E3 Saxo Bank Classic route summaryDistance208.6kmStartHarelbekeFinishHarelbekeStart time12:45 CETFinish time17:30 CETThe course for the 2025 Saxo Classic includes 17 'bergs' and several sections of cobblestone roads across the 208.6 kilometre route from Harelbeke and back The route heads east through Oudenaarde into the Flemish Ardennes the Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont in the final 50km with the Tiegemberg the last climb inside 21km to go Lyne LamoureuxLyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.  you will then be prompted to enter your display name The E3 Saxo Bank Classic will take place on Friday 28th March 2025. The race formerly known as E3 Harelbeke is regarded as ‘the little Tour of Flanders’ due to its shared climbs with the Ronde van Vlaanderen route, including the Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont with five victories including four in a row ran in 2022 and 2023 until its cancellation Mathieu van der Poel won last year with Wout van Aert taking the previous two editions and they’re both set to line up in 2025 Related questions you can explore with Ask Cyclist, our AI search engine.If you would like to ask your own question you just need to Login, Register or subscribe Date: Friday 28th March 2025Start: Harelbeke BelgiumDistance: 208.8kmTV coverage: TNT Sports Sporza2024 winner: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) The E3 Saxo Bank Classic covers 17 bergs and plenty of cobblestones over 208.8km It heads over climbs that the Tour of Flanders peloton will encounter too But while those at Flanders will scale the Oude Kwaremont then the Paterberg the E3 Saxo Bank Classic does it in reverse with riders reaching the Paterberg before the Oude Kwaremont in the final 45km The last climb of the Tiegemberg comes in with 20km remaining Previous winners Van der Poel and Van Aert will be on the start line for the E3 Saxo Bank Classic with this being Van Aert's first race since finishing 75th at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne earlier in the month Trying to knock those two of the top spot will be 2024 Gent-Wevelgem winner Mads Pedersen Ineos's Filippo Ganna and Van Aert's teammate Matteo Jorgenson The 2025 E3 Saxo Bank Classic is available to watch in the UK and Ireland on TNT Sports, Sporza in Belgium, Max in the USA, FloBikes in the USA or Canada, and Staylive for the men's race and a replay of the women's race elsewhere (check which countries here) If the race isn't being broadcast in your country or you are travelling abroad, a VPN will allow you to hide your device’s location to access content that is normally geo-blocked. One such VPN provider is ExpressVPN, which is well reviewed All times GMT and subject to change by the broadcasters TNT Sports online: 13:00-17:15TNT Sports 1: 15:00-17:00 Data powered by FirstCycling.com You must be logged in to post a comment To manage an existing Cyclist magazine subscription, please visit Manage your account or visit our subscription FAQ page. To subscribe, or for other enquiries, please contact us Sign up to the Cyclist newsletter to receive curated emails direct to your inbox Sign up to our newsletter Log in to access Cyclist Rides using your email pertaining to your subscription Don't forget a subscription to Cyclist includes: Log in to post comments and use Ask Cyclist our AI platform that answers your questions based on our articles Register to comment on our latest articles Occasional emails from selected third-party sponsors and advertisers Please enter your username or email address to reset your password Filippo Ganna rode to an incredible third place finish at the E3 Saxo Classic after a gutsy ride in tough conditions to seal his second podium of the week.Following on from his heroics at Milano-Sanremo Ganna once again powered his way into an elite group of contenders then was able to hold his own and time trial to the finish in Harelbeke as the race began to split apart.Brilliantly set up by his teammates it was another superb performance to continue the Italian's recent momentum An early crash sent the peloton into disarray splitting into two group as they tackled the 208km punchy race in Harelbeke Sam Watson and Josh Tarling worked together to close the 1:30 advantage with 140km to go before a flurry of attacks occurred with 100km to go with Ganna and Tarling in tow as the peloton attacked onto the Oude Kruisberg Ben Turner accelerated hard up the Taaienberg with Tarling and Ganna hot on his wheel before Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) countered the move Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Deceuninck) was quick to get on his wheel with Ganna chasing over the top of the climb and reaching the duo The three were able to bridge over to an earlier break of Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step) and Aime De Gendt (Cofidis) with Tarling riding well in the group behind van der Poel rode away from the break solo with Pedersen and then Ganna following suit on their own Ganna gritted his teeth and continued to grow the gap on the peloton and Ganna rolled in third after a fantastic performance Filippo Ganna: “It was hard to follow those guys but Mathieu won the race and he did everything right.  I was completely in the red zone and I just was pushing and pushing to cross the line I’m not the best rider for the steep climbs but I tried to defend myself there was big crash and the group split in two We were pushing with the team and got back in a good position “We will see what can happen but for sure we stay focused now and try and do some amazing races.” Belgian finishes outside top 10 as Mathieu van der Poel wins in Harelbeke got away from him on the steep cobbled climb more than two and a half minutes down on Van der Poel "I missed the beat on Taaienberg," Van Aert said at the finish in Harelbeke to Belgian broadcaster VTM but just before Taaienberg every place counts." "I wasn’t in a good enough position to be there," he added "I tried to get ahead with the better ones from the group I was in but it took a long time before we got a break On the Oude Kwaremont I did get away with Florian Vermeersch [UAE Emirates]." Visma-Lease a Bike were one of the teams caught out due to an early crash in the race and then seemed oddly out of position at the key point in the race after Ineos Grenadiers put the pace on into the Taaienberg and then Pedersen attacked This led to them chasing for lesser positions Asked what was to blame for his disappointing showing on Friday Van Aert admitted that he didn't have the answers I had hoped to get a result and that didn’t work out." 19-year-old Brennan won the fifth stage of the Volta a Catalunya with Tulett winning the fourth stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine he has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the World Championships in Glasgow He has also covered major races elsewhere across the world Tom writes race reports from the men's and women's WorldTour and focuses on coverage of UK domestic cycling - 2025 E3 Saxo Bank Classic Live Online Coverage Guide -   E3 Saxo Bank Classic LIVE - Click for high resolution - photo Copyright © 2021 Cor Vos/cyclingfans.com Artist Greig Leach painted the 2015 E3 Harelbeke.  Check out the gallery here.  Art by Greig Leach.  More The Art of Cycling - Sponsored by Richeson Art - Copyright © 2015 Greig Leach Cyclingfans.com E3 Saxo Bank Classic TourTracker w/live profile  Notes:  (latest notes always appear at the top)   Cyclingfans LIVE on Twitter - Videos: E3 Saxo Bank Classic Videos.  (formerly E3 Harelbeke) - Expected LIVE video here.  (VTM - Need a VPN to access a geo-restricted feed? Try ExpressVPN - Photos: 2021 E3 Saxo Bank Classic Photos - This page will be updated throughout the race - Start List here - Expected LIVE video here.  (Focus WTV) - 2025 E3 Saxo Bank Classic schedule/times: - Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won the 2024 E3 Saxo Bank Classic - The 2025 E3 Saxo Bank Classic is being held Friday - Photos: E3 BinckBank Classic Photos - Art: E3 Harelbeke Art - Results: E3 Harelbeke Results you can follow E3 BinckBank Classic live on cyclingfans.com *No race in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic NOTE:  If you believe you may not be seeing the latest content on this page try clearing your browser's cache (or try a different browser) - We will update here with the best and latest live feeds at broadcast time - Welcome to our live coverage guide for the 2025 E3 Saxo Bank Classic (E3 Prijs Vlaanderen or Grand Prix E3 Harelbeke) 2025 E3 Saxo Bank Classic LIVE March 28, Belgium Official Website Start List Race starts at 12:45pm CET (7:45am U.S Finish at around 5:30pm CET (12:30pm U.S Live video from 1:35pm CET (8:35am U.S  Harelbeke weather Live video streaming: Links to come as available   (--) (Listen online) (cycling news) Yahoo photo gallery (AP/AFP) Copyright © 2025 www.cyclingfans.com Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-Quickstep) on the attack on his way to winning the 2021 E3 Saxo Bank Classic - Click for high resolution - more 2021 E3 Saxo Bank Classic Photos - photo Copyright © 2021 Cor Vos/cyclingfans.com - Expected LIVE video here and here.  (Rtbf - Expected LIVE video here and here - Expected LIVE video here.  (Focus WTV) - 2024 E3 Saxo Bank Classic schedule/times: - Wout Van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) won the 2023 E3 BinckBank Classic - The 2024 E3 Saxo Bank Classic is being held Friday - Expected LIVE video here.  (Rtbf - Expected LIVE video here and here - 2023 E3 Saxo Bank Classic schedule/times: - Wout Van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) won the 2022 E3 BinckBank Classic - Expected LIVE video here.  (Rtbf, geo-restricted)  - Expected LIVE video here.  (Sporza, geo-restricted) - Expected LIVE video here.  (SuperSport - Team DSM roster for the 2022 E3 Saxo Bank Classic: Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN) Nikias Arndt (GER)
 John Degenkolb (GER)
 Leon Heinschke (GER)
 Niklas Märkl (GER) Joris Nieuwenhuis (NED)
 Kevin Vermaerke (USA) Team DSM sport director: "With 17 climbs along the parcours we can certainly expect a full-on day of racing at E3 Saxo Bank Classic and it is a good taste of what's to come in the upcoming classics block It will be super important in the first half of the race that we are tight together and position ourselves well coming into the key climbs and with the final climb coming just 20 kilometres from the finish we can expect a full-gas final." - 2022 E3 Saxo Bank Classic schedule/times: - Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-Quickstep) won the 2021 E3 BinckBank Classic - Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-Quickstep) won the 2021 E3 Saxo Bank Classic Said Asgreen post-race: "Winning this makes me super proud and happy Today’s result shows that these races that I love so much suit me and at the same time serves as confirmation of the hard work I put in during the winter but it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of this fantastic squad My teammates were just unbelievable and showed again why we are the Wolfpack We wanted to make the race really hard and we did it and at the end we ripped off the rewards." - Sporza ticker LIVE here.  (auto-translated) - Expected LIVE video here - Expected LIVE video here - Expected LIVE video here - Deceuninck-Quickstep roster for the 2021 E3 Saxo Bank Classic: Kasper Asgreen (DEN) Davide Ballerini (ITA) Tim Declercq (BEL) Iljo Keisse (BEL) Yves Lampaert (BEL) Florian Sénéchal (FRA) Zdenek Stybar (CZE) - Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels: "E3 remains one of the hardest one-day races out there and a good result here always gives you an important morale-boost ahead of De Ronde The parcours has changed from what we had two years ago and it will be more demanding this season but on the other hand we come at the start with a strong team made up of guys who love this kind of races We have seen them in action since February and they are all motivated and hungry so we’re really confident ahead of Friday." - 2021 E3 Saxo Bank Classic schedule/times: - *Coverage on Sporza is scheduled to go live at this time Coverage on other TV broadcasters will go live around 3pm CET - Zdenek Stybar (Deceuninck-Quickstep) won the 2019 E3 BinckBank Classic There was no race in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic - Results: Stybar wins E3 BinckBank Classic (Cyclingnews) - Deceuninck-Quickstep continue winning streak as Stybar tops Van Aert - Cyclingnews ticker LIVE here - Expected LIVE video here. (Sporza, geo-restricted)  - Expected LIVE video here - Niki Terpstra (Quickstep Floors) won the 2018 E3 Harelbeke - Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Dimension Data): "After some time off for I’ve been out training in Spain and had some good long rides as well as good interval sessions I’m feeling much better and really look forward to racing E3 and the rest of the Classics.  I’m hoping for the best result (on Friday) but this will be part of building back into the rest of the Classics to come I’m looking forward to getting to Belgium now to meet up with the rest of the guys and get back to racing." - Michael Valgren (Team Dimension Data) before the 2019 E3 BinckBank Classic: "I’m really looking forward to getting back to racing after Tirreno I think that it was a good idea that I pulled out of Sanremo to get some good training done.  I’ve been training well and feeling good so that’s nice for me I’m really looking forward to returning to E3 it’s one of the first cobble races that I did 2 years ago and where I did well So I have good memories from that and hopefully I can keep having good memories of it and see what we can do as a team on Friday It’s a nice mini-Flanders and it’s always a good preparation for the big one." - The 2019 E3 BinckBank Classic is being held Friday - Sporza ticker LIVE here.  (auto-translated) - LIVE video here. (Sporza, geo-restricted)  - Expected LIVE video here - LIVE video here and here.  (Vrt/een - Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) won the 2017 E3 Harelbeke - Final Start List here 1 VAN AVERMAET Greg BEL 2 ROELANDTS Jurgen BEL 3 VENTOSO ALBERDI Francisc ESP 4 DRUCKER Jean-Pierre LUX 5 SCHÄR Michael SUI 6 BETTIOL Alberto ITA 7 KÜNG Stefan SUI - Team Sunweb coach Marc Reef: "E3 one of toughest one-day races of the Flemish spring series We need to be alert and in a good position through the whole day especially in the final when we reach the section of the Paterberg-Oude Kwaremont-Karnemelkbeekstraat This is an important moment in the race and we need to make sure that we have our leaders Michael and Søren in the select group which we expect to go to the line to contest the win." - The 2018 Record Bank E3 Harelbeke is being held Friday (Sporza livestream) (1:30pm CET) (8:30am U.S. Eastern) Alternative Alternative (RTBF live stream français en direct) (2:15pm CET) (9:15am U.S (Cyclingnews) Twitter E3 Saxo Classic was contested in Belgium on a 208.8-kilometer route from Harelbeke to Harelbeke The spring classic would be contested in hilly and cobbled terrain and sported a very impressive start list with sprint aces and breakaway experts present.  The start list included Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) The speed was intense from the very beginning of E3 Saxo Bank Classic 2025 and many riders were eager to join an early breakaway The hectic caused Kevin Vermaerke (Team Picnic-PostNL) to crash with the three Soudal-QuickStep riders Dries van Gestel The riders who had been involved in the crash were later transported to the hospital in Waregem for further examination and treatment Dries van Gestel fractured his left elbow and wrist while Gil Gelders and Jordi Warlop were concussed.  The peloton was split into multiple groups early in the race A front group featuring approximately fifty-five riders was in front and featured many strong riders including Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Connor Swift (Ineos-Grenadiers).  Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had been caught in group two and their teammates were working hard to bridge the gap to group 1 with 135 kilometers remaining of the classic race The distance between group 1 and group 2 had been reduced to twenty seconds with 110 kilometers remaining Group 2 was hoping to bridge the gap to the front group before the Kanarieberg climb where decisive moves could possibly be made at the front of the race USA’s Matteo Jorgenson attacked from the front group on the Kanarieberg Stefan Küng responded with Jasper Stuyven and others They were caught and the groups joined forces Riders from Ineos-Grenadiers were pulling at the front of the peloton when one hundred kilometers remained of the classic Many riders were using the race as preparation for Gent-Wevelgem 2025 Casper Pedersen (soudal-QuickStep) and Aime de Gendt (Cofidis) had formed a 37 second gap when 82 kilometers remained and the riders were approaching the Taaienberg.  and Mads Pedersen attacked on the Taaienberg and bridged the gap to the front duo Multiple small groups were chasing further back to join the decisive action at the front The front quintet was still united on the Berg Ten Steene with 72 kilometers left and had an advantage of 22 seconds over the first chase group The five men in front continued to increase their lead in the following kilometers They had an advantage of almost a minute when sixty kilometers were left of the race.  The advantage of the attacking quintet had increased to 01:20 minutes ten kilometers later The five strong riders were cooperating well in a quest to keep the chase group at bay.  