This week it was announced that Kuurne will no longer be the departure point of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. There was a lot of criticism about that.
Kuurne has long been the starting point of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, but this week it was announced that from next year the start will be in Kortrijk, 5 kilometers away.
The mayor of Kuurne screamed bloody murder for this decision, but according to cycling commentator Karl Vannieuwkerke, that is not necessary. The fact that the finish remains in Kuurne is important, because prizes are handed out at the finish.
“I am also a nostalgic myself, but the rhetoric that has accompanied the move of the start from Kuurne to Kortrijk in recent days is so exaggerated that as an outsider it feels grotesque,” said De Krant van West-Vlaanderen.
Many races already have a different starting place than before, often different than their name suggests. For example, the Tour of Flanders starts in Bruges or Antwerp. Ghent has had nothing to do with Ghent-Wevelgem for a long time and Paris-Roubaix does not start in Paris either.
“I think that a stage on the Grote Markt of Kortrijk is an upgrade for Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne,” Vannieuwkerke continues. The cycling commentator therefore makes a proposal to the mayor of Kuurne.
“On February 25, at dawn, take as many residents of your municipality as possible to Kortrijk on foot, with real donkeys leading the way. Along the way side entertainment and barley snacks. Then back on foot. Well in time for the main course on the Brugsesteenweg. The attention of the national media for Kuurne has never been greater. And if you do it, I’ll happily join you. Out of sympathy. I can get José to that point too.”
