | PASQUALON Andrea |
| 195 | VAN POPPEL Boy |
| 196 | VAN POPPEL Danny |
| 197 | VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter |
| UNO-X NORWEGIAN DEVELOPMENT | |
| 201 | SKAARSETH Anders |
| 202 | RESELL Erik |
| 203 | HOELGAARD Daniel |
| 204 | HOELGAARD Markus |
| 205 | ABRAHAMSEN Jonas |
| 206 | SAUGSTAD Lars |
| 207 | HVIDEBERG Jonas |
| TOTAL DIRECT ENERGIE | |
| 211 | MANZIN Lorrenzo |
| 212 | MAITRE Florian |
| 213 | PETIT Adrien |
| 214 | SOUPE Geoffrey |
| 215 | TERPSTRA Niki |
| 216 | TURGIS Anthony |
| 217 | VAN GESTEL Dries |
| WALLONIE BRUXELLES | |
| 221 | ISTA Kevin |
| 222 | NOMMELA Aksel |
| 223 | LIETAER Eliot |
| 224 | PAASSCHENS Mathijs |
| 225 | VALLEE Boris |
| 226 | CASTRIQUE Jonas |
| 227 | WIRTGEN Tom |
| SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE | |
| 231 | CAPIOT Amaury |
| 232 | DELTOMBE Kevin |
| 233 | PLANCKAERT Emiel |
| 234 | SPRENGERS Thomas |
| 235 | VAN POUCKE Aaron |
| 236 | WEEMAES Sasha |
| 237 | VERWILST Aaron |
| B&B HOTELS-VITAL CONCEPT | |
| 241 | BACKAERT Frederik |
| 242 | BARTHE Cyril |
| 243 | COQUARD Bryan |
| 244 | DE BACKER Bert |
| 245 | DEBUSSCHERE Jens |
| 246 | GAREL Adrien |
| 247 | LECROQ Jeremy |