Brennan Batters Opposition in Hectic Kuurne Sprint, Kool Clobbers Bunch in Hageland

Matthew Brennan put a smile on stressed Visma-Lease a Bike faces on Sunday, taking a decisive sprint win in the prestigious Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne race.

The Dutch super team had just two victories to its credit thus far this year, and also endured setbacks with leaders Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert. However Brennan gave the team a boost with his second triumph of 2026, following up on his stage win at the Santos Tour Down Under with another sprint success.

He launched an explosive turn of speed at the end of Sunday’s race in Kuurne, finishing two bike lengths clear of Luca Mozzato. Another Tudor Pro Cycling rider Matteo Trentin was third.

“I have ridden this race twice as a junior,” 20-year-old Brennan said of the event which was won twice by Mark Cavendish. “We have always stood at the finish line and watched all the pros at the time come through and do their race. So to be in that situation now where I can finally say I can put my hands up in the air and I have actually won the pro race is fantastic.”

Brennan found himself out of position during the race but said his team proved vital in getting him back where he needed to be.

“I was caught out a little bit. All day I was just a little bit nervous after yesterday’s crash [in the Omloop Nieuwsblad]. I would say I hit the floor pretty hard. And unfortunately I was caught out, but I had a great guy Pietro Mattio who really burnt all his bullets to bring me back.

“Then from there I was able to move forward and get in the move with all the guys. We just went full gas, we really wanted to make it hard. We knew we were in the best situation possible there. We took the initiative and I am so happy that it paid off.”

Eyeing the Monuments

Brennan is in just his second pro season but has already notched up 14 wins. These include stages in the Volta a Catalunya, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Pologne and the Tour Down Under, as well as the GC at the Tour of Norway.

He’s a lightning-quick sprinter but also a versatile rider on tough terrain. That should set him up for good performances in the spring classics, and Kuurne marked a breakthrough of sorts.

“This is my first one. Hopefully there is more to come. That is the ambition anyway,” he said.

He wants to build on this towards even bigger goals.

“Flanders, Roubaix, all these races. They are all super iconic. One day I would love to put my hands up in the air in one of them.

“It might take a while, but we will give it our best shot.”

Results: Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

 

Kool captures first win of season

While Saturday’s Omloop program featured races for both men and women, Sunday’s saw the latter competing in the Fenix-Ekoï Omloop van het Hageland.

Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) was best in the final dash to the line, outpacing the up and coming Irish rider Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) and Shari Bossuyt (AG Insurance-Soudal).

Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), a very fast finisher, crashed on a corner with 5km to go and lost her chance for the win.

Things were close in the finale, with the bunch only bringing back a dangerous breakaway with Marta Lach (SD Worx-Protime), Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) and Flora Perkins (Fenix-Premier Tech) inside the final kilometer.

Kool is a two-time Tour de France Femmes stage winner and made no mistakes in the finale, blasting home ahead of Gillespie, Bossuyt and 35 other riders.

Results: Omloop van het Hageland