Aime de Gendt was dropped from the front group as it approached the Paterberg The four remaining riders pressed on and Mads Pedersen set a fast pace on the Paterberg Oude Kwaremont was the next hill climb to be contested by the front group Van der Poel attacked on the climb and Mads Pedersen tried to keep up with the Dutchman Van der Poel opened a gap to Mads Pedersen and Aime de Gendt were chasing ten seconds behind Thirty-seven kilometers were left of the E3 Saxo Classic and Mathieu van der Poel was increasing his lead Mads Pedersen was now chasing solo twenty seconds behind De Gendt and Ganna were thirty seconds back and Jasper Stuyven were chasing two minutes back and the riders were approaching the Karnemelkbeekstraat climb.  Van der Poel continued his solo ride at the front of the race but had he stored sufficient energy to keep the chasers at bay His advantage was 28 seconds when he had 28 kilometers left of the race Van der Poel’s rear wheel slipped in a wet roundabout slightly later but the Dutchman managed to stay on his bike He then had to struggle on a wet cobbled section slightly later Cornering once again proved difficult for him.  van der Poel was expanding his advantage and was now thirty-five seconds ahead of Mads Pedersen Fifteen kilometers were left of the race towards the finish line in Harelbeke and van der Poel was now one minute ahead of Denmark’s Mads Pedersen The Danish rider from Lidl-Trek was doing a great job at keeping third-placed Filippo Ganna at a distance as the Italian Ineos-Grenadiers rider was now 45 seconds behind the Great Dane Further back Aime de Gendt and Casper Pedersen had been caught by Matteo Jorgenson Van der Poel was still in the lead when five kilometers remained All riders were pushing their pedals hard to produce the maximum watts possible while trying to avoid crashes on the wet roads Mathieu van der Poel showed impressive form and great courage in today’s E3 Saxo Classic 2025 The former World Champion crossed the finish line solo in 04:39:14 as winner of the race Mads Pedersen finished second for his Lidl-Trek team The Danish former World Champion was more than a minute slower than the race winner but had showed promising form before the next spring Classics Former time trial World Champion Filippo Ganna completed the race podium for Ineos-Grenadiers when he finished third more than two minutes after van der Poel Casper Pedersen won a sprint from a small group to take fourth Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete coverage from the 2025 professional cycling season road bike shopcycling manager game All rights reserved. © 2024 Roadcycling.com® - part of Seven Sparkles Intl The crash happened off-screen in the first 30 minutes of racing heading out of Harelbeke, with several riders going down, four forced to abandon and many of the favourites being caught behind it it revealed an Alpecin-Deceuninck-led main peloton three minutes behind a very strong group that contained the likes of Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and last year's E3 runner-up Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) A tiresome chase was taken up by Van der Poel's men who diligently worked to give their leader a chance to defend his title as Visma and Groupama-FDJ paced in front to try and keep the gap interrupting the first question of his winner's press conference of whether he was angry at how teams rode at the start Several of Van der Poel's teammates had suggested he was enraged as they spoke in the mixed zone post-race "It's no fair play to go full gas after a crash where more than half of the bunch is blocked," Van der Poel told media this is something we would never do as a team but just it shows a real problem in cycling in my opinion," referring to the lack of solidarity in the bunch Van der Poel of course had to finish the job once things had been brought back together with some help from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe buoyed by the added motivation of his team sacrificing themselves "I was already quite motivated and because the team worked so hard I wanted to try and finish it off," he said So I think I'm really thankful for the work they have done." Once racing was back together approaching the crucial Taaienberg climb Van der Poel's anger took the form of extreme focus with the Dutchman locking onto the correct wheel of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) just before the race-deciding attack that came from the Dane and Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) close behind too The trio soon got away from Visma's Wout van Aert and Jorgenson Having blown the E3 Saxo Classic apart on the Taaienberg in previous years it wasn't exactly where Van der Poel was hoping the main action would unfold because I've done it already a couple of years now So I wanted to stay a bit more calm," Van der Poel said I think we understood all three what we had to do and we had a good cooperation It's also still quite far from the finish line so I think we needed each other." Van der Poel then dispatched his two close rivals as the race entered its final moments dropping them one by one on the Oude Kwaremont climb which will headline next Sunday's Tour of Flanders It wasn't quite as long a solo effort as he managed in 2024 going alone with 38km to go instead of 43km to go But I didn't really expect to go all alone that it's really far to go alone from there But there was no way back in the end and I'm glad I could make the final move." There were whispers he could race Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday but Van der Poel confirmed post-race that he would instead be resting with a slightly blocked nose from all the racing in wet and cold conditions at Tirreno He'll then either stay in Belgium to prepare or head for the sun in Spain ahead of the Tour of Flanders on April 6 where his rivalry with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) will resume before a third face-off at Paris-Roubaix the week after Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Spring Classics coverage. Don't miss any of the breaking news, reports, and analysis from all the Cobbled Classics from Opening Weekend to Paris-Roubaix. Find out more the E3 Saxo Bank Classic is back for its 66th edition but how on earth this race still exists is bewildering It’s had a few different names over the years but it’s always one of the more prestigious races in the Flanders region Belgium the race goes through the Ardennes region of the country and taking in anywhere from 12 to 17 of the steep climbs for which the area is known Let’s talk about some of the stupid stuff that the race organizers have done Hey, sex sells, amirite? Except this is a bike race, not TMZ back then when it was known as the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen what’s a better way to promote a pro men’s bike race then put a naked woman on a bike the organizers decided to make a promotional poster of a naked woman…with silhouetted riders going over her back the organizers put out another winner of a poster a female cyclist is literally riding three other women “Who is the ‘fastest’ in Harelbeke?” This grew the ire of not just the cycling media “Only in cycling could a sexual assault inspire a race’s advertising strategy.” Well they must have learned from all the negative publicity and that was that right organizers once again found themselves forced to retract a controversial poster The visual featured two body-painted women intertwined to create the shape of a frog The accompanying tagline: “Who shall crown himself prince in Harelbeke?” Just like in 2015 it was labelled as “demeaning” and “misogynistic,” and the poster faced criticism from the Belgian Jury of Advertising Ethics organizers withdrew and replaced the poster but thankfully the organizers learned their lesson In January 2024 the organizer’s account posted a cartoon of the 2023 winner Wout van Aert finishing the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Benidorm on Sunday without a saddle He broke it off in the final kilometres after a crash E3 Saxo Bank Classic just posted a wildly homophobic cartoon featuring Wout van Aert “Wout van Aert crosses the finish line without a saddle The LGBTQ community is very enthusiastic.” So yeah Butt stuff “joke.” And if you’re someone who enjoys a racist even you can see that’s probably the laziest form there It was just such an incredibly lame cartoon Oh and the caption in the crowd then mentions the “rainbow jersey,” seemingly referencing the pride flag given that the UCI and big bike brands pride themselves on inclusivity that there’s no chance this race could possibly go on right Almost every time the organizers have posted a poster or cartoon Joe Lindsay at the Escape Collective spoke to the cartoonist who drew the most recent one Bart Vantieghem told him this is the fourth year in a row he’s been commissioned to create cartoons for the race “In the past I always had ‘carte blanche,’ and there never seemed to be many problems He said it wasn’t his intention to be offensive ‘just to mislead the viewer.'” Shocking no one, E3 Saxo Bank Classic deleted its homophobic post with Wout van Aert He said that the cartoon “is just a vulgar cliché of what the average man thinks about gay people But the joke is of course that the LGBTQ guys in the crowd are enthusiastic about the rainbow flag on the shirt of Mathieu Van der Poel.” Vantieghem claimed he shared the cartoon on his Facebook account and ‘2 gay friends loved it.’ So I would advise people not to be so short-sighted and read the full cartoon instead of the headline.” (Yes The UCI sanctioned Patrick Lefevere recently for disparaging comments against women He was given a choice: apologize or pay up but why hasn’t there been more significant action taken against a race that continues to produce such content Why aren’t riders speaking out about it Canadian Cycling Magazine sent the UCI an email asking just this And what about the sponsors and brands that boast about diversity and inclusivity It’s not helpful that the Women’s E3 Saxo Classic was cancelled this year after just two years If a company or governing body claims to be committed to addressing social issues but fails to take real action perhaps it’s time to question their authenticity Get the digital edition of Canadian Cycling Magazine Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" The official inauguration of a new lock complex along the Lys river in Harelbeke Jan De Nul said in their latest announcement designed and built the new lock and dam in order to improve the connection over water between Paris and Antwerp “Thanks to a few large-scale infrastructure works in France inland vessels up to 4,500 tonnes can sail between Paris and Antwerp These infrastructure works include the renovation of locks the deepening of canals or digging of new ones or the raising of bridges,” said Jan De Nul in its release Infrastructure works carried out by Leieland included: Daily news and in-depth stories in your inbox Only Van der Poel absent from Friday's race as Classics contenders gather in Belgium At this time of the year in Belgium, every race is viewed through the optic of what it means for the Tour of Flanders, and no event offers reliable pointers quite like the E3 Saxo Bank Classic in Harelbeke The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad-Tour of Flanders double has notoriously never been done, but notching up wins in Harelbeke and the Ronde in the same year has become almost commonplace since Johan Museeuw first managed it in 1998. It’s been achieved eight more times since, most recently by Kasper Asgreen who showcased his staying power and peak of form to win both races a year ago Asgreen’s return to the fray marks one of the key subplots to Friday’s race. Although QuickStep-AlphaVinyl have already notched up 14 wins this season, they were strangely subdued at Omloop and struggled to make any impression at Milan-San Remo in the absence of Asgreen and Julian Alaphilippe Spring Classics 2022 - The Cyclingnews Guide Merlier beats Groenewegen in Classic Brugge-De Panne photo finish Riders blast 'ridiculous' dangers of Classic Brugge-De Panne With the world champion sparing himself for the Ardennes Classics QuickStep’s long-standing status as the strongest collective outfit on the cobbles suddenly seems in question But a victory – or at the very least a race on their terms – in Harelbeke would go a long way towards assuaging doubts ahead of the Ronde Asgreen’s early-season preparation for Opening Weekend was interrupted by COVID-19 but the Dane already looked back on track when he rode to third place at Strade Bianche a week later.  but he will hope for rather more robust support from Zdenek Stybar and Yves Lampaert who have shown only flashes of their potential so far in 2022 There have been no such issues at Jumbo-Visma, who already looked prime to take on QuickStep even before the season began thanks to their reinforcement of the supporting cast around Wout van Aert.  New arrival Tiesj Benoot played a key role in teeing up Van Aert’s victory at Omloop while the Belgian champion can also rely on the help of Nathan Van Hooydonck and the on-form Christophe Laporte in Harelbeke One senses that Jumbo-Visma will be eager to lay down another marker on Friday Van Aert’s form and all-round ability makes him the obvious favourite for victory in Harelbeke while Jumbo-Visma’s new depth means that he is now altogether more resistant to being outmanoeuvred by QuickStep’s traditional strength in numbers to track Tadej Pogačar’s (UAE Team Emirates) onslaught on the Poggio last Saturday but it is difficult to envisage Van Aert not being a factor in the finale The spoils in Milan-San Remo ultimately fell to Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) who returns to Harelbeke after a three-year hiatus His assured display on the final stage of the 2018 BinckBank Tour hinted at his potential on this kind of terrain and this Spring might be when he finally explores it in earnest Several major teams line up with multiple options including Trek-Segafredo with Mads Pedersen AG2R Citroën with Greg Van Avermaet and Oliver Naesen and Ineos Grenadiers with Dylan van Baarle and Jhonatan Narvaez though Tom Pidcock is absent after his stomach problems forced his untimely abandon at Milan-San Remo Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) is still trying to feel his way back to form after COVID-19 blighted his early season though his teammate Anthony Turgis – a defiant second on the Via Roma at Milan-San Remo – might be a more reliable prospect on Friday.  Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) has been due a breakthrough on the cobbles for some time and his displays on Opening Weekend and again in Paris-Nice strongly suggested that this might be the year Søren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM) and Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal) have shown sustained flashes of their form in recent weeks while Biniam Girmay’s (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) debut will be worth following closely for all that the E3 Saxo Bank Classic is the sine qua non of Tour of Flanders dress rehearsal at least one of the Ronde’s leading men will be in action 1,300 kilometres further south on Friday Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) has opted to bank racing miles at the Settimana Coppi e Bartali this week after taking third on his seasonal debut at Milan-San Remo the Tour of Flanders will be the peak of the Flemish classics E3 Harelbeke was first held in 1958 but it only took on its current form in the mid-1990s when the route was tweaked to make it more demanding and more similar to the Tour of Flanders.  thanks in no small part to the fierce independence of its organising committee which sits firmly outside the Flanders Classics umbrella styled as the ‘Texas of Flanders,’ sits on the outskirts of Kortrijk the route follows a loop into the Flemish Ardennes and back The Katteberg serves to break the monotony of the flat first hour of racing but the rest of the ascents are shoehorned into 100 dizzying kilometres E3 Harelbeke may be shorter than the Ronde but few races pack so many stiff obstacles into such a tight space The ‘long finale’ is the calling card of the modern E3 Harelbeke and the winnowing process could begin from as far out as the second climb of La Houppe the Taaienberg marks the turning point in the race when Asgreen began his multi-instalment offensive here the Taaienberg is the eighth climb of the day and is tackled with just over 80km remaining it’s a battle of attrition until the race tackles the familiar duo of the Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont – notice the reverse order compared to the Ronde – with 40km remaining The smooth but steep Karnemelkbeekstraat is again the penultimate ascent before the final haul up the Tiegemberg this last climb is far from the toughest in this corner of the world but it is just hard enough to make the difference at the end of a slugging match like this offers ample scope for interpretation.  