Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) won the Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne ahead of Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Elia Viviani (Team Sky). Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung had Kristian Sbaragli sprint his way into the top 10 by placing 8th on the line.

It was another impressive display on the Belgian roads by Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung at the Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne today. After the early 8 rider break was nullified with around 70km to go, a number of surges and attacks saw a dangerous 19 rider group ride clear of the peloton by over a minute.

With 5 Etixx-QuickStep riders in the move, including their two captains Cavendish and Tom Boonen, most people thought that was the race winning move. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung had other ideas though as the African team took control of the peloton and in a powerful display of riding, reeled in the group of favourites.

After such a mammoth effort, setting up for the sprint was the task which still lay ahead. Etixx-QuickStep, Katusha and Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung were the most prominent trains coming into the final as they all looked to position their sprinters. In the end it was Etixx-QuickStep who came out on top.

Kristian Sbaragli ended the day off well with a fine top 10 place for the African team. While a place on the podium was the initial goal, MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung can be proud of its efforts as it announced itself as a genuine classics contending squad after today’s strong performance.

"In the finale I was pretty close to Edvald [Boasson Hagen] and we were a little far back but were also moving up quickly," Sbaragli said. "At 400m a rider hit the barrier and we had to stop pedalling for a few seconds and we lost our rhythm. Without this obstacle maybe we could have done better. As a team we still rode well to close the big after the Oude Kwaremont. We tried our best today and we can now only look forward to the next races. "
 

"It was a good result for Kristian today but overall I expected a bit more from the team," sports director Jean-Pierre Heynderickx said. "We missed the break at a key point but after that we did a good job in the chase. Kristian was 8th which is okay but I think we could’ve done better."