Brennan Blasts to Kuurne Victory – Visma’s Young Brit Dominates the Sprint

For one day, the spotlight shifted away from Saturday’s Omloop hero and onto the sprinters. With Mathieu van der Poel skipping Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, the door was wide open – and Matthew Brennan kicked it off the hinges.

After 195 kilometers from Kortrijk to Kuurne, the young Brit from Visma | Lease a Bike proved untouchable in a reduced bunch sprint, winning by multiple bike lengths over Luca Mozzato (Tudor), with Matteo Trentin rounding out the podium.

Kuurne Sunday rarely disappoints – and 2026 delivered the full Flemish menu: breakaways, bergs, crashes, echelons and finally, raw sprint power.

Early Escape, Early Exit

The day’s move formed after roughly 30 kilometers. Dries De Bondt (Jayco AlUla) and Frits Biesterbos (Picnic PostNL) were joined by Cole Kessler (Modern Adventure), Johan Jacobs (Groupama-FDJ), and Matis Louvel (NSN Cycling Team). Later, Roger Adrià (Movistar) and Storm Ingebrigtsen (Uno-X Mobility) bridged across to make it seven up front.

That’s 195km around the Flemish countryside

Their advantage hovered around four minutes while the peloton kept things controlled – though not entirely calm. Several crashes disrupted the bunch, with Belgian champion Tim Wellens the most significant casualty. He remounted after going down hard inside 100 kilometers to go but was clearly in pain and eventually abandoned.

Dries De Bondt (Jayco AlUla) lights up an eary break

Hills Sort the Fast Men

The traditional hill zone did its usual damage.

On Le Bourliquet and Mont Saint Laurent, Lotto-Intermarché lifted the tempo, seemingly setting up Arnaud De Lie. Instead, the Belgian cracked. Jonathan Milan and Dylan Groenewegen also lost contact, while Paul Magnier punctured at precisely the wrong moment.

Philipsen tried…

Up front, Jasper Philipsen, Tim van Dijke and Matej Mohorič all tested the waters with probing attacks, but nothing stuck. On the Kruisberg/Hotond, Philipsen tried again and briefly escaped with Daan Hoole, Brennan and the Van Dijke brothers. Cooperation faltered, hesitation crept in – and the peloton swallowed them whole.

Timo Kielich (Visma) puts the hammer down

Van Baarle Ignites the Fire

The race flared again on the Côte du Trieu when Timo Kielich accelerated, only to be countered by Dylan van Baarle. The Soudal Quick-Step rider powered clear with a select group, but teams who had missed the move – notably Alpecin and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe – organized quickly and neutralized the threat.

Then came the Kluisberg and another reshuffle. A dangerous counterattack bridged to the early break, featuring Van Baarle, Kielich, Brennan, Mick van Dijke, Matteo Trentin, Nils Politt, Jonas Abrahamsen and others. It looked promising – until Decathlon CMA CGM drove the chase and brought everything back together inside 50 kilometers to go.

Echelons and Mechanical Drama

With 50 kilometers remaining, the script seemed obvious: regroup and sprint.

Not so fast.

A surge from Visma | Lease a Bike, combined with stiff crosswinds, shattered the peloton into echelons. Christophe Laporte was instrumental in the split. Philipsen made the front group but suffered a puncture and had to chase after swapping bikes. Fortunately for him, the front echelon lacked cohesion and the race briefly reset itself.

A brave solo from 19-year-old Héctor Álvarez animated proceedings, but he was reeled in with 36 kilometers to go. Abrahamsen tried next – again shut down quickly by Visma, who clearly believed in Brennan’s finishing speed.

Chaos Before the Sprint

Even inside three kilometers, the race refused to settle.

Alec Segaert’s acceleration created a split, and Florian Vermeersch briefly slipped clear. But the hesitation behind ultimately doomed the move, and the sprinters’ teams fought to control the final corner.

Visma executed it flawlessly.

Laporte delivered Brennan to the front at precisely the right moment. While Philipsen found himself poorly positioned, Brennan launched with authority and simply rode away from the field.

There was no coming around him.

The young Brit powered to victory by several bike lengths, announcing himself as a major force for the northern sprint scene. Mozzato finished second, Trentin third – but the day belonged emphatically to Brennan.

Kuurne Sunday crowned a new star.

Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne 2026 – Top 10 Results

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