The dress rehearsal for the Ronde is also a race apart but a perfect taster of the week to come Van Aert wins from breakaway with Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar The three riders emerged after a searing attack into a crosswind from van der Poel with 60 km to race Further attacks from Pogačar on the Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont meant only the big three of the sport were left up front The triumvirate rode together to the finish in Harelbeke where Pogačar tried an attack with 3.5km to race and lead out the sprint but not even Van der Poel could match the Belgian when he attacked took the second of his back-to-back victories at E3 Saxo Classic The USA’s Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar) attacked from a chase group to finish fourth at 33 seconds It was put to van Aert that the race had created the most beautiful podium in the history of E3 Saxo Classic “I agree because I’m in the middle…” Van Aert laughed It's been a long while since I won a race on the road bike I had a difficult preparation going into the Classics but I think I'm on the right way.” Van Aert confirmed that he focused on winning the sprint finish once he “Because of the strength of the leading group it was hard to try something,” he said hiding the fact he was almost distanced on the Paterberg “Tadej did two small attacks but I really wanted to focus on the sprint and stick to one plan When there’s a group of just three rider’s it’s always hard to surprise somebody.” Van Aert explained the dynamics of the final “I felt that I was the strongest in the sprint The three of us started at about the same time Luckily the wind was in our favour,” he said “I've tried it a few times with a short sprint and that was disappointing that's why I already went 250 metres from the finish line.” The riders signed on in Harelbeke under heavy rain showers but the sun also came out at one point to indicate the day could only get better and something special could happen amongst the big names on the start list The opening 80km of the race were covered on rain-soaked roads and the big names preferred to stay protected and warm in the peloton The early break formed after a steady 40km ride east deep into Flanders, with an attack by Thomas Bonnet (TotalEnergies) and Mathias Norsgaard (Movistar) They were joined by Mathis Le Berre (Arkea-Samsic) Kelland O'Brien (Jayco-AlUla) and Martin Urianstad (Uno-X) and the peloton let them go Jumbo-Visma worked on the front to keep them at no more than 3:00 The E3 Saxo Classic traditionally comes alive after 120km, when the 17 Hellingen climbs begin and they give the race a real Tour of Flanders flavour Punctures and bike changes were obviously a factor due to the rain. Van der Poel made it back before the Hellingen began, as did Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) but Mikkel Bjerg struggled after an untimely mechanical on the Knoteberg The early Hellingen served to shake out the peloton and reduce the gap to the break, with Greg Van Avermaet one of several riders to be dropped over the Hotond climb made famous by Tom Boonen’s attacks at the Tour of Flanders Today Van der Poel made it his climb with a strong surge off the front He had sent Dries De Bondt across to the break and was clearly looking to set up a long-range tactical strategy Van Aert and Jumbo-Visma were also there and Van Aert joined the move for a moment of early excitement They were caught after a surge by Pogačar but it was a sign of things to come. Of course, not everyone had the legs to play a part, with Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep) amongst many who were clearly suffering On the Berg ten Stene climb, with 70 km to race, the USA’s Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar) went away alone, sensing more attacks would come very soon. Indeed Nathan Van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma), Soren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) kicked clear and joined him The finale began on the windswept Stationberg climb with 57 km to go knowing his rivals would suffer in the crosswinds Van Aert got on his wheel and so did Pogačar Everyone else was scattered across the exposed Flemish countryside They powered across to the break and suddenly there were six riders up front Søren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) Nathan Van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma) and Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) They soon opened a 30-second gap as their rivals chased into a headwind. Soudal-QuickStep tried to chase for Asgreen and Ben Turner and then Filippo Ganna tried to save Ineos Grenadiers’ pride the riders turned right onto the cobbled Paterberg and Pogačar went on the front in the gutter to make his rivals hurt and split the group He was using every climb to hurt everyone and pay back his Classics rivals for their power and skills on the pave only Van Aert and Van der Poel were able to stay with him and then eventually Mohorič got back too When the Oude Kwaremont began soon after Mohorič was soon distanced and van Aert also lost the wheel briefly the huge crowds cheering him on to close the gap There was still 30 km to race but the E3 Saxo Classic appeared to be a three-rider race: Pogačar versus van der Poel despite a chase group sweeping up Van Hooydonck Van Aert called his Jumbo-Visma for some oil on his chain sparking a debate around whether it was legal to receive such late mechanical assistance on the move The big-name trio hit the Varentstraat cobbled sector and pushed on into a stiff headwind all sportingly taking turns on the front with 24 km to race Collaboration and even chatter on the flat roads back to Harelbeke bridging the gap down to below a minute but they would never catch the ‘Three Tenors’ of the sport up front Pogačar tried an attack in the streets of Harelbeke but that only forced him to the front He tried to lead out the sprint but was soon passed by Van der Poel the Belgian and the partisan crowd erupting in celebration Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) tried a solo chase but in the final kilometres Jorgensen emerged alone to finish fourth at 33 seconds and give the American a great result Iván García Cortina made it a good day for Movistar by taking fifth place at 44 seconds Results powered by FirstCycling Stephen FarrandSocial Links NavigationHead of NewsStephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team having reported on professional cycling since 1994 He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022 before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters Be one of the first to try our new activity feed Geraint Thomas jumps Stybar and Sagan in the final four kilometers of E3 Harelbeke to win his first major classic in solo fashion Geraint Thomas (Sky) claimed his first big spring classics win on Friday with a canny late-race attack in the closing kilometers of E3 Harelbeke Pre-race favorites Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-Quick-Step) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) who had broken away with him with 41km to go “I thought if I could hit them a bit earlier I could take them by surprise,” Thomas said the two-time Olympic gold medalist in the team pursuit Thomas crossed the line with a comfortable gap at the end of 218 kilometers of racing “I just imagined I was trying to hold [Ed] Clancy’s wheel in team pursuit,” Thomas said the breakaway included Sean De Bie (Lotto-Soudal) Daniel Oss (BMC) whipped up the pace on the Taainberg breaking a small group off the front of the peloton They were soon brought back by the peloton after a few kilometers of flat road bringing the break’s gap down to under 2:30 with 67 kilometers left LottoNL-Jumbo’s Sep Vanmarcke went on the attack but a slipped chain derailed his move and nearly caused another crash Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) took over toward the top of the climb stretching the field and breaking free with a small group and Thomas jumped free and soon passed Devenyns and I received a lot of encouragement,” Devenyns said in a team statement “I was not riding my best at the start of the season due to a virus I was suffering from and it has done me a lot of good mentally.” BMC chased hard with help from LottoNL-Jumbo crashed out of the chase group on a narrow righthand bend Katusha then took up the reigns in the chase group as the lead extended to one minute approaching the final 10 kilometers the breakaway had a 40-second gap with five kilometers left who attacked and set off alone with four kilometers left Stybar opened up the throttle to chase and Sagan was dropped Thomas’ advantage over the Czech was 14 seconds with two kilometers left “It’s no secret how I felt in the last kilometers I think you could see it on television as well,” said Sagan in a press statement “I feel confident that Sunday will be better.” and his Etixx teammate Matteo Trentin sprinted to third from the peloton “[Thomas] went really fast and Sagan didn’t really react,” Stybar said in a team statement “I hesitated for maybe two seconds too long I was very disappointed in that moment because I felt I could win today.” “I felt pretty good from the second half of the race “These six weeks from Paris-Nice to Paris-Roubaix was the big hit for me early season To get the win now … anything else is really a bonus.” Agence France-Presse contributed to this report The 63rd edition of the E3 Harelbeke was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and some new cobbled climbs for one of the most challenging of the Belgian classics The renamed E3 Saxo Bank Classic is currently on the 2021 UCI racing calendar for Friday The updated route includes the addition of three new ascents Those familiar with Flanders might recognize the addition of the Kanarieberg and the Oude Kwaremont all remain on the route and the finish in Harelbeke also remains unchanged The 2019 edition was won by Zdeněk Štybar of Deceuninck-Quick-Step, and at the official announcement of the 2021 event, the Czech rider was a featured guest, alongside Israel Start-Up Nation’s assistant sports director Dirk Demol Saxobank became interested in acquiring BinckBank in 2018 With the completion of the acquisition in 2020 the name of the event which reflects the title sponsor changed as well What’s it like to be an American cyclist living in France Watch to get professional road cyclist Joe Dombrowski’s view ONE DAY RACE » HARELBEKE › HARELBEKE (207.6KM) Jhonatan Narvaez battled to a strong sixth place in the E3 Saxo Classic in a day that saw the Ecuadorian active at the head of the race Luke Rowe was an unfortunate victim to an early crash saw Ben Turner and Narvaez in the front group after an early selection on the Taainenberg The last 80 kilometres were punctuated by multiple attacks with Jhonny following key moves by riders such as Wout Van Aert (Visma - Lease-a-Bike) Onto the infamous Paterberg and the Ecuadorian would go solo to try to catch the day’s eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Deceuninck) before falling back into the chasing group ahead of the Oude Kwaermont The fast run to the line saw Narvaez in a select chase group with Gent-Wevelgem sure to present another exciting day of action The Commonwealth Games champion raced away from his fellow breakaway riders Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-QuickStep) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) with four kilometres to go in the 215km Belgian cobbled race to win Thomas and Team Sky colleagues Ian Stannard and Sir Bradley Wiggins are targeting a strong showing in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix next month but Sagan faded in the finale and Matteo Trentin (Etixx-Quickstep) won the sprint for third who became the first Briton to win the event having finished third last year told the Team Sky website: “I can’t quite believe it That last attack took me back to my track days and I imagined I was trying to hold Ed Clancy’s wheel in the team pursuit I felt pretty good during the second half of the race and committed at the end The three of us worked well together and I wasn’t sure if they were bluffing a bit near the end – panting and pulling faces – but fortunately they weren’t “This six-week period we’re in from Paris-Nice to Paris-Roubaix is my big focus of the season The way Paris-Nice finished was disappointing but I felt good again at Milan-San Remo and to get the win now is really special.” Meanwhile Team Sky’s Richie Porte assumed the race lead at the Volta a Catalunya after Alejandro Valverde won Friday’s fifth stage The Australian Porte holds a five-second advantage after Spain’s Valverde (Movistar) attacked the group of favourites to claim his second stage success of this year’s race Porte moved ahead of Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale) while Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) sits third overall in the race which concludes on Sunday Here are the major talking points from the E3 BinckBank Classic (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images) List of riders taking part in the 2021 edition of the E3 Saxo Bank Classic in Belgium on Friday Attention returns to the northern European cobbled Classics this weekend with E3 Saxo Bank Classic (formally known as E3 Harelbeke) on Friday (March 26) As one of the major pre-Tour of Flanders races as well as being a prestigious event in its own right E3 Saxo Bank Classic often commands a star-studded start list with all of the major spring Classics contenders in attendance Defending champion Zdeněk Štybar of Deceuninck - Quick-Step is down to ride along with the usual immensely strong Classics squad Former world champion, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) - winner in 2014 - is currently racing the Volta a Catalunya as he continues to look for better condition before his main season goals Sagan's team had to pull out of the race anyway due to a positive Covid-19 test for British rider Matthew Walls just hours before the race start With the race covering many of the same roads as the Tour of Flanders there will be tough competition in the race for the title with the likes of Yves Lampaert and Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) Philippe Gilbert (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) Tom Pidcock and Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) and many more in a star-studded line-up Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain World champion crashed while team cars were on deviation The vehicles had been diverted at 47 kilometers to go just before Sagan's crash damaged his shift lever UCI takes measures to control race vehicle convoy for rider safety Classics heavyweights ready for famed Flemish terrain at E3 Harelbeke On the start line at E3-Harelbeke - Gallery Van Avermaet wins E3 Harelbeke Van Avermaet: The Tour of Flanders is my biggest goal Stomach bug not done with Vanmarcke in E3 Harelbeke Naesen exceeds expectations with E3 Harelbeke podium finish The world champion had already missed the crucial selection and was sitting behind Stijn Vandenbergh when the big Belgian crashed heavily ahead of the Paterberg After checking that his stricken former teammate Oscar Gatto was OK Sagan remounted but found that his gears were jammed and his team car was nowhere in sight He bashed his handlebars in a bid to magically summon a fix but any hopes he had of winning the race quickly evaporated I didn't jump on the front group when they attacked and made the decisive move and then the crash wiped out all the chances I had to bridge the gap," said Sagan.  Bora-Hansgrohe directeur sportif Jens Zemke insisted Sagan still had the chance to regain contact with the head of the race but explained that the bad luck couldn't have come at a more inopportune point – where team cars weren't allowed behind the riders due to the steepness of the Paterberg "We were standing there for three or four minutes where there was a deviation with the team cars so we couldn't do anything," he told Cyclingnews and another reporter "[Sagan] had to continue and I think the gears weren't working after the crash We were waiting on the downhill and gave him new a new bike Peter Sagan turned up at the start of E3 Harelbeke with flowing hair and bushy beard both heavily trimmed coolly telling fans from the stage that his hair "was too long" he his powers might have been lost with the locks and sure enough he later crossed the line in 108th place with the last group on the road over 10 minutes down - though in truth it was a tale of simple bad luck who won this race in 2014 and finished runner-up last year was near the front when Tom Boonen (Quick-Step Floors) made his customary surge on the Taaienberg though he was caught out soon after when Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) helped form what turned out to be the race winning selection He came to the front to try and start to bridge the gap on a number of occasions and he spent a lot of time in the middle and towards the back There was some consolation for Bora-Hansgrohe as Lukas Postlberger made the selection with race winner Van Avermaet Although he was dropped when the top three went clear on the Oude Kwaremont he ploughed on and eventually finished fifth "It was an extremely tough and challenging race but I consider it to be the best ever of my professional career," said Postlberger with Zemke arguing that the result shows there's more to the team than their star Sagan coming fifth - that's a big exclamation mark for us The team is not only about one person; somebody else can jump in," he said Zemke noted that Sagan is "physically OK" and "super motivated" coming into this intense cobbled classics period Bad luck is par for the course in these races and it is hoped that Sagan has now got his out of the way as he turns his attentions to backing up last year's victories at Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders Patrick FletcherSocial Links NavigationPatrick is a freelance sports writer and editor He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish) Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023 Jasper Stuyven finishes second place while Wout van Aert takes third after long pursuit of the Dutchman attacking alone on the Paterberg with 43 km to go and then holding off his big rival in a tense pursuit match to the finish Van der Poel was ever-aggressive during the final two hours of racing He was isolated and outnumbered but still emerged as the strongest rider in the race Van Aert was unfortunate to crash just seconds after van der Poel attacked on the Paterberg but bravely fought on closed the gap to van der Poel to just ten seconds but then blew up Van der Poel had time to ease up and give a thumbs up to the television cameras in the final kilometre Van der Poel stood on the pedals and celebrated with a salute gesture I thought I needed a few more races to get to this level,”  Van der Poel said after the finish “Now I hope to recover from this one for Sunday (Gent-Wevelgem) I have to say I was pretty cooked in the end.” It was Alpecin-Deceunnick’s third consecutive Classic win after Jasper Philipsen won Milan-San Remo and Wednesday’s Classic Brugge-De Panne “We always have one goal in mind,” Van der Poel said putting me in the front with Søren (Kragh Andersen) who was there and important for me.” The E3 Saxo Classic has a special place in his already rich palmares especially with the way I won it,” he said Now I’ll try to recover for Sunday because Gent-Wevelgem is also not on my palmares I think we have two guys who are favourites so let's hope we can add another win to the team.” Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) caught Van Aert with five kilometres to go and then beat him in the sprint to take second Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) beat Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Jhonatan Narváez (Inoes Grenadiers) a few seconds later for the minor places Even though Mathieu van der Poel and Wout Van Aert have been jousting against one another since their teens their every meeting still carries a sense of occasion The anticipation was even more intense for this edition of E3 Saxo Classic given that it marked their first head-to-head encounter of 2024 There was a sense of excitement in the air at the start though both men quickly rejoined the bunch Per Strand Hagenes (Visma-Lease A Bike) was less fortunate with the young Norwegian forced to abandon The early climb of the Katteberg saw a group featuring Jakob Fuglsang briefly forge clear but the high speed made it difficult for any break to gain traction and the peloton was still intact after covering some 51 km in the first hour of racing A group of ten riders went clear shortly afterwards Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) and Jelle Vermoote (Bingoal-WB) would build a maximum lead of four minutes as the pace finally relented in the bunch The détente wouldn’t last long The passage over La Houppe after 88 km began the relentless succession of climbs that gives this race its staccato rhythm The intensity in the peloton began to rise while the break’s lead started to dwindle accordingly as the race made its way over the Oude Kruisberg the first major rendezvous came after 126 km and with 80 km to race on the cobbled Taaienberg the climb Tom Boonen used to test his legs so often over the years Jasper Stuyven demonstrated Lidl-Trek’s ambition by leading onto the climb but Van der Poel delivered an ominous show of force by accelerating midway up the ascent Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Matteo Trentin (Tudor) giving chase over the summit and the rest of the bunch scrambling to get on terms Van der Poel pressed on for a time over the other side for good measure before relenting and waiting for a group of 30 or so riders Van der Poel’s flex was enough to convince Pedersen of the need to anticipate the world champion’s next move and the Lidl-Trek man pressed on alone with 70 km to go dangling ahead of the favourites group as far as the Boigneberg with Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) tagging the move Van der Poel kicked again with intent over the other side and this time it was Van Aert who responded in person before another regrouping that saw 25 or so riders close to within half a minute of the break ahead of the day’s 11th climb It was an aggressive but tactical race that was jaw-dropping to watch The intensity dialled up another notch on the Stationberg cobbles with 58 km to go Oier Lazkano (Movistar) took a leaf out of Pedersen’s book with an acceleration on the climb but he was immediately caught and passed by Van der Poel and Van Aert who zoomed clear over the summit and set off in pursuit of the break It was quickly clear that the big two were in a league of their own but it was still a touch too soon for them to begin their duel in earnest and they were rejoined by a group that included Stuyven Lazkano and Jorgenson ghosted up to the remnants of the break While Van Aert had Jorgenson to represent him out in front Van der Poel was without teammates in the group of favourites where a certain caginess took hold as they entered the final 50km Lazkano broke clear alone on the Kapelberg but the holding pattern behind was never likely to last and the race turned completely on the vertiginous slopes of the Paterberg The cobbled climb was always going to be a key point in the race but little did we know how Van Aert tried to go after him but lost control of his bike as he flipped from the gutter onto the cobbles and crashed hard The Dutchman did not look back and surged away on the cobbled climb as Van Aert had to put his chain back on and start to chase The race was on and so there was no thought and no time for any gifts or sporting fair play At the summit of the Paterberg Van der Poel was 12 seconds ahead of Narvaez and 18 seconds ahead of Van Aert The race had turned massively after a long series of attacks chases and counter-attacks but was it over Van der Poel went all-in and began to time trial away from his rivals Jorgenson led the chase for Van Aert but he realised he had to move if he wanted to stay in the race and take on his rival van der Poel Van Aert surged away and began the pursuit of van der Poel The crowds went wild as the van der Poel-Van Aert suddenly became a head-to-head battle out on the road They were soon in awe as Van Aert began to cut into van der Poel’s 30-second lead Van Aert pulled back 15 seconds and soon started to see van der Poel ahead of him He seemed stronger and is the better time trialist but he could close such a significant gap The rain returned as the two hit the final sector of cobbles at Varent it was no moment for caution and calculations but for all-out effort He still seemed strong despite his team car coming up ready to offer him a gel and a final moment of encouragement Van Aert kept chasing but his pedal stroke was not quite as fresh and strong he lost five seconds on the Tiegemberg and the advantage switched to van der Poel who extended his lead to 40 seconds and broke Van Aert’s morale Wellens and Jorgenson worked well together but they were clearly racing for the minor places But Van der Poel pressed on in a state of grace and control dressed in his rainbow jersey and black shorts it was clear that van der Poel was heading to victory but Van Aert faded and then suffered terribly He was caught by Stuyven with five kilometres to go and could only try to survive to the finish as the other chasers neared He hung on to Stuyven’s wheel and finished third but 1:31 down on van der Poel Cannondale man out-smarts Omega Pharma-Quickstep winning from a four-man group by out-sprinting Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) with an impressive turn of speed Sagan was up against the two-man Omega Pharma-Quickstep wrecking crew Stijn Vandenbergh and Terpstra but marked them carefully and then dominated the sprint after earlier splitting the decisive attack The quartet worked together until 3km to race but Thomas and Sagan took turns bringing him back The lanky Belgian dove for the 1km to go banner Vandenbergh tried again to surprise the others at a median with 500m to go Sagan shared his victory with his Cannondale teammates especially my teammate who has the same size bike as me and with swapped bikes with me after about 100km," he said after the podium ceremony "I didn’t think the race would go well but I felt better and better The finale was tough and there was a lot of crashes On the Oude Kwaremont when we caught the break I attacked to create a small group and we managed to go all the way to the finish." it has helped me bounce back after Milan-San Remo." Thomas said that third was the best he could do in such a tactical finale especially after having been caught up in a crash and riding the end of the race with his bars askew "I think I rode it as best I could," Thomas said "Going up the Kwaremont I thought I’d just get stuck in Obviously it forced that group away but heading into the final with two Quick-Steps and Sagan it was pretty tough I just felt I didn’t have the punch that Sagan and Terpstra had so I thought I’d just gamble it all in the finish You never know if you don’t see what happens "When Vandenbergh went I wanted to be first to go after him and hopefully get a bit of a run to hold off a couple of the others Unfortunately Terpstra got round me on the line but I gave it everything That’s all I had and I’m pretty happy with that." Spring sunshine and a huge amount of spectators welcomed the riders in Harelbeke for the 57th edition of the E3 Harelbeke Before the start last year's winner Fabian Cancellara received his weight in bottles of Languedoc-wine Château Castigno The Swiss rider can add those 75 bottles to the 75 he received two years ago On the sign-on podium Cancellara gave Tom Boonen a moving hug expressing his compassion for the miscarriage Boonen's partner suffered last week Two hundred riders left sunny Harelbeke for 212 kilometres through the Flemish Ardennes After a fast first hour an early breakaway group included Maxime Daniel (AG2R La Mondiale) Jay Thomason (MTN Qhubeka) and Laurens De Vreese (Wanty - Groupe Robert) The cooperation in the group was good and they gained a maximum lead of seven minutes Once the race approached the hills the gap started coming down as the speed in the peloton increased A first major crash in the middle of the peloton took down many riders including Svein Tuft (Orica - GreenEdge) who abandoned the race In a second crash on the cobbles of the Varent just ahead of the Boigneberg it was Ian Stannard (Sky) who rode into a rider who stood in the middle of the road Whereas the race often blew apart on the Taaienberg the tweaked course resulted in a cease-fire of more than thirty kilometres A regrouped peloton steamed over the unselective ascents of the Knokteberg The most spectacular feats were the bike changes for Peter Sagan the quiet exit of Thor Hushovd at the Hotondberg and a high-speed crash at the back of the peloton at km 45 where Michel Kreder (Garmin-Sharp) took out three Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise riders prelude for the Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont the five leaders still had nearly 1:30 on the peloton when another big crash in the peloton kicked off the finale A completely scattered peloton reached the Kapelberg and top favourite Fabian Cancellara was distanced The ascent of the steep Paterberg and then the longer Oude Kwaremont blew the race apart Sep Vanmarcke led on the Paterberg while Geraint Thomas took the race in hand on the Oude Kwaremont When coming off the cobbles of the Oude Kwaremont and heading to the newly featuring Karnemelkbeekstraat there were eight leaders and fourteen chasers at about 15 seconds On the Karnemelkbeekstraat Sagan swiftly accelerated on a small gear and only Thomas Terpstra and Vandenbergh were able to hold his wheel At twenty kilometres from the finish the four leaders had a gap of 25 seconds on eighteen chasers Vanmarcke and early attackers Cousin and De Vreese At the cobbles of the Varentstraat the gap grew up to 45 seconds and at the Tiegemberg the gap was nearly a minute On top of the climb Cancellara attacked in the chase group with only Paolini Vanmarcke and Boonen being able to hold his wheel Boasson Hagen led the chase in the descent and brought most riders back to the Swissman except De Vreese With 10km to go the four leaders had a lead of 35s on the first chase group but then Terpstra started skipping pulls Solutions CreditsRow 39 - Cell 2 41Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM CyclingRow 40 - Cell 2 42Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar TeamRow 41 - Cell 2 43Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling TeamRow 42 - Cell 2 44Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis Solutions CreditsRow 184 - Cell 2 DNFGerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN - QhubekaRow 185 - Cell 2 DNFSacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 186 - Cell 2 DNFMirko Selvaggi (Ita) Wanty - Groupe GobertRow 187 - Cell 2 DNFLuca Dodi (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 188 - Cell 2 DNFLouis Verhelst (Bel) Cofidis Solutions CreditsRow 189 - Cell 2 DNFDavide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 190 - Cell 2 DNFGert Joeaar (Est) Cofidis Solutions CreditsRow 191 - Cell 2 DNFNiccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 192 - Cell 2 DNFRaymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin SharpRow 193 - Cell 2 DNFLasse Norman Hansen (Den) Garmin SharpRow 194 - Cell 2 DNFSébastien Hinault (Fra) IAM CyclingRow 195 - Cell 2 DNFRoger Kluge (Ger) IAM CyclingRow 196 - Cell 2 DNFDominic Klemme (Ger) IAM CyclingRow 197 - Cell 2 DNFAndrea Palini (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 198 - Cell 2 DNSJelle Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - BaloiseRow 199 - Cell 2   while Sagan faded in the end and was passed by the chasing peloton Matteo Trentin (Etixx-Quickstep) won the sprint for the final podium place Geraint Thomas comes of age with E3 Harelbeke win Sagan at a loss to explain sudden collapse at E3 Harelbeke Hesitation costly for Stybar at E3 Harelbeke Vanmarcke approaches Tour of Flanders on tiptoes E3 Harelbeke crashes take toll on peloton Porte extends individual WorldTour lead The trio escaped from the field on the Oude Kwaremont with 41km left to race and despite a concerted chase from BMC behind but Thomas said he chose to go earlier than might have been expected to preempt the hostilities. The three-time world champion and dual Olympic gold medalist in the team pursuit couldn't have picked a better distance to suit his abilities The three of us worked well together and I wasn’t sure if they were bluffing a bit near the end – panting and pulling faces – but fortunately they weren’t "I imagined I was following Ed Clancy's wheel," Thomas joked of his Olympic track teammate "These six weeks from Paris-Nice and Paris-Roubaix were the big hit for me I was close last week and to get the win now is really great." Due to road works in Harelbeke the start area moved out of the city centre to the Forestier football stadium outside the centre The most notable name to miss out at the start was Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida) due to a fever and viral gastrointestinal problems On the start podium Peter Sagan (Cannondale-Garmin) was awarded his weight in beer because of his win from last year Before hitting the first climbs six riders created a breakaway group After 15 kilometres Sjoerd van Ginneken (Roompot Oranje) Kristian Sbaragli (MTN-Qhubeka) and Andrea Dal Col (Southeast) featured in front A massive crash was caused by an errant water bottle on the cobbles of the Haaghoek after 40km taking down Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and Robert Wagner (Lotto.NL-Jumbo) among many others Although Lars Boom (Astana) and John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) were down but quickly got back on their bikes The gap started coming down as the peloton was increasing its speed over the climbs mid-way through the race Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep) and Matti Breschel led the peloton over the cobbles and created a small gap Tiejs Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) solely closed the gap to the three leaders but a few kilometres later Katusha brought the peloton back on the four leaders The Taaienberg didn’t result in a selection up front but several riders were distanced for good including Grand Tour specialist Nairo Quintana (Movistar) During the next 30 kilometres the peloton rolled in grouped formation over the climbs The gap from the five breakaway riders slowly dropped back from four minutes to two minutes At the Kapelberg the gap came down to a minute with only Devenyns The speed in the peloton put a huge amount of riders in trouble while heading to the two important climbs Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont In front Devenyns left his last companions behind In the peloton Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto NL-Jumbo) flew up the cobbles at high speed but he slipped away and had to drop back a few spots behind Daniel Oss Nine riders briefly distanced the rest of the peloton There was no co-operation and a group of about 30 riders approached the Oude Kwaremont with Devenyns leading by only half a minute Marcus Burghardt (BMC) led the peloton over the first part of the Oude Kwaremont The big guns finally fired when Geraint Thomas took over from Burghardt with Stybar marking his wheel Burghardt was unable to follow with Sagan and the rest of the peloton behind the German rider Sagan waited until halfway up the Kwaremont- to overtake Burghardt and bridge up to Stybar and Thomas Devenyns was caught by the three classics specialists and was dropped after missing the final corner just before exiting the cobbles A few seconds later Vanmarcke led the peloton over the cobbles but the trio was gone On the wide roads to Ronse the trio worked well together and created a gap of 15 seconds on a group of about twenty riders that included Degenkolb Boasson Hagen and Vanmarcke who had a shoe problem Once the gap was up to 25 seconds BMC worked hard to close the it The gap briefly dropped back to 15 seconds before going back up to 45 seconds at the foot of the final climb A few more riders were dropped front the main group due to the pace set by BMC on the Tiegemberg with Ian Stannard being the biggest victim On the small roads over the Tiegemberg Greg Van Avermaet misjudged a corner and went over the handlebars Paolini took over from BMC but the gap was back up to fifty seconds due to the crash from Van Avermaet but it was the Sky rider who broke the peace first choosing to put in his attack with full gusto with 4km left to go Stybar kept up a valiant chase but could not close down the gap although he was able to hold off the sprinting peloton Geraint Thomas screams for joy as he wins E3 Harelbeke(Image credit: Bettini Photo)Luca Paolini (Katusha) makes his solo and winning move(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)Thomas Paolini takes canny victory after gruelling Gent-Wevelgem The Welshman is a rider that encapsulates everything the squad’s cobbles contingent embodies and development that have led to number of eye-catching performances with Thomas first closing a dangerous gap on the Paterberg before forging clear with Sagan and Stybar on the Kwaremont Just like his win in the Commonwealth Games twelve months ago – although this was against a grander backdrop and more accomplished opposition – Thomas took a chance and reaped the due rewards You can be the strongest in the race – as we’ve seen with Vanmarcke and Sagan on countless occasions – but if you can not measure your efforts and timing Watts and output tend to count for little when the glare of the press find you at the finish everything thrown his face is met with the sweetspot of his bat and even the testing deliveries – such as his crash in Gent-Wevelgem - are just about seen off He has two deliveries to still face in Flanders and Roubaix and although they’ll be the toughest yet he’s shown what’s needed to handle them the Belgian team came away with warranted second places in both E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem and they remain a consistent force ‘they remain the team to beat on the cobbles.’ There is certainly a sense that Lefevere has managed to steady the ship in the absence of Boonen and with the rider already closing in on the nadir of his career this campaign could provide Lefevere with the opportunity he needs to address any shortcomings within this squad before a possible winter re-structure Miss out in Flanders and Roubaix and he has a ready-made excuse win and he can radiate in beams of his own self-accomplishment Winning one from two Monuments is of course easier said than done but it should certainly remain a realistic objective Terpstra’s move to trace and track the break of favourites in Gent-Wevelgem was as impressive as anything we’ve seen from him since last year’s Paris-Roubaix and Stybar continues to shine and remains a strong favourite for Flanders Iljo Keisse and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck they have an armoury strong enough to hold off almost any challenge so the question is only whether the team can sew everything together and produce the necessary performance When the team announced the signings of Edvald Boasson Hagen, Tyler Farrar, and Matthew Goss at the tail-end of last season the MTN-Qhubeka management probably thought that the trio would provide a little more substance than has been delivered so far On the cobbles of Belgium the team have almost sunk without a trace with their best results: Omloop – 27th (Boasson Hagen) Goss hasn’t managed a top ten all year Farrar has raced 35 days already but his best result in Belgium was 11th in Le Samyn And with Boasson Hagen now out with a broken collarbone the team look even less likely to provide a result than at the start of season that began with genuine optimism Their three marquee Classics signings came to the team with points to prove but it’s fair to say that the trio had also seen relative decline in their results over the last 18 months Team Sky no longer wanted to keep Boasson Hagen and Orica were looking to remove Goss' Milan-San Remo winning wage off their books one might have expected a result from somewhere as the team loaded their bases but it’s their stage racing team and old hands like Ciolek who continue to keep the ship afloat Team Sky tended to pepper their Classics campaigns with one or two standout performances but there was always lack of consistency simmering under their thin blue line Whether it was Stannard winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad there tended to be something for the team to hang their campaign on but their overall improvements have been thoroughly effective this time around The notion of experience has been addressed throughout the last few weeks with every result the team have picked up – a win in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad a win in E3 Harelbeke and third in Gent-Wevelgem providing confidence and building momentum Only Milan-San Remo stands as a blemish in terms of results The loss of Boonen and Cancellara is an obvious factor and will be addressed later but there’s a growing sense within the Team Sky camp – and it’s palpable every time we talk their riders –that their time is now it’s either commendable or inconsistent that the team have poured yearly resources into the stage racing squad while allowing the Classics team to slowly nurture the autumn of icons’ careers are fast approaching and through the falling leaves and winds of northern Belgian a new force is merging They are far from the finished article and holes are gaps are appearing with Stannard’s injury and Wiggins’s patchy results but momentum is with Team Sky They have never had a better chance to win a Monument rarely have the foresight or opportunity to step back from the sport when they’re at the peak of their powers or before they are usurped by the next up and coming talent Only next year will determine whether the two Classics icons from the last decade have one more fight left in them with injury scuppering their chances this time around Boonen may not have won a Classic since 2012 but he would have been within the mix this year had he kept upright in Paris-Nice the pair’s misfortune has opened up the Classics to a raft of riders who have failed to punch through in the last few season and Roelandts have all threatened in the past but now find themselves on the front lines Gent-Wevelgem has to be taken in context from which it was created – an epic race in epic conditions – but the open racing the fresh challengers and the weaknesses at several major teams has helped create one of the most exciting build ups to the Tour of Flanders in recent years Few would begrudge Cancellara and Boonen one last tango in 2016 but until then the focus is on their heirs Gent-Wevelgem raises questions about extreme weather protocol extreme weather conditions have made for some of the most memorable moments in classics lore – think Bernard Hinault at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 1980 or Michele Bartoli at Flèche Wallonne in 1999 – and Sunday’s edition of Gent-Wevelgem is certain to endure as one of the most compelling in its history precisely because of the high winds that buffeted the race the sight of riders being blown off their bikes and into the ditch (or even into the river in Gert Steegmans’ case) was a disturbing one and raises further questions about the need for an extreme weather protocol to rule when it is safe to race and when it is not a classic is supposed to be hard and the spectacle on Sunday was a gripping one One imagines that had this not been a spring classic the peloton might have stopped the race to seek its suspension or even its cancellation An informal neutralisation was agreed upon around the 70km mark but that détente was soon broken when Etixx-QuickStep began forcing the pace once again it was inevitable that not everybody would be on the same page but in the calmer confines of the boardroom there are no such excuses for the UCI and the riders’ and teams’ associations the uneven cobbles of the Oude Kwaremont proved a struggle so when he cruised across to Geraint Thomas and Zdenek Stybar on the toughest section of the climb at Friday’s E3 Harelbeke it briefly felt like a great leap forward in his development as a classics rider and was even swept up and spat out by the chasing group in the final kilometre Sagan was at a loss to explain his late collapse though he confirmed that he had not suffered a hunger knock in the finale If the finale of Milan-San Remo – where Sagan inexplicably found himself on the front with two kilometres remaining and then poorly-positioned for the sprint – exposed familiar tactical shortcomings then E3 Harelbeke has raised serious questions about the Slovak’s physical condition just one week shy of the Tour of Flanders some observers were placing Sagan on the same exalted level as Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen in the hierarchy of classics favourites it is telling that expectations around him are decidedly lower That might be no bad thing – there is an argument that the pressure of being a favourite contributed to Sagan’s flat showings in last year’s classic – but so far this spring there have been only the most fleeing glimpses of the effervescence of old Paolini and Kristoff a redoubtable double act Katusha’s is by no means the strongest squad for the cobbled classics but surely no team boasts a double act as cohesive as Luca Paolini and Alexander Kristoff The veteran Italian and the Norwegian fast man’s talents dovetail neatly and – unlike stable-mates on some rival teams – the pair seem to be on the same page tactically at all times it was Paolini who sacrificed himself for Kristoff setting the tempo at the front on the Poggio and then leading him out in the sprint on the Via Roma Paolini was generous in his efforts in support of Kristoff attempting to marshal a chase of the winning break in the finale The high winds soon made it apparent that a grandstand bunch sprint would not materialise and Kristoff recognised that he was struggling With 60 kilometres remaining and the winning move already up the road he gave Paolini his blessing to ride for himself – indeed it was Kristoff who deftly allowed a gap to open behind Paolini as he accelerated allowing him to clip off the front of the peloton and give chase alone Paolini – somehow – made it across to the leaders and then used all of his guile to slip away for the victory in Wevelgem Kristoff claimed the bunch sprint for 9th place despite his earlier travails In the absence of an outstanding favourite – ie in the absence of Boonen and Cancellara – this year’s Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix promise to be open affairs where a dash of ingenuity could make all the difference Katusha’s pair of aces are not lacking in that department the weekend told us little about Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo) that we didn’t already know As at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad – and all of last spring in fact – he seemed the strongest on the cobbled climbs at E3 Harelbeke yet once again he came away with plenty of admiration but no bouquet as a damaged cleat saw Vanmarcke pull a foot come out of his pedal just as he launched his attack on the Paterberg and it later emerged that he had essentially been pedaling with just one leg all the way up the Oude Kwaremont en route to his 5th place finish Vanmarcke was – not surprisingly – one of the strongmen who forced their way into the winning break with 70 kilometres remaining though there was a rare moment of weakness on the cobbles when he was almost distanced by Niki Terpstra on the final ascent of the Kemmelberg Cancellara’s crash on Friday has seen Vanmarcke installed by many bookmakers as the favourite for the Tour of Flanders but his failure thus far to turn fine performances on the cobbles into victories must surely be a concern ahead of the big day Vanmarcke is in a better position than Greg Van Avermaet or Jürgen Roelandts he already has one a big cobbled win on his palmarès he has just an array of placings to show for his endeavours including second at Paris-Roubaix in 2013 and third in Flanders last year Asked by Flemish reporters if he had needed a big win before de Ronde to boost his self-belief “You’re the ones who are always talking about confidence.” If Vanmarcke doesn’t land a win on one of the next two Sundays he knows that those questions will only resurface Roelandts’ move a sign of things to come they showed there was some life in the new Tour of Flanders course by sending riders up the road all day and were eventually rewarded with Roelandts’ third place finish in Oudenaarde they made a similar attempt to pull off an improbable heist by sending Roelandts up the road shortly after the first ascent of the Kemmelberg with almost 50 miles remaining Lotto’s aggression was intended to anticipate Fabian Cancellara’s inevitable move in the finale and circumvent a controlled race Roelandts’ move here was expressly designed to take advantage of a chaotic race where no one team was able to impose its will on proceedings Roelandts opened a gap of more than two minutes over the chasers and – with a tailwind to blow him back to Wevelgem – he must have begun to dream of a spectacular victory he began to tire on the second time up the Kemmelberg and his brave effort was eventually snuffed out barely ten miles from the line shortly after passing through the Menen Gate at Ieper This windswept edition of Gent-Wevelgem was an extreme case but in the absence of Tom Boonen and Cancellara this year’s Tour of Flanders promises to be – in theory at least – a more open affair than it has been to date on the new course to Oudenaarde The relative impasse behind that followed Roelandts’ attack - and allowed him to build up his lead - won't have escaped the attention of other riders a notch below the very top echelon of favourites dominating a four-way sprint to win the E3 Harelbeke in Belgium on Friday In a chaotic race marred by several crashes Cannondale's Sagan broke away 25 kilometres from the finish and only the Omega Pharma-QuickStep team-mates Niki Terpstra and Stijn Vandenbergh and Sky's Geraint Thomas followed him All of Sagan's challengers tried to break away in the knowledge that Sagan was by far the fastest in the sprint but the Slovak clawed back each time and easily won the sprint from Terpstra and Thomas Sagan is the hot favourite to win the World Tour classic Gent-Wevelgem The Harelbeke pre-race favorite Fabian Cancellara was held back in a mass crash 30 kilometers from the finish The ripped bib shorts told part of the story but the world champion also admitted that he didn't feel at his best and suspected that certain riders were conspiring against him Peter Sagan: I don't care about victories, it's more about the show Sagan praises Nibali after Italian dominates Milan-San Remo E3 Harelbeke: Gateway to Flanders success Terpstra wins E3 Harelbeke Sagan cut a thoroughly miserable figure as he rolled from the finish line to the Bora-Hansgrohe bus and team officials initially said he wouldn't be coming out to speak to the press but he did later emerge to offer his thoughts on a trying day in the saddle it was a little bit of a hard race for me today I was a little bit… it was a little bit hard to stay in the front." Sagan was on the right side of the big crash that shaped the race at the half-way mark and was an active part of the chase groups that chopped and changed behind the leading duo of Terpstra and his Quick-Step Floors teammate Yves Lampaert who'd gone clear on the Taainberg with 75km to go He made an effort to close the gap to the duo early on and he went clear from the chase ahead of the Eikenberg only to find another Quick-Step rider glued to his wheel in Philippe Gilbert After Daniel Oss (Bora-Hansgrohe) came back to help mount a chase Sagan missed the boat when Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) set off with Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) and Gilbert and the race would only continue to slip away from him As riders came back into contention in what was now the third group on the road Sagan was dropped from it over the Paterberg-Oude Kwaremont combination of climbs with just under 40km to go "I saw guys a little bit playing games with me like you go to pull and after they attack," said Sagan "They pulled really hard and after they split peloton because there was a big crash "We stayed in the front with the guys who were pulling before and after they were dropped because they were tired and after I just stayed in the front with Daniel He tried to chase the first two guys but then there was attacking If there were question marks surrounding Sagan going into this week with the Tour of Flanders now barely a week away Having twice finished on the podium of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in the past two years he skipped the 'opening weekend' this time around in order to prepare a little differently for the main spring Classics period he then recorded three second places at Tirreno-Adriatico before finishing sixth at Milan-San Remo on Saturday with Gent-Wevelgem coming up on Sunday and De Ronde just seven days later Eritrean Dimension Data rider taken home by spectator Debesay wins stage 4 in Rwanda Kwiatkowski wins E3 Harelbeke over Sagan Sagan 'without legs' in the finale of E3 Harelbeke Kristoff under the gun for Tour of Flanders after disappointing E3 Harelbeke He became lost as he tried to ride to the finish and was helped by a friendly Flemish cycling fan gave him some food and eventually called the team’s hotel on Roeselare Debesay eventually got back to the team hotel at 9pm “It's an amazing story," Dimension Data directeur sportif Pierre Heynderickx explained He was behind in a group that decided to take the back roads to Harelbeke with twenty kilometres from the finish Debesay was afraid of getting lost and so decided to follow the arrows on the race route to get back to the finish Unfortunately he strayed from the right route At one time he had 206km on his computer but the race was only 200km long He didn’t make it to Harelbeke.” That man suggested they ride together to his home