(AFP) – Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen won the semi-classic Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne cobbled one-day race in a sprint finish on Sunday.

The 24-year-old, who won the final stage of last year's Tour de France on the Champs Elysees, edged out Frenchman Arnaud Demare and Sonny Colbrelli of Italy to succeed world champion Peter Sagan as winner in Kuurne.

It was a fourth victory of the season for Groenewegen.

"It was very cold so we were all desperate to finish," joked Groenewegen about the race's brisk pace.

This was the second race of the weekend that kick-starts the spring classics season, following Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, won by Dane Michael Valgren on Saturday.

The cobbled classics will reach their zenith in early April with the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix on back-to-back weekends.