Zeger Schaeken
• Monday March 18, 2024 at 8:15 PM
The time has finally come on Friday: the first duel between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert on the road in 2024. The two will cross swords in the E3 Saxo Classic, a race that we know as the ‘mini Tour of Flanders’. Last year we saw a fantastic race with Van Aert as the winner. What can we expect this year? CyclingFlits looks ahead!
The new edition of RIDE Magazine is now available! Our new 188-page spring edition is full of wonderful cycling stories about Mathieu van der Poel, Lotte Kopecky, Demi Vollering, Sepp Kuss and Matej Mohoric. Secure your copy and order it online now for just €9.95. Would you like to receive RIDE extra cheaply? Subscribe now and receive a 20% discount!
History
Latest winners E3 Saxo Classic
2023: Wout van Aert
2022: Wout van Aert
2021: Kasper Asgreen
2020: Canceled due to corona crisis
2019: Zdeněk Stybar
2018: Niki Terpstra
2017: Greg Van Avermaet
2016: Michał Kwiatkowski
2015: Geraint Thomas
2014: Peter Sagan
Latest edition
The E3 had a bizarrely exciting climax in 2023 – photo: Cor Vos
Result E3 Saxo Classic 2023
1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)
2. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in bt
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) in zt
4. Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) op 33s
5. Iván García Cortina (Movistar) op 44s
Course
The E3 Saxo Classic once again lives up to its status as Tour of Flanders-light. With seventeen short calf bites and five cobblestone sections, it promises to be another race for the classic specialists with substance. The organization once again follows the motto of ‘tene quod bene’, preserving what is good. We therefore find no significant changes.
As usual, we start and finish in Harelbeke, the epicenter of the E3 Saxo Classic. This is followed by a long loop towards the east, during which the riders cross even more villages that breathe cycling, such as Waregem, Wortegem-Petegem, Oudenaarde, Zottegem, Geraardsbergen (without Wall) and Ronse. Nevertheless, these first hundred kilometers of the race are, as usual, relatively flat. Only on the Katteberg After 30 kilometers it will be a bit of a climb.
It’s time to pay attention La Houppe, in the province of Hainaut, 117 kilometers from the finish. From there a nervous phase begins in which the riders are confronted with a calf-biter almost every ten kilometers. The Kanarieberg, Old Kruisberg, Knokteberg, Hotondberg in Correspondence are the first slopes on which the race can take off.
The real final starts 80 kilometers from the finish in Harelbeke. The Traaienberg, with the steep starting section and the long spur, will forever remain the hill of Tom Boonen, who traditionally gave his first shot there. The Taaienberg is the first really difficult cobblestone slope of the day. Ten flat kilometers further on, the obstacles follow each other even faster, with the Berg ten Stene, Boigneberg and also the cobblestones of the Ellestraat and the Stationsberg.
More than forty kilometers from the finish, a very critical phase follows in this race, with the very steep Paterberg and the Old Kwaremont, two very well-known cobblestone slopes that will again function as executioners in the upcoming Tour of Flanders. Riders who want to avoid a sprint from a larger group still have to pull out all the stops here.
After all, only the will follow later Tiegemberg, after which another twenty relatively flat kilometers lead via Anzegem and Deerlijk to the arrival town of Harelbeke. The finish is close to the De Gavers provincial domain. Few surprises in the final kilometers, because in the last 600 meters on the Stasegemsesteenweg we no longer find any real bends.
Slopes
1. Katteberg (750 m at 6%) – another 177 km
2. La Houppe (1,880 m at 4.8%) – another 117 km
3. Kanarieberg (1,050 m at 7.7%) – another 112 km
4. Oude Kruisberg (800 m at 4.8%) – another 105 km
5. Knokteberg (1,260 m at 7%) – another 95 km
6. Hotondberg (1,200 m at 4%) – another 91 km
7. Kortekeer (1,000 m at 6.4%) – another 85 km
8. Traaiberg (700 m at 6.3%) – another 81 km
9. Berg ten Stene (1,300 m at 5.2%) – another 72 km
10. Boigneberg (1,000 m at 5.2%) – another 66 km
11. Ellestraat (1,400 m at 4.4%) – another 62 km
12. Stationberg (700 m at 3.2%) – another 58 km
13. Kapelberg (750 m at 7.1%) – another 47 km
14. Paterberg (400 m at 12.9%) – another 43 km
15. Oude Kwaremont (2,200 m at 4%) – another 39 km
16. Karnemelkbeekstraat, E3 Col (1,530 m at 4.9%) – another 31 km
17. Tiegemberg (750 m at 5.6%) – another 21 km
Friday March 22, 2024, Harelbeke – Harelbeke (207.6 km)
Start: 11:45 am
Finish: between 4:20 PM and 4:50 PM
Favorites
We won’t see a battle like last year this year. There is a simple reason for this: Tadej Pogacar is not there this time. The Slovenian is riding the Tour of Catalonia and is focusing on other goals. We therefore do not include the number three of Milan-San Remo in our star distribution. The number ten of the Italian monument does. Then we are talking about world champion Mathieu van der Poel. He gets four stars.
Van der Poel immediately showed that he was in good shape last Saturday, during his first road race of the season. He was able to easily counter two Pogacar attacks on the Poggio. The Dutchman then decided not to continue with Pogacar, but that was not due to his legs. Teammate Jasper Philipsen was not far and Van der Poel drew his card. With success, because he led his Belgian friend to victory.
Van der Poel was busy with his teammate’s chances in San Remo, but that will not be the case now – photo: Cor Vos
Philipsen will not be there this Friday, but the E3 Saxo Classic would normally be too tough for the Flame of Ham. So without any doubt it is up to Van der Poel himself on Friday. His support includes Lieutenant Søren Kragh Andersen, who himself finished ninth last year. The E3 Saxo Classic is a competition that is still missing from Van der Poel’s list of achievements, something he says he wants to change quickly. Enough reasons to label him as a top favorite.
Then Van der Poel will pass Wout van Aert and Visma | Lease a Bike is a must. This is the first time that Van der Poel and Van Aert have met on the road this season. A year ago, together with Pogacar, they fought an intense duel in E3. Van Aert was clearly not the strongest in the race, but he was still able to survive and finished in the sprint. A scenario that could easily happen again this year.
After the last climb of the day, the Tiegemberg, it is still about twenty kilometers to the finish. For Van Aert it is an advantage that Pogacar is not there, because the Slovenian is in principle – if Van Aert cannot do it himself – the only one who could keep up with Van der Poel on the difficult climbs. So it is certainly not self-evident for Van der Poel to complete that last part solo. If they get to the finish line together, the coin could fall either way. In any case, it will be nail biting.
Van Aert could already cheer in Kuurne – photo: Cor Vos
Van Aert does not have to do it alone. As usual, Visma has | Lease a Bike another star ensemble at the start. Matteo Jorgenson is one of those men. The winner of Paris-Nice is in top form and already finished fourth in the E3 Saxo Classic last year. We also see Jan Tratnik, winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and Dylan van Baarle. Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot are more question marks. Laporte fell ill just before Milan-San Remo, Benoot had bad luck at the beginning of the year and was therefore not yet in top form.
Bee Mads Pedersen hear anything but question marks this season. The Danish former world champion has already won several times this season and seems to be perhaps better than ever. In Milan-San Remo he was also in a promising position, but – surprisingly – he did not get further than fourth place. The Italian classic is a very explosive race, which is less suitable for Pedersen. He has to rely on long and grueling races, such as the E3. Together with Jasper Stuyvenwho is also reaching a very high level this season, he forms a dangerous duo.
The strong duo of Lidl-Trek – photo: Cor Vos
Alberto Bettiol is also someone who has already made an impression this season. The number five of Spring won Milan-Turin impressively. In other words, the 30-year-old rider from EF Education-EasyPost seems to be back in business and ready to really compete again. thick wise to bring in. Then we are of course talking about his victory in the 2019 Tour of Flanders. It certainly seems that Bettiol is moving towards that level again.
We already said it, no Pogacar at UAE Emirates. The role of leader therefore shifts to Tim Wellens. That role already gave him second place in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne this season and Wellens was also on appointment in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Last weekend he showed his good form again on the Poggio. Wellens is more than good this season. With Nils Politt, the number two of the Omloop, Marc Hirschi and Sjoerd Bax, they can also form a strong block at UAE Emirates.
Soudal Quick-Step will also try that. With, inter alia Julian Alaphilippe, Kasper Asgreen, Yves Lampaert and Gianni Moscon, it is certainly possible. Alaphilippe certainly gave a good impression in Milan-San Remo. The Frenchman went smoothly over the Poggio, but had to deal with a flat tire. He finished ninth, but he said he could have finished much higher without the flat tire. It is already a good signal.
Bettiol rode a solo of thirty kilometers in Milan-Turin – photo: Cor Vos
Matej Mohoricis also a rider who could go far on Friday. The Slovenian finished seventh last year, fourth two years ago. It is a match that suits him. With the last twenty flat kilometers in mind, we also see a possible scenario where he survives the hilly zone and then attacks at the right time. The leader of Bahrain-Victorious can and dares to ride solo.
Now that we’ve covered Mohoric, we’ve got our ten favorites. However, there are still many contenders behind that. Think of Arnaud De Lie, who showed good things again last week. The E3 Saxo Classic is a race with a lot of slopes, so we think it might be too tough for that the Bull of Lescheret. The same applies to Michael Matthews, who finished a strong second in Milan-San Remo.
Stefan Küng and Valentin Madouas, the duo of Groupama-FDJ, are also two big outsiders. In principle, one of the two would always end up in our star distribution, but things are not going well for the Swiss and Frenchman this year. Finally, we would like to mention Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Oliver Naesen (Decathlon AG2R), Jhonatan Narváez, Magnus Sheffield (both INEOS Grenadiers) and Matteo Trentin (Tudor).
Favorites according to WielerFlits
**** Mathieu van der Poel
*** Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen
** Matteo Jorgenson, Tim Wellens, Alberto Bettiol
* Dylan van Baarle, Matej Mohoric, Julian Alaphilippe, Jasper Stuyven
Website organization
Participant list (CyclingFlits)
Weather and TV
Currently they are not predicting very good weather for the E3 Saxo Classic on Friday. Weeronline expects that it will rain all day in and around Harelbeke. There will also be a lot of wind, no less than 4 Beaufort. The wind will be from the southwest. The riders will also have to dress well, because the temperatures will only be just above 10 degrees Celsius. That in combination with the rain and wind could mean that we will see a very difficult match.
The E3 Saxo Classic can of course be followed live on television. The classic can be viewed at Sporzaop GARDEN1. Eurosport 1 also provides a broadcast. Both broadcasts start around 2 p.m. For the exact broadcast hours, please refer to our TV guide Cycling on TV. Finally, you can also visit the online channels of Eurosport.nl in Discovery+
2024-03-18 19:15:00
#Preview #Saxo #Classic #duel #Van #der #Poel #Van #Aert
