Preview of E3 Saxo Classic 2025 | Van der Poel, Pogacar, Van Aert and one man who made this race his main goal

If you look at the recent honors list of the E3 Saxo Classic, you will find only world-class cyclists. Years ago, Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara repeatedly shared the spotlight. With three-time world champion Peter Sagan (2014), Tour winner Geraint Thomas (2015), world champion Michal Kwiatkowski (2016), Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet (2017), and later on, top cyclists from the classics such as Niki Terpstra, Kasper Asgreen, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, this race attracts only the best.

Last season, the E3 Saxo Classic ended in a victory for Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar. The Dutch rider broke away from the pack after Van Aert fell at the foot of the Paterberg and eventually crossed the finish line in Harelbeke with a one-and-a-half-minute lead ahead of runner-up Jasper Stuyven.

2024 Mathieu van der Poel
2023 Wout van Aert
2022 Wout van Aert
2021 Kasper Asgreen
2020 Not ridden
2019 Zdenek Stybar
2018 Niki Terpstra
2017 Greg Van Avermaet
2016 Michal Kwiatkowski
2015 Geraint Thomas

The E3 Saxo Classic is also known as the little Tour of Flanderslargely because of its course. At 208 kilometers, it is about 63 kilometers shorter than the Tour of Flanders, but with the Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont, the final selection is usually made on the same slopes.

The start and finish of Harelbeke are mainly celebrations of that town. After that, we head towards the Flemish Ardennes for the well-known climbs. After thirty kilometers, the Katteberg appears first, but the real pre-final begins after about eighty kilometers with La Houppe and the Kanarieberg. The climbs then follow one another in rapid succession.

The Taaienberg, after a good 125 kilometers, usually causes the first serious selection. In the Tom Boonen years, the Belgian consistently chose to break away there for the first time, but today's big names also know that slope like the back of their hand.

However, like the Tour of Flanders, the Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont are decisive. Whereas they both have to do these hills three times in the Tour of Flanders, it is enough for the E3 Saxo Classic to do the hills once after more than 160 kilometers of racing. Afterward, only the Karnemelkbeekstraat and Tiegemberg remain in the forty kilometers towards Harelbeke.

Climbs
31.0 km: Katteberg (750 m at 6%)
80.7 km: La Houppe (1900 m at 4.8%)
96.9 km: Kanarieberg (1000 m at 7.7%)
104.1 km: Oude Kruisberg (800 m at 4.8%)
111.9 km: Knokteberg (1300 m at 7%)
115.8 km: Hotondberg (1200 m at 4%)
122.9 km: Kortekeer (1000 m at 6.4%)
127.6 km: Taaienberg (700 m at 6.3%)
135.6 km: Berg Ten Stene (1300 m at 5.2%)
140.8 km: Boigneberg (1000 m at 5.2%)
145.2 km: Eikenberg (1250 m at 6.2%)
150.6 km: Stationberg (700 m at 3.2%)
161.5 km: Kapelberg (750 m at 7.1%)
165.6 km: Paterberg (400 m at 12.9%)
168.4 km: Oude Kwaremont (2200 m at 4%)
176.2 km: Karnemelkbeekstraat (1500 m at 4.9%)
188.0 km: Tiegemberg (750 m at 5.6%)

Weather
Race conditions are relatively good on Friday, but there is an increased risk of rain in the afternoon throughout the week. The temperature is approximately 13 degrees Celsius, and the wind blows from the southwest at force three on the Beaufort scale.

Times
Start: 06:45 AM EST
Finish: approximately 11:30 AM EST

We would like to thank Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, and Filippo Ganna for their performance last Saturday in the final stage of Milan-Sanremo. Will all three of them also be present in Harelbeke? At the time of writing, it is unclear whether Ganna will appear, while we can expect Pogacar and Van der Poel in the Flemish Ardennes.

This brings us directly to the top favorites. Van der Poel may have a slight advantage after his victory in the E3 Saxo Classic, especially since he also won the race last year and is in top form. Pogacar can challenge him in the hilly section, but the road to Harelbeke that follows is long and difficult for someone to complete solo. With Jhonatan Narváez and Tim Wellens, among others, he has the men who were able to set him up well on the Cipressa.

And, in addition, Wout van Aert! The Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike has spent the past few weeks at altitude in Tenerife and is returning to Flanders for the E3 Saxo Classic. The winner of 2022 and 2023 would do well to counterattack after what we saw on Saturday. Tiesj Benoot is also there from the altitude training camp, while Matteo Jorgenson described this E3 Saxo Classic before the spring as his dream classic to win this year. We are talking about the winner of the most recent version of Paris-Nice here.

Lidl-Trek started the spring season in style, but after the opening weekend, the Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo teams have not yet achieved a podium place. After his good performance in Paris-Nice, Mads Pedersen could not confirm his form in Milan-Sanremo, which must have been a small disappointment. With Jasper Stuyven, second last year in the E3 Saxo