in Lierde gave him clean clothes and offered our hungry rider something to eat the UCI race judges and the organization but no one had the slightest trace of him Until suddenly we got a phone call at the Mercure Hotel in Roeselare.” Updated: Dual vertebrae fracture for Swiss star The team confirmed that the Swiss star suffered two minor fractures in the transverse processes of his lower vertebrae Although he will not undergo surgery the team confirmed to Cyclingnews that “the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix were very unlikely” Cancellara out of E3 Harelbeke after crash Cancellara was involved in a fall early in the race together with Milan-San Remo winner John Degenkolb (Giant Alpecin) and Lars Boom (Astana) Despite briefly remounting and regaining contact with the peloton Cancellara was forced to stop soon after and was taken to hospital immediate for scans when the extent of his injures were confirmed the team’s director Dirk Demol confirmed that his rider would miss Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem but with a fractured back the rider is most likely out for the foreseeable future with the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix also highly unlikely to form part of his campaign Cancellara is the reigning Tour of Flanders champion and has given himself until the end of 2016 to win as many spring classics as possible before retirement from the sport Someone slammed the brakes and there was no way to go just straight into it," Cancellara said "I flew over a couple of riders and then landed in a pile of bikes It was sort of reflex to get back on the bike but the pain was hard “I felt right away that it was a serious crash We went to the hospital for scans and this confirmed the pain.” The bones that are broken are the wing-like parts of the sides of two vertebrae in his lower spine and it is unknown how long he will be out of competition. One thing is certain he will not be racing any more Spring Classics “There is nothing you can do with this injury – no cast no surgery – but just biting the pain,” Cancellara said General Manager Luca Guercilena will now have to re-work the Trek team's strategy for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix “These are things that happen in cycling and that everyone has to deal with sooner or later,” Guercilena said “But we know how much Fabian is important for us so we are of course very dejected to hear this news “First what is the most important is his health and that he takes of that so he can return 100 percent again it’s time for all the other riders to step up - as they now have possibilities - and perform well Certainly it’s not great news for our team We have some very good riders that will now have their chances.” he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France With the help of the excellent editorial team he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners Paterberg fall changes race as Belgian takes third behind Mathieu van der Poel Not for the first time, Wout van Aert found himself in the loneliest place in all of Flanders, chasing Mathieu van der Poel. The eternal rivals squared up once again at the E3 Saxo Classic on Friday and they tracked one another diligently through the Flemish Ardennes until their paths finally diverged on the stiff slopes of the Paterberg Van der Poel started to wind up for what proved to be the race-winning attack scrambled to respond to the world champion crashing as he flicked his bike from the smooth gutter back onto the rough cobbles Van Aert even managed to close to within 15 seconds of Van der Poel but the effort was not a sustainable one and the rainbow jersey disappeared from the horizon on the cavernous Karnemelkbeekstraat Van Aert was joined by Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) in the run-in "The crash was all-important for the race," Van Aert said as he waited to mount the podium we seemed to be evenly matched for a while but after the Karnemelkbeekstraat it was hard to keep up my pace I was glad I was able to stay in Jasper Stuyven's wheel for a little while to make it to the finish." Van Aert conceded that the race-defining incident was entirely of his own making as he tried to dive past Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) and follow Van der Poel's acceleration on the Paterberg It remains to be seen if his injuries will have consequences for his Tour of Flanders challenge but the incident ended his hopes of a third straight E3 win the whole race changed for me," Van Aert admitted "It was pretty stupid: I wanted to jump up the cobblestones to gain some places because I do have pain in my hip and in my elbow Van Aert and Van der Poel have enjoyed parallel careers jousting first on the cyclocross circuit before bringing their talents onto the road in 2018 but the Dutchman has edged ahead in recent seasons in some departments Van der Poel has six cyclocross world titles to Van Aert's three and he has four Monuments to the Belgian's lone success at Milan-San Remo four years ago not to mention the world title on the road he claimed in Glasgow last summer The pair have raced against each other 24 times in one-day races since the 2018 European Championships 2018 and victory in Harelbeke saw Van der Poel extend his advantage in that never-ending duel to 16-8 Van Aert's Paterberg crash conditioned everything here but Van der Poel had looked the sharper of the pair in the early skirmishes most notably when he jumped clear on the Taaienberg with 80km still to race Van Aert responded rather more swiftly when Van der Poel accelerated on the Boigneberg and Stationberg Mathieu is super strong: he really made me hurt with his attacks today," Van Aert said that was perhaps only to be expected given that this was Van Aert's first race after a three-week altitude camp atop Mount Teide Visma-Lease A Bike directeur sportif Arthur van Dongen was quietly adamant that his rider would have been able to follow Van der Poel on the Paterberg were it not for the crash "We think he could match Van der Poel on the Paterberg and Kwaremont who lamented his team's ill fortune across the day Per Strand Hagenes was forced to abandon after an early crash while Dylan van Baarle and Tiesj Benoot were also beset by falls and punctures Jorgenson took a tumble en route to the bus after coming home in fifth what's happening today?'" Van Dongen said with a wry smile outside the team bus Even when Van Aert closed to within touching distance of Van der Poel Van Dongen suspected the situation might prove irretrievable I think it was a really good race from Wout." Van Aert will skip Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday before riding Dwars door Vlaanderen in midweek as his final tune-up for the Tour of Flanders Van der Poel is the firm favourite for the Ronde though Visma will feel that their usual strength in depth was undone by ill fortune here then we can play a different game," Van Dongen said "And maybe the outcome will be different."  The Cobbled Classics step up a gear on a route that features many of the same climbs tackled in the upcoming Tour of Flanders A prestigious race in its own right - only the strongest riders are able to win E3 M UNI gwondoolopa ya Eenhana na Muni gwondoolopa ya Harelbeke mu Belgium omasiku ga zi ko oya shaina etsokumweuvathano mokulongelakumwe moka Muni gwa Harelbeke u uvaneke okukwathela ngoka gwa Muni gwEenhana mokutunga ondoolopa ndjika Muni gwa Harelbek ota ka kwathela wo Eenhana mokukwata nawa omudhingoloko mokuungaunga niiyagaya nosho wo melongithonawa lyomudhingoloko mokweetapo omahala gokweeta aatalelipo mondoolopa mokweeta po egameno li li nawa pomahala gaaniilonga nomokutunga omahala gaanangeshefa aashona gokulanditha Omunambelewa omukuluntu gwondoolopa ya Eenhana Walde Ndevashiya okwa ti omadheulo gaaniilonga ya Muni gwEenhana negameno li li nawa pomahala giilonga nayo oya kwatelwa mo wo metsokumweuvathano ndika nosho wo omakwatho-yambulopo taga ka ningilwa Osikola ya Haimbili Haufiku nOshipangelo shOpashitopolwa ano shoka shEenhana.Ndevashiya okwa ti Omulongwapangi mOsikola yUunamiti mu Harelbeke ota ka tumwa okuya kOlabolatoli yOmiti mOshipangelo shEenhana momumvo 2009.Mu Mei nuumvo shoka tashi ka ya metalelopo ku Harelbeke.Omunambelewa omukuluntu gwondoolopa ya Eenhana Walde Ndevashiya okwa ti omadheulo gaaniilonga ya Muni gwEenhana negameno li li nawa pomahala giilonga copyright in the content of this website vest in The Free Press of Namibia (Proprietary) Limited (Registration No 85/058) The unauthorized making of copies or use of this material constitutes a copyright infringment under the Namibian Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Protection Act Powered by PageSuite © 2025 The Namibian This site asks for consent to use your data We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns Manager-less Tinkoff-Saxo looking for WorldTour win Sagan confident of form despite missing out in San Remo Tinkoff-Saxo confirm Riis suspension E3 Harelbeke preview: More than a Flanders warm-up so nothing would arrest the tense mood inside the team bus more than a victory at the WorldTour level Sagan said this week that he is coming to Belgium with a “great desire” to perform well “I won the E3 Harelbeke last year and I will try to do the double this year,” he said “The cobblestone classics kick off and I want to be ready I focus on the classics ahead and I feel very well and in very good form.” team director Lars Michaelsen said the race can throw plenty of obstacles into the team's plans but we need to avoid crashes and then we have to cross our fingers and hope that the race develops in the right direction for us,” Michaelsen said “We have a plan A and B but as we saw in Dwars door Vlaanderen crashes and tactical deadlocks can throw a spanner in the works.” Michael Kolar and Pavel Brutt will provide the support for Sagan on Friday The peloton will traverse 17 bergs throughout the 218km race The first small cluster of climbs include the Katteberg and Leberg La Houppe is the next test after 100km of racing Michaelsen said the real racing will begin after the first 100 relatively flat kilometres “The race tactics will come down to the constellation after 100km of fairly flat racing where a break will most likely form,” he said “I expect Etixx-Quickstep to be very strong so we have a group of riders who’ll support Sagan and stay with him as long as possible Breschel and Tosatto should play a key role here." After La Houppe the race is peppered with hellingen - the Eikenberg (118km) and Knokteberg (143km) standing out in a section of 39km that includes no fewer than seven climbs it’s not until the Paterberg (173km) and Oude Kwaremont (177km) that the main contenders typically tend to shine “A lot can happen in the last part of the race and this is where the game of tactics and constellations of the groups will impact the race heavily,” Michaelsen said Subscribe to the Cyclingnews YouTube channel so you get all the videos first Belgian one-day has established itself as the most important hit-out before de Ronde the race has added significance with the Ronde now just over a week away Peter Sagan's E3 Harelbeke chances scuttled by convoy deviation Naesen focused on Tour of Flanders after E3 podium Matthews to share lead in E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem By this point last year, the tone had already been set, with Dwars door Vlaanderen showcasing the kind of early aggression and wide-open racing that would come to characterise the 2017 Classics forcing De Panne into this week and a one-day format with all top cobbled classics contenders absent Despite the upheaval to the format of the ‘Flemish cycling week’ – which is more like a fortnight – E3 retains its familiar slot on the first Friday, followed closely by Gent-Wevelgem on the Sunday Gent-Wevelgem heads up towards the coast before exploring the hills around Heuvelland and has a tendency – albeit one that’s been subverted in recent years – to be kind to the sprinters E3-Harelbeke is rooted firmly in the terrain of De Ronde and the repeated hills of the Flemish Ardennes invariably whittle the field down to the very strongest E3 Harelbeke has established itself as the most important pre-Flanders hit-out or at least the one you can read the most into Four of the past 11 winners have ‘done the double’ while only once in that time has the Ronde winner finished outside the top 10 at E3 All three of Tom Boonen’s Ronde titles were preceded by E3 success and it’s the retired Belgian who holds the record for most victories with five Greg Van Avermaet won 12 months ago as part of a golden spring that also included Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix titles and who knows what might have happened in Flanders had that jacket not been there on the Oude Kwaremont Echelons and a strung out peloton at the 2017 E3 Harelbeke and heads into the Flemish Ardennes before returning to finish in exactly the same spot The route is 206.5km and contains 15 hellingen The 2018 route is largely unchanged from last year The early climb of the Kruisberg is off the menu but the organisers have found a substitute near Ronse in the form of Broeke and once again 20 kilometres will separate the final climb The first part of the race is largely innocuous with two climbs in the opening 100 kilometres Things start to heat up with Broeke after 108km and it should steadily build from there Last year the race came to life on the Taaienberg courtesy of Tom Boonen on his favourite climb which is again the seventh climb on the menu but an undoubtedly crucial phases of the race will be Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont the Tour of Flanders pairing tackled in reverse order here with around 40km remaining After that it’s the Karnemelkbeekstraat and then the smooth but draining Tiegemberg Van Avermaet and Gilbert in the late breakaway in the 2017 Peter Sagan chases the lead trio at the 2017 E3 Harelbeke Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) returns after winning the title last year he’s had a quiet start to the season compared to recent years How much can be read into that is unclear – it’s true there’s heightened scrutiny on the Olympic champion after his extraordinary spring campaign last year – but nonetheless the Belgian fans will be looking for signs that he can win the big one next Sunday Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) is included in the list of favourites for pretty much every race he starts Despite winning the Tour of Flanders two years ago the three-time world champion hasn’t had quite the spring classics success expected of him so far in his career There’s no doubt about his physical capabilities but the drawback is that they in turn give rise to tactical headaches expect the race dynamics to revolve around the world champion If the race isn’t revolving around Sagan it’s usually revolving around Quick-Step and their strength in depth Can Alexander Kristoff rediscover success on the cobbles after a rough couple of years He finished fourth at Milan-San Remo so is clearly back in shape after illness in his first spring with UAE Team Emirates Team Sky might be saving Michal Kwiatkowski for Flanders and Geraint Thomas for Roubaix Astana are another team to watch after the way they dominated Omloop Het Nieuwsblad That day’s winner Michael Valgren will be hoping to be up there again with the promising Alexey Lutsenko Edvald Boasson Hagen has had a troubled winter with surgery and illness so Julien Vermote could be the likelier card for Dimension Data Luke Durbridge – himself already overcoming a broken collarbone this season – will look to kick on after an encouraging spring 12 months ago He’s in the team alongside Matteo Trentin and former Paris-Roubaix winner Mat Hayman Sonny Colbrelli has steadily been growing as a cobbled classics rider and finished top 10 here last year He has a fast finish but Bahrain-Merida also have Heinrich Haussler who looks injury-free and in-form for the first time in a long time Arnaud Démare (FDJ) is much more than ‘just’ a sprinter but is unlikely to survive a highly selective race and the same goes for Michael Matthews (Sunweb) who’s still feeling his way on this terrain but keep an eye out for Mikel Landa (Movistar) the Basque climber will try not to stand out like a sore thumb as he gains experience on the cobbles ahead of the Tour de France Cannondale rider reluctant to discuss Flanders chances than the questioning at his winner’s press conference turned to his chances at next weekend’s Tour of Flanders Sagan looks to respond to Milan-San Remo disappointment in Belgium Gent-Wevelgem 2014 race preview Van Avermaet salvages the day for BMC in E3 Harelbeke Boonen to ride Gent-Wevelgem despite thumb injury Sagan not certain to leave Cannondale says Amadio victory in the semi-classic would be feted as an achievement in itself but considering the expectation that has built up around Sagan during his short career each win seems to be viewed merely as another step in his progression Heavy lies the crown for the man who is – for now at least – still the king in waiting but Sagan struggled in the cold and rain on the Riviera and had to settle for 10th place Sagan bristled when asked if he now felt any particular obligation to confirm his lofty credentials by winning the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix this spring "You ‘mustn’t’ nothing in your life," he said "I don’t ‘must’ nothing in the life I want to do well but the important thing for me is to do the maximum in the race Flitting back and forth between English and his steadier Italian during the press conference Sagan’s responses ranged from matter-of-fact descriptions of his victory to scarcely-concealed irritation at questions regarding the imminent future and his predictions for De Ronde Asked what Harelbeke had taught him about his chances against Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen at the Tour of Flanders Why do you always ask me these questions about the future Maybe I’ll crash after 20 kilometres to a question about the heavy criticism he had faced in the Italian press following Milan-San Remo with Moreno Argentin and Francesco Moser among those wheeled out to pour scorn on his display because journalists are there to write," he said curtly Sagan was more expansive when asked about the race he had just won it is easy to be blinded by the Slovak’s potential but there is already much to consider in the here and now and he showed strength and poise to land victory at E3 Harelbeke Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) went clear on the Oude Kwaremont Sagan carefully gauged his effort to catch them on the descent Sagan had the nous to put in a sharp little dig near the summit to see off Degenkolb his most dangerous rival in the event of a sprint When the dust settled on the run-in to Harelbeke Terpstra and a second QuickStep rider – Stijn Vandenbergh – for company "They decided that they wouldn’t pull in the last five kilometres because they were waiting for Boonen in the sprint I decided to wait and see how my legs were in the sprint the four-man sprint followed the form guide with Sagan easily seeing off the challenge of Terpstra to claim the win but given his travails following an early bike change the Slovak admitted that he could well have been caught short in the finale "I wasn’t very convinced that I could win today with all the energy I wasted in changing bikes chasing back on and then doing 40 kilometres on a bike with a slightly different size," he said I was dropped a bit but then I got back on and I starting feeling quite good from there." a modest satellite town on the fringes of Kortrijk there was precious little doubt about the final result and Sagan duly collected his second classic win on Belgian roads after last year’s Gent-Wevelgem Not that Sagan will necessarily appreciate the reminder the winner at Harelbeke has gone on to triumph at the Tour Flanders a week later just two men account for those five doubles – Boonen and Cancellara Tom Boonen powers up the Taaienberg at the 2012 E3 Harelbeke a test that augured well for the rest of his Spring Fabian Cancellara drops Peter Sagan on the Kwaremont at E3 in 2013 He would do the same on the Paterberg a week later.  