Dylan Groenewegen placed fourth in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne today in Belgium, third in the bunch kick behind solo winner Jasper Stuyven (Trek - Segafredo). LottoNL-Jumbo team-mate Twan Castelijns did the rest, escaping in the early lead group of 15 riders.

Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won the sprint behind for second place ahead of Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) and Groenewegen. 

Wind and of course, the early climbs played their part in the 68th edition of the Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. “We only had Maarten Tjallingii in front after the Oude Kwaremont,” sports director Frans Maassen explained. “That wasn’t good enough. We were able to correct that, but it could have been a moment when we lost the race.”

Quickly afterwards, Groenewegen and Castelijns rode in the small first peloton. “Dylan came out of the Volta ao Algarve in good form, which showed at that point of the race,” Maassen continued. “We worked for him and the race turned in our advantage.”

“I was too far behind after the Oude Kwaremont, but I was covered by a great team, fortunately,” Groenewegen explained. “I made it through the finish and I gave everything I had in the sprint, but more than this fourth place wasn’t possible for me. I’m satisfied. I’ll build further off this result.”

The Team LottoNL-Jumbo riders in the peloton were in a good position because Castelijns escaped in the front group. He had been in front of the first group at the right time to move free with fifteen riders.  

“That was a very strong performance,” Maassen said. “Our men were comfortable in the peloton because of that.” “Last year, I was racing in very different races,” Castelijns added. “There’s much more pressure in this kind of races. That makes it special for me to be in the mix today. I wasn’t fresh any more in the end so it became harder to react in time. I had no other choice but to let the best riders free.”

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne almost saw a traditional bunch kick. “It was a devastating race, but it still ended up in a sprint with a big group of riders,” Maassen continued. “Only Stuyven stayed free of the peloton – impressive. He deserved the win and Dylan delivered a beautiful result as well.”