Day of Classics: Feb 27

Today was probably one of the busiest days on the cycling calendar, with 4 different major events going on across Europe. Teams were very spread out, with certain squads focusing their power on certain events. For this reason, I will cover all of them in one convenient post.

Let's start with probably the biggest event of the day.

Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
The KBK is a popular choice for riders who rode the Omloop, because it is also in Belgium and doesn't require much travel, however this year's winner may have won because he wasn't in the Omloop.

CJ Sutton of Team Sky was the surprise winner of the KBK today, outsprinting FDJ's Hutarovich as well as Greipel and Farrar. Now Sutton is known as a pretty good sprinter, but the surprise is that he even got the opportunity.

Conventional wisdom says that Boasson-Hagen is a no-brainer for the sprint finish, but Boasson-Hagen himself said that he elected to be a leadout rider today because he felt Sutton was fresher. It was a fantastic leadout from Eddy BH, and Sutton just cruised to one of the biggest victories of his career.

Despite pulling off early, Boasson-Hagen still managed to hang onto a top 10. Sutton also got some help from teammates like yesterday's 2nd and 3rd riders Flecha and Hayman, and they helped to chase down a late dangerous breakaway by Tom Boonen and Jimmy Engoulvent.

Sutton was a surprise winner for sure, but perhaps the even bigger surprises were the losers. Hutarovich seemed content with 2nd, but both Greipel and Farrar seemed disappointed with the missed opportunities that they nearly had. Greipel cited lack of team support as the culprit while Farrar blamed his own choice of line, but Sky looked so good that it might not have mattered anyway.

Results
1. CJ Sutton
2. Yauheni Hutarovich
3. Andre Greipel
4. Tyler Farrar
5. Jonas Vangenechten
6. Sebastien Chavanel
7. Anthony Ravard
8. Edvald Boasson-Hagen
9. Adrien Petit
10. Kristof Goddaert
17. Gerald Ciolek
82. Juan Antonio Flecha
94. Thomas Voeckler
99. Filippo Pozzato
101. Tom Boonen

GP di Lugano
Ivan Basso usually doesn't bother with single day events, but he did today and he looks to be in good form for the upcoming season. He also doesn't do much sprinting, but he seemed to hold his own just fine in that department too.

Basso launched an attack late in the race, and only Geox TMC's Fabio Duarte could match him in going clear. Basso kicked as they approached the slightly inclined finish line, and Duarte just could not get past him.

It's a solid win for Basso, who remembered late coach Aldo Sassi after his victory. Basso dedicated the victory to Sassi, who lost his fight with brain cancer last December.

Results
1. Ivan Basso
2. Fabio Duarte
3. Giovanni Visconti -16
4. Jure Kocjan
5. Leonardo Duque
7. Rinaldo Nocentini
13. Maxime Bouet -17
17. Nicolas Roche -18

Classica Sarda Sassari
Much like the KBK relates to the Omloop, the Classica Sarda is a popular option for the riders of the Giro di Sardegna.

But unlike the Sardegna, AKA "The Peter Sagan Experience," it was a new face that emerged victorious.

Pavel Brutt somehow managed to attack late and hold off the charging sprinters like Sagan by just a few seconds to grab his first win of the year. Emanuele Sella also attacked for 2nd.

The finish was set up by a large and successful breakaway contained Brutt, Sagan, and many of the other major players in the Sardegna.

Results
1. Pavel Brutt
2. Emanuele Sella -2
3. Peter Sagan -5
4. Francesco Gavazzi
5. Oscar Gatto
6. Geraint Thomas -11
9. Vincenzo Nibali -30
11. Damiano Cunego -39

Clasica de Almeria
Geox-TMC's 22 year old Matteo Pelucchi just pipped sprinter Jose Rojas to the line to grab his first pro victory and the first win of any kind for Geox-TMC. Pelucchi had the fresher legs, partially because of Rojas's failed attempt at a breakaway earlier in the race.

Rojas tried a move along with fellow sprinter Michael Matthews, Jens Voigt, Christian Vandevelde, and others but they were reeled back in and had to settle for the sprint finish. Pelucchi was in a great spot when they hit the final stretch, and he just turned on the gas.

Results
1. Matteo Pelucchi
2. Jose Joaquin Rojas
3. Pim Ligthart
11. Oscar Freire
12. Julian Dean
31. Michael Matthews
36. Jens Voigt
51. Christian Vandevelde
57. Frank Schleck
76. Jurgen Van Den Broeck -39
91. Xavier Tondo -2:51