Peter Sagan won in Harelbeke in 2014 but struggled a week later at the Tour of Flanders Geraint Thomas saw off Zdenek Stybar and Peter Sagan to win in Harelbeke but 4th-placed Alexander Kristoff would hit the high notes a week later Sagan lost a two-up sprint to Michal Kwiatkowksi at E3 in 2015 but he later had the Pole to thank for sparking his winning move at the Tour of Flanders Greg Van Avermaet won in Harelbeke in 2017 but second-placed Philippe Gilbert and his QuickStep team would draw important lessons ahead of the Ronde QuickStep overwhelmed the opposition at E3 Harelbeke in 2018 and repeated the feat at the Tour of Flanders Alberto Bettiol's game showing at E3 in 2019 hinted at what he would conjure up a week later on the Kwaremont Kasper Asgreen is feted by a robot on the podium after winning the 2021 E3 Harelbeke held without crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic QuickStep's consistency seemed almost reassuring.  After a Jumbo-Visma procession in Harelbeke a Wout van Aert Ronde victory seemed almost inevitable Test run in Flemish Ardennes provides key pointers for the Ronde The 2010 edition of E3 Harelbeke – as the E3 Saxo Classic was called back then –looked to be rolling towards a familiar denouement when Tom Boonen Fabian Cancellara and Juan Antonio Flecha approached the outskirts of town after having forged clear on the Paterberg 40km or so earlier Boonen had already won the race four times in a row between 2004 and 2007 and a three-up sprint and another Tommeke triumph seemed inevitable here it was the moment E3 Harelbeke went electric Cancellara surged unexpectedly and opened a small gap that Boonen Two metres became ten and by the time Boonen sat back into the saddle the balance of power for the following week’s Tour of Flanders had shifted completely Cancellara freewheeled across the line as the winner The Belgian champion put a brave face on his performance in public – “My form is more than alright,” he insisted – but in private it was a sobering preview of what awaited him at the Ronde Boonen and Cancellara again found themselves in the winning move Boonen knew what was coming and he probably knew there was nothing he could do to stop it either Cancellara cruised clear on the Muur with the acceleration that launched a thousand YouTube videos he had already spent a week staring at the writing on the wall after the dress rehearsal in Harelbeke Johan Museeuw became the first rider to complete the E3 Harelbeke-Tour of Flanders double a feat matched by Boonen in 2005 and 2006 and by Cancellara in 2010 the prestige of the race had long since outstripped its HC status E3 Harelbeke was promoted to the WorldTour moving a day earlier on the calendar to provide some respite for those riding Gent-Wevelgem The switch also coincided with the introduction of the new Tour of Flanders finale over the Kwaremont and Paterberg E3’s reputation as the essential Ronde tune-up has only been cemented further Small wonder that Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) has opted to line out at Friday’s E3 Saxo Bank Classic against Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) E3 Harelbeke – this year bearing the E3 Saxo Classic banner – may be some 70km shorter than the Ronde but the sixteen climbs give it a staccato rhythm similar to that of the main event aggressive racing once more typical of the shorter E3 has increasingly been replicated at the Ronde itself the truths uncovered by E3 Harelbeke have consistently been borne out a little over a week later Cyclingnews casts a glance back over the ten WorldTour editions of the crystal ball of the Classics The first WorldTour edition of the race saw the addition of the Muur van Geraardsbergen to the route even if the hallowed climb came too far from the finish to see a reprise of the Cancellara-Boonen duel and their skirmishes instead came on the Paterberg-Kwaremont combination before Cancellara accelerated viciously on the second Peter Sagan and Sep Vanmarcke could follow but the move petered out when Cancellara punctured before the top of the climb It was a foretaste of an ill-starred Ronde for Cancellara whose Classics campaign would end when he broke his collarbone in a crash in the feed zone his assured E3 Harelbeke win marked the start of the best Spring of his career with the quality of his QuickStep squad seemingly restored after a trying pair of years Sylvain Chavanel was part of the late break before Boonen delivered a long he would win Gent-Wevelgem and his speed would carry him to victory in a three-up sprint at the Tour of Flanders after he withstood a gearing issue and Pozzato’s forcing on the Paterberg He would add Paris-Roubaix for good measure The pendulum swung decisively back in Fabian Cancellara’s favour in 2013 struggling for form after an elbow infection earlier in the year made little impact in Harelbeke and even less at the Tour of Flanders where he crashed out in the opening kilometres Cancellara’s key rival that Spring looked set to be Peter Sagan after a series of jousts on Italian roads Cancellara knew that E3 Harelbeke presented a chance to lay down a marker and he unsheathed a seated acceleration on the Kwaremont with 33km to go He would win by more than a minute on a chasing group led home by the Slovakian “We knew the Oude Kwaremont was an important key in the race as it will be in the Tour of Flanders,” Cancellara said The only suspense now seemed to concern Cancellara’s margin of victory on Belgian cycling’s greatest day Although Sagan would manage to hold Cancellara’s wheel when he repeated the Kwaremont onslaught at the Ronde he would ultimately be overwhelmed on the Paterberg Cancellara rolled home to win by some 1:27 leaving spectators with a striking sense of déjà vu The first of two unusually misleading editions of E3 Harelbeke saw Peter Sagan claim victory in a four-up sprint from Niki Terpstra With the Slovakian all but confirmed to leave Cannondale at season’s end copious column inches were being devoted to the size of his next contract in the Spring of 2014 but he had also been also the subject of fierce criticism after a subdued 10th place at Milan-San Remo That context perhaps explained a rather tetchy post-race press conference in Harelbeke where Sagan appeared bemused that the line of questioning focused on his Tour of Flanders chances rather than his victory that afternoon “Why do you always ask me these questions about the future no?” Sagan said when asked what this result meant for the Ronde he was still having difficulties over the Monument distance and he faded in the final hour of the Tour of Flanders whose E3 Harelbeke challenge was ruined by mechanical issues Vandenbergh was the only rider in the winning move at both races while Stybar had the strength to hold on for second place Sagan faded to the extent that he was caught and passed by the chasing bunch Despite his first big win on Belgian roads Thomas would not make the anticipated impact at the Tour of Flanders and the spoils instead fell to Alexander Kristoff The Norwegian was bubbling under with fourth place at Harelbeke before coming to the boil with a hat-trick of stage wins and overall victory at the following week’s Three Days of De Panne He would easily see off Niki Terpstra in the two-up sprint at the Tour of Flanders where Sagan’s fourth place finish did nothing to insulate him from Oleg Tinkoff’s public threats to cut his salary for underperformance Michal Kwiatkowski was a regular bête noire for Peter Sagan, and his victory at the World Champion’s expense in Harelbeke in 2016 was the second in a trilogy that began with the 2014 Strade Bianche and ended with Milan-San Remo in 2017 Sagan had looked sharp when he pressed clear with Kwiatkowski on the cavernously steep Karnemelkbeekstraat which made his rather blunt sprint in Harelbeke all the more surprising it was perhaps informative that Sagan was able to shrug off the defeat with a smile and I was just without legs in the final,” he laughed when seated alongside Eddy Planckaert in the makeshift Sporza studio at the finish A local TV crew was waiting for Sagan when he emerged from the cabin “Are you ready for the Ronde?” he was asked Sagan shrugged: “I am preparing all the year for the Tour of Flanders.” Sagan knew that he had to track the on-form Kwiatkowski when he attacked before the Kruisberg with 32km to go After dropping Kwiatkowski on the Kwaremont Sagan distanced Vanmarcke on the Paterberg before holding off Cancellara on the run-in to Oudenaarde to claim the first Monument of his career Van Avermaet forged clear on the Kwaremont with Philippe Gilbert and training partner Oliver Naesen before dispatching them comfortably in the sprint “The Tour of Flanders is more difficult you can’t go so early,” Van Avermaet said afterwards It’s more tactical and it’s up to me to take the right decisions.” The winning move at the Tour of Flanders would in fact go very early indeed with Boonen forcing the decisive split on the Muur with 95km to go before his QuickStep teammate Gilbert went clear alone with 55km to race outflanked by QuickStep’s strength in numbers but his decision to let Gilbert et al go was very costly And yet the race might have taken a different hue when Van Avermaet gave chase with Sagan and Naesen in the finale only for them to be brought down when the World Champion clipped a spectator on the Kwaremont Although Van Avermaet remounted and won the sprint for second the day belonged to Gilbert – a man whose Harelbeke performance had itself hinted at the extent of his renaissance on joining QuickStep from BMC Van Avermaet had the considerable consolation of winning that year’s Paris-Roubaix but the Ronde remains elusive for him to this day Zdenek Stybar and Florian Sénéchal policed the chasers behind Terpstra would rid himself of a flagging Lampaert on the Karnemelkbeekstraat with 30km to go Peter Sagan et al were marooned on Gilbert Island behind “It’s not my favourite activity it inevitably forms part of the tactics,” Gilbert said after he sprinted to second place In a squad with four or five potential winners Terpstra understood the value of getting his retaliation in first rather than finding himself hemmed in by team orders “An individualist and a team player,” was manager Patrick Lefevere’s admiring appraisal QuickStep simply ran the E3 Harelbeke playbook all over again at the Ronde where Terpstra escaped on the Kruisberg while Gilbert again served as the spoiler behind it simply looked as though the beatings would continue until morale improved seemed the men most likely to put up resistance to QuickStep’s depth and few gave a second thought to the man who placed a surprising fourth Flanders Classics chief Wouter Vandenhaute was even dismissive of the Italian when asked if he was concerned that a rider such as Bettiol or EF teammate Sebastian Langeveld might win rather than a more established and marketable star “They are not going to win,” he said seizing his opportunity by attacking from a sizeable front group on the Kwaremont and holding on to claim the first – and biggest – victory of his career why should I win the Tour of Flanders?” he said afterwards Florican Senechal even beat Van der Poel in the sprint to complete a QuickStep one-two Van der Poel must have thought he had done the hard part when he found himself alone in front with Asgreen after the Oude Kwaremont Van der Poel was the obvious favourite for the two-up sprint underlined his prodigious powers of endurance the Danish champion had already spent 55km alone in front before he was caught by the Van der Poel group on the run-in yet he still had the strength to go again and win those same qualities meant that his freshness surprisingly trumped Van der Poel’s speed at the finish in Oudenaarde The outlier. When Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte performed their own version of the Baracchi Trophy from the Paterberg to the finish in Harelbeke it seemed as though the road to Tour of Flanders victory ran through Jumbo-Visma and Jumbo-Visma alone a positive test for COVID-19 in midweek would rule the favourite out of the race altogether Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar produced a Tour of Flanders for the ages as neither rider had lined out at Harelbeke at all with Van der Poel instead opting to top up his form at the Settimana Coppi e Bartali.  Harelbeke still provided some pointers for the days ahead with Stefan Kung (3rd) and Biniam Girmay (5th) both underlining their development but Van der Poel was the first Tour of Flanders winner to skip E3 since Andrea Tafi in 2002 It may well be two decades before the situation presents itself again The 2023 E3 Saxo Classic drops the "bank" from the race's name giving it another twist from previous names E3 BinckBank Classic E3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke to just E3 Harelbeke through 2017 The course for the 2023 Saxo Classic includes 17 'bergs' and several sections of cobblestone roads across the 202.1 kilometre route that snakes across the Flemish Ardennes out from Harelbeke and back the route heads east through Oudenaarde and into Tour of Flanders territory The dual obstacles of the Tour of Flanders and a final kick up the Tiegemberg finishes off the climbing just inside 20km to go she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track Laura has a passion for all three disciplines When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads UCI governance and performing data analysis '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" A tactical masterpiece of Quick-Step Floors concluded with a memorable victory of the Dutchman who was followed on the podium by teammate Philippe Gilbert Quick-Step Floors' amazing streak in Belgium continued on Friday afternoon when Niki Terpstra soloed to victory in the prestigious E3 Harelbeke adding a new trophy to the team's cabinet in this season's one-day races It was a well-deserved and hard-earned win which came on the back of a brilliant and flawless team strategy The first key moment of the race surfaced with 110 kilometers to go when a big crash in the peloton split the field including the entire Quick-Step Floors squad Tim Declercq and Iljo Keisse put down the hammer trading ferocious pulls as they increased the advantage over the chasers to over a minute and brought the gap to the breakaway down to two minutes a 650m climb on which many of Quick-Step Floors' previous wins were forged in the past decade our team put the race in the gutter and forced a massive selection Yves Lampaert and Niki Terpstra powered clear from the group looked over their shoulders and saw their teammates slowed down the chase of the opponents which gave them a boost to push on and build a 20-second gap Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie) and Pim Ligthart (Roompot) the reigning Dwars door Vlaanderen champion buried himself for Terpstra at the front and took the gap to almost a minute as behind Philippe Gilbert and Zdenek Stybar marked the moves of Peter Sagan (bora-hansgrohe) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) On the narrow and twisty roads of Flanders Yves and Niki – both former World TTT Champions – soldiered on and left every hurdle behind It was after the latter that a regrouping took place but the Quick-Step Floors duo remained cool as a cucumber and continued to fight hard when the admirable Lampaert ran out of steam Terpstra – who earlier this season soloed to a convincing victory at Le Samyn where Quick-Step Floors' strength in numbers again made the difference – still held 30 seconds over the top of the hill as he made use of his time trial skills to pace himself but the advantage began to drop inside the last ten kilometers where the chasers made visual contact with him several attacks shaved off half of the deficit Philippe Gilbert and Zdenek Stybar played their role to perfection hindering the chasers' effort and ensuring Niki's gap didn't dip below 15 seconds and was still a hefty one in the closing kilometers where he celebrated Quick-Step Floors' 33rd victory in a cobbled classic and cementing his reputation as one of the best one-day riders of his generation Philippe Gilbert made it a spectacular 1-2 for the team as he easily sprinted from the ten-man group while Zdenek Stybar concluded in ninth place capping off one of the best team displays seen in the last years "This is one of the biggest wins of my career and the fact that it came in such an important race gives me even more pleasure It wouldn't have been possible without this awesome team the way they all rode today – from Tim and Iljo who spent a ridiculous amount of energy at the front of the bunch and Philippe Florian and Zdenek who reeled in every move to Yves' fantastic effort – this was a perfect display of the Wolfpack spirit" said Niki after becoming the first Dutchman in 15 years to nail the victory in E3 Harelbeke but the hard work in the winter paid off today and now I'm very happy The success in Le Samyn gave me a lot of confidence and showed me I'm on the right track Many thought we were crazy to attack 74 kilometers out but we knew we could make something special today but I didn't crack and rode my heart out there managing to finish off the team's brilliant effort with this win." 33-year-old Terpstra pointed to the team's name a gesture mirroring the one of Elia Viviani in Driedaagse Brugge – De Panne two days ago and which he explained before mounting to the podium: "I am very grateful to our sponsors they've been by our side for so many years now and thanks to them we are here today To repay them with a victory on such a big race made me very glad Let's hope we'll keep the momentum and add many other great results to our palmares this spring." Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele/ Getty Images to know how many times a particular page is read We only use this information to improve the content of our website These cookies are only placed after you have given your consent Dutch team dominate as Küng makes late attack to take third taking first and second after they attacked together over the Paterberg with 40km to race and time trialed to victory in Harelbeke Laporte occasionally struggled to come through and share the work with van Aert and so after a handshake and a hug he allowed his team leader to cross the line first as they rode side by side in celebration Behind a chase-group of eight quality riders including Milan-San Remo winner Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) and Kasper Asgreen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) could do nothing to close the gap despite working together for the last hour of racing eventually finishing two minutes behind van Aert and Laporte Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) made a late attack to edge away and take third place with Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) winning the sprint for fourth place Other groups that were unable to go with Jumbo-Visma’s attacks on the Taaienberg with 80km to go or were distanced before the Paterberg Van Aert was tired as he celebrated with his partner and young son but happy to have won in such dominant style just over a week before the Tour of Flanders I have to thank every single one of the guys for setting us up in the final,” Van Aert said “Me and Christophe were supposed to be more defensive until the Paterberg and from then on we were together in front Also a big thank you to Christophe to give me this victory It means so much to win this big Classic in Flanders and I'm really proud of my team Van Aert promised to repay Laporte for his gesture later in the season after already allowing the Frenchman to win the opening stage at Paris-Nice "There was no discussion at all about the win I think there are still a lot of races to come and we'll definitely end up in more difficult situations with more guys around us Sooner or later Christophe or someone else will get this chance “This is how we want to race and this is the way everybody believes we can have the biggest chance of winning.” Van Aert was happy but aware he had gone deep to win so dominantly It's one of the hardest races of the spring season but I learned our team is really on top of it,” he said The 64th edition of the E3 Saxo Bank Classic began under clear skies and 17°C temperatures in Harelbeke with 173 riders taking the start after pre-race withdrawals from Mikkel Honoré (illness) Pascal Ackermann (a crash at the Classic Brugge-De Panne) The Belgian race is known as a mini Tour of Flanders at 203.9 kilometres in length and packed with several of the same climbs that fill out the route of 'De Ronde' next Sunday 17 major climbs and 11 cobbled sectors lay between the peloton and the finish Tiegemberg and the Paterberg-Oude Kwaremont double chief among them An early crash saw Tosh Van der Sande (Jumbo-Visma) and Guy Sagiv (Israel-Premier Tech) abandon due to injury with attackers struggling to break away from the peloton Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) and Jenthe Biermans (Israel-Premier Tech) were among a nine-man group that attempted to break away after 40 kilometres though a closed level crossing put paid to their brief foray off the front the Bora-Hansgrohe duo of Ryan Mullen and Lukas Pöstlberger jumped away with seven more riders quickly sensing that it was the move to follow Mathijs Paasschens (Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces-WB) and Lasse Norman Hansen (Uno-X) made it across securing the break of the day after a fast opening 60 kilometres of racing The nine-man group was given some time – but only two minutes – by a peloton keen to keep things under control ahead of a hard race A relatively calm period of the race following the establishment of the break was broken after 20 more kilometres as the riders reached the real start of the hill zone with La Houppe Kanarieberg and Oude Kruisberg kicking things off The two-minute gap to the break held firm over the early hills as top teams Ineos Grenadiers and Trek-Segafredo shared the workload in the peloton Numerous small spills hindered several riders' races while Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal) was held up by a very slow bike change before Kortekeer the race hit the Taaienberg – affectionately nicknamed the Boonen-berg after the Belgian rider’s legendary surges Wout van Aert hit the front and blew the race apart going over the top with teammates Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot and Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) The attack group pushed on over the flatland that followed the descent Following a push by Benoot on Berg Ten Stene who lay 45 seconds up on the Ineos-led peloton Ineos Grenadiers charged up the cobbled Eikenberg with Jhonatan Narváez putting in a move which saw him bridge to the break plus Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) and Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) with him to spark a regrouping at the head of the race Mike Teunissen bridged across to make it four Jumbo-Visma men up front with Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X) going with the Dutchman The group stayed together on the Stationsberg and Marieborrestraat despite several changes of pace at the front On the steep cobbled slopes of the Paterberg accelerating on the toughest part of the hill to take teammate Christophe Laporte along with 41 kilometres to go as Girmay led the chase It was another masterclass of Classics riding with everyone else distanced and unable to chase Van Aert and Laporte switched to two-up time trial mode but the Frenchman struggled to even stay in his leader’s slipstream 25 seconds separated the Jumbo-Visma duo and the chase Tiller and Turgis lost contact on the climb joining Ballerini (dropped) and Sénéchal (mechanical) out the back The eight-man chase that remained gave their best effort and worked together but couldn't close the gap on the flat roads 35 seconds separated them from the lead duo on the Karnemelkbeekstraat with 30 kilometres to go Their lead was up to 1:00 with 20km to go and then 1:30 with 15km to go they knew they were racing for third place Geraint Thomas seals Algarve win and looks to Paris-Nice and Classics Thomas: I’m in the best shape I’ve been in Arguably, this was actually Team Sky’s grandest one-day win in their five year history with the Welshman playing a leading role in the break that formed on the Kwaremont before dispatching Zdenek Stybar and Peter Sagan with four kilometres remaining For a team that have struggled to match their stage racing dominance in the one-day arena Thomas certainly made victory look effortless And for the rider who grew up watching the Belgian races on television the relief and joy was only tempered by the very fact that Gent-Wevelgem the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are still just around the corner “This is massive and it’s one of the biggest races we do here in Belgium I had some good form coming into this race but like is said before I wanted to race hard from Paris-Nice to Paris-Roubaix and just take my opportunities,” Thomas said in his winner’s press conference as he faced questions from the Belgian journalists more accustomed to greeting Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara in such circumstances “This is the biggest win for me in my road career,” he said instantly bringing nodding approval from his audience “I won a stage in the Tour Down Under but it’s this race If you look at the past winners with Boonen and Cancellera in recent years big race so it’s the biggest of my career.” “Today was a fantastic result and if I’m honest I didn’t really expect it It was a good group and we all committed and worked well together I thought that Sagan was bluffing a little bit when he was panting but I tried to attack them and take them by surprise It couldn’t have worked out any better and I’m over the moon.” followed by his late attack was similar to the tactic he played in last year’s Commonwealth Games and with no disrespect to Jack Bauer and Scott Thwaites the opposition and the stakes were a far deal higher Thomas of twelve months ago might have sat on and waited for the sprint – either unsure of himself or unwilling to make a mistake However this season Thomas has evolved into a more confident and complete athlete and his transformation from track rider is now not just complete but entirely successful and with Flanders just over a week away the Welshman finds himself among the upper echelons of favourites He and his team have those unstoppable allies: momentum and confidence When the topic of Flanders favourites was raised Thomas paused almost stuttered even - caught off guard for the first time throughout the day - before returning to the script “Favourites are down to the bookmakers and for me I’ll just treat Flanders like another race We have a great chance of doing well with a strong team We’ve been improving over the years and hopefully we can go into Flanders and Roubaix with a few options and ride aggressively.” and my ability,” he said when asked where his clinical tactical sense had come from “I only really started these races in 2010 and I’ve become stronger over the years and knuckled down The year has started well and I’ve been on that roll and the confidence has grown It’s that momentum and the whole team is going well and we thrive off each other and we want to keep that going.” After John Degenkolb’s victory in Milan-San Remo the inevitable questions over how and when the new generation of Classics stars would cement their place began to surface By that point Boonen was already at home nursing an injured shoulder but Cancellara remained a potent threat and as one rider told Cyclingnews on Thursday evening “even a bad Cancellara is a good Cancellara.” However after the Trek rider crashed out of the Classics the landscape irrevocably changed When the peloton lines up for Flanders there could be only three former Flanders and Roubaix winners on the start line and few would argue that Stijn Devolder’s and Johan Vansummeren’s best days are not behind them “I think it just opens the door for the other guys Everyone has a chance now [Cancellara and Boonen] are not around I think everyone will think they have a chance now.” Deceuninck – Quick-Step produced another tactical masterclass at the Belgian World Tour race Kasper Asgreen won an amazing edition of E3 Harelbeke but that doesn’t tell the full story of Friday’s entertaining race which our team played perfectly from start to finish Asgreen became the first Danish rider in more than three decades to triumph at the Belgian classic which many view as a Ronde van Vlaanderen rehearsal with the support of an incredible team who took the race by the scruff of its neck and controlled all the moves with clinical precision “Winning this makes me super proud and happy Today’s result shows that these races that I love so much suit me serves as confirmation of the hard work I put in during the winter but it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of this fantastic squad “My teammates were just unbelievable and showed again why we are the Wolfpack and at the end we reaped the rewards” where Deceunick – Quick-Step rode flat out with all seven guys amassed at the front hacking the field to pieces and dealing a blow ended up playing a huge role in the outcome Four members of the Wolfpack made it into the nine-man front group from where Kasper Asgreen rode clear on the Boigneberg The attempts to follow him were quickly brought to heel by reigning champion Zdenek Stybar and so the Danish Champion continued at the front battling through the strong headwind and leaving behind hill after hill including the Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont When a new chasing group emerged with 30 kilometers to go Stybar and Florian Sénéchal were there and they were soon joined by Yves Lampaert after a mad chase of the Belgian Champion that saw him claw back half a minute on the flat section off the Oude Kwaremont Yves didn’t sit too much in the group from where he dropped out inside the last 20 kilometers due to a puncture but Zdenek and Florian continued to ride flawlessly and mark moves the forcing of those behind meant that Kasper’s time off the front came to an end with 12 kilometers to go but the 26-year-old remained in the elite group and patiently waited for the last five kilometers before a last roll of the dice Winner of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne last season Asgreen used some traffic islands in his favour attacking on the right side of the road and motoring clear of the group where his teammates expertly shut down every attempt to bring him back Kasper had a 30-second margin which was more than enough for him to sit up with 200 meters to go and savour his biggest victory to date and Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s eighth at E3 Harelbeke since 2003 To round out the Wolfpack’s perfect day on the Flemish bergs Florian Sénéchal sprinted to second – his best ever result in a cobbled Classic – while Zdenek Stybar took fifth place so I had a lot of confidence during the race we were not afraid to open the race early and I’m happy I could pull it off To win here against the best Classics riders in the world means a lot for my morale ahead of the next big one-day races when I was on the attack for more than 50 kilometers got caught and still had enough to try again in the finale.” “I don’t know if I surprised the other guys in the group with my move but I tried to use that traffic island to put some distance between them and myself so I could get a gap before they could react I was aware I had one last chance and took advantage of it knowing that in case it didn’t work out we had Florian and Zdenek ready to pounce” the second rider from his country to win E3 Harelbeke Not just Kasper wrote history Friday afternoon whose enormous effort and flawless commitment saw him became the first French rider in history to finish the prestigious World Tour Classic in the top 3 “Racing in this team is a dream come true for me and it feels amazing to play a part in a big race like this and happy for Deceuninck – Quick-Step Our extraordinary collective strength was on display today in this beautiful but hard race which bodes well ahead of the next classics I’m also content with my second place as it is my best result in a World Tour race and it comes at a great moment in the season” Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen/Getty Images Semi-Classic plays it safe with poster for the 60th edition of the race and using an image of a young boy with the word's "Mommy's Rebel" tattooed across his back for 2017 The race has tried to make something of an event of the unveiling of this year's poster tweeting images of previous years's posters over the last couple of weeks although deciding to omit the more controversial posters from 2009 Named after the former E3 motorway in Belgium the 2017 edition of the race will take place on Friday and covering many of the same cobbled climbs Henry Robertshaw began his time at Cycling Weekly working with the tech team buying guides and appearing in videos advising on how to dress for the seasons where his work focused on the professional peloton as well as legislation and provision for cycling He's since moved his career in a new direction with a role at the Department for Environment