'Mathieu van der Poel likely to start in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne'

Mathieu van der Poel kicks off his road season on Saturday with the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad but is not on the provisional start list for Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. According to information from Het Laatste Nieuws, however, there is a good chance he will also race on Sunday.

Alpecin-Premier Tech has yet to officially announce their selection for Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. The team cannot or does not want to confirm to HLN that Van der Poel may double up during the Opening Weekend. The final decision is expected only on Saturday evening, once the Omloop is over.

If Van der Poel does start in KBK, it will be his second participation. He previously raced the event once, in 2021. Back then, he aggressively animated the race early and stayed in a leading group deep into the finale, but the race ultimately ended in a sprint. Mads Pedersen won, with Van der Poel finishing twelfth.