Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

Spring classics season clicks into gear this weekend with a pair of “semi-classics” that will serve as an appetizer for the coming weeks

Superstars making classics debut with BMC

A resurgent Tom Boonen will be leading team at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

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At least one team is breaking rank with the peloton this weekend and will sit out any protest of the UCI ban on race radios. BMC Racing general manager Jim Ochowicz said in a release Thursday that his team would not take part in any demonstration planned for the opening weekend of the spring classics in Flanders, Belgium.

Past winners of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

Official start list for Sunday's Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

The European racing calendar gets busier with each passing week and this weekend sees the opening of the Belgian racing season with two important semi-classics that will see the top guns sharpening their form with the northern classics just around the corner.

Bobbie Traksel wins Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

Bobbie Traksel (Vacansoleil) wins Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

A crafty Bobbie Traksel (Vacansoleil) takes a three-up sprint to win a soggy Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

The HTC-Columbia team begins its Belgian Classics season this weekend with a double dose of racing action, first tackling Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday February 27th, then Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne the next day.

Cervelo TestTeam is sending squads to this weekend's cobbled races, the men's and women's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday and the men's Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday.

Despite nasty crashes at Algarve, RadioShack will start Gert Steegmans and Tomas Vaitkus at this weekend's cobbled races in Belgium. Milram, Liquigas and Quick Step also release their rosters.

Omloop Het Niuwsblad, KBK and the Vuelta a Andalucia highlight a big week in Europe. Andrew Hood gives the run down.