Trentin cracks top-5 in Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne

Matteo Trentin put in another solid sprinting display in the finale of Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne in Belgium, coming home in 4th place behind the days winner Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo).

After a 8th place in yesterday’s Classics opener Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Emirati squad was keen to build on the result with Trentin and Alexander Kristoff, 3rd here in 2020, leading the line.

Kristoff’s chances were dashed when a crash in the middle of the peloton with 30km to go, right before the final cobbled section saw the Norwegian missing the decisive split.

This left Trentin to fight it out solo, where he fell just short of the podium in a promising start of the classics campaign for the squad.

Matteo Trentin: “I’m quite happy with the performance today, I followed the right moves and tried to be in the right place at the right times. It’s a pity to miss out on the podium by such a small margin. The guys coming in the group behind were a bit fresher and I had been quite active throughout the race. After this first classics weekend we have a strong platform to build on and take confidence knowing that the physical condition is good.”

Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne results

1.Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 4:37:04
2. Anthony Turgis (Total Direct Energy) s.t
3.Tom Pidcock (Ineos-Grenadiers) s.t
4. Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) s.t