Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2026: The most important facts in brief
- Date: Sunday, 01 March 2026,
- Start: 12:10 pm (Goal ~ 17:00 h)
- Distance: 194.9 kilometres
- Start: Kortrijk, Target: Kuurne
- Premiere: 1945
- UCI category: UCI Pro Series
Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2026: The route
Strictly speaking, the starting gun will not be fired in Kuurne this year either, but - as in the two previous years - in Kortrijk, right in the immediate neighbourhood. Almost 195 kilometres with 13 short climbs, the so-called Hellingen, await the riders. The last of these, the Kluisberg, is 59 kilometres before the finish. Around 13.4 kilometres before the end of the race, the riders will finally take on a circuit through Kortrijk, Harelbeke and Kuurne, a phase in which the sprinters' teams will be able to catch and bring back a potential breakaway group.
The slipways
- 17.5 km - Tiegemberg - 1.4 km à 4 %
- 35.6 km - Volkgemberg - 1 km à 5.1 %
- 55.1 km - Boembeek - 1.1 km à 4.8 %
- 70.6 km - Bossenaarstraat - 1.3 km à 5.6 %
- 74.3 km - Berg Ten Houte - 1.1 km à 6.2 %
- 81.3 km - La Houppe - 1.880 km à 4.8 %
- 99.1 km - Hameau des Papins - 1.2 km à 6.6 %
- 107.5 km - Le Bourliquet - 1.3 km à 6.8 %
- 112.6 km - Mont Saint-Laurent - 1.3 km à 7.8 %
- 121.5 km - Kruisberg - 1.4 km à 5.3 %
- 123.2 km - Hotond - 1.2 km à 3.1 %
- 130.7 km - Côte de Trieu/Knokteberg - 1.260 km à 7 %
- 138.1 km - Kluisberg - 1.1 km à 6 %
The favourites
In contrast to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad the day before, the sprinters' chances in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne are very good. Although the 2024 race had a different outcome: Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) won out of a group of three after his team had made the race very hard early on. Last year, however, everything went as usual: a bunch sprint with Jasper Philipsen as the winner. The defending champion wants to start again this year. However, Philipsen is currently in a form slump and defending the title is likely to be all the more difficult in view of the teams' line-ups. Probably the two best sprinters in the world at the moment, Jonathan Milan (Lidl - Trek) and Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), are also aiming for victory, as are Arnaud de Lie (Lotto - Intermarché), Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Jordi Meeus (Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe), Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team) and Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates - XRG).
It should not be forgotten that not all of the top sprinters start the day before at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. While Philipsen, Magnier, De Lie, Brennan, Meeus, Girmay and Molano will have to tackle the short climbs and cobbled sections on Saturday, Jonathan Milan will be well rested for the start the following day. The classics specialists are likely to be the most interested in a hard-fought race, however, as all the big teams have a sprinter in their line-up, a bunch sprint is by far the most likely scenario.
Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2026: TV broadcast & live stream
In Germany, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 2026 will be shown on television on Eurosport 2 from 14:30-17:15. A live stream of the race is available at Discovery Plus (subject to a charge). This also starts at 2:30 pm.
Leon Weidner
Working student
