The Flemish opening weekend traditionally concluded with Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, a race many sprinters had set their sights on. Kooij made his return to competition for Team Visma | Lease a Bike after recovering from illness.  

It took more than an hour of racing before seven riders managed to form the early breakaway. The peloton remained relatively calm until about 80 kilometers from the finish, when action started to unfold on the Mont Saint Laurent. Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson were among those who increased the pace. Van Aert showed great determination throughout the race, launching several attacks, but the sprint teams gave him no room to escape. 

It soon became clear that the race would end in a sprint in the streets of Kuurne. Team Visma | Lease a Bike guided Kooij well towards the final kilometre. Tiesj Benoot and Victor Campenaerts, and later Van Aert and Jorgenson, provided an excellent lead-out. In the sprint, Kooij only had to trail Philipsen.  

“My teammates did a great job today,” Kooij said. “It was a battle for positioning heading into the final corner. Tiesj and Victor made sure I got through it well. Later, it was up to Wout and Matteo to launch the sprint, and they did that perfectly. But Alpecin-Deceuninck also had a strong lead-out, and Jasper was simply the fastest today. I can accept that. Above all, I’m happy that after two weeks of illness, I’m back competing for victory.”  

Sports director Grischa Niermann reflected on the race and the rest of the weekend: “We had different cards we could play today. Matteo and Wout tried several times to anticipate, but there were many teams controlling the peloton. Then it was clear we would go all-in for the sprint with Olav. The guys positioned him well, but Philipsen was just a bit faster. We’ve identified some areas for improvement over the past two days, but it’s good to finish this opening weekend with a second place in Kuurne. Our main goals lie later this year, and we will now continue preparing for them.”