Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne

First held in 1946, the race was run from Kuurne, a small town known for its textile industry, to the Belgian capital of Brussels and back. In the 1950s it served as the opening race of the Belgian cycling season. When Brussels was becoming inaccessible for a cycling event in the late 1960s, the race was rerouted towards the Flemish Ardennes and renamed "Omloop der beide Vlaanderen" ("Circuit of both Flanders").[N 1] In 1979 organizers decided to rename the event to Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne nonetheless.

For many decades, Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne serves as the second race of the opening weekend in Belgium, after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday, as well as the first weekend of racing in Northwestern Europe.[1] Although second after the Omloop, and considered the smaller of the two events, it holds significant prestige because of its calendar date. Since 2005 it is included in the UCI Europe Tour; in 2016 it was upgraded to a 1.HC event, the same ranking as Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, but Omloop was upgraded to UCI World Tour level in 2017. Despite tandeming with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, no rider has ever won the Omloop and Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne on the same weekend.

As it is run in late winter, Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne has often been affected by poor weather. The race had to be cancelled three times because of snow or frost – in 1986, 1993 and 2013. The 2010 event was run in extreme weather as the remnants of cyclone Xynthia hit Belgium, with strong winds and torrential rain ravaging the peloton.[2] The race had to be shortened by 20 km because a fallen tree obstructed the road.[3] The edition was won by Dutch outsider Bobbie Traksel; only 26 of 195 riders finished the race.[4][5] In 2004 Kuurne served as the opening race of the season, after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was cancelled because of snow, before thaw set in on the night before the Sunday race.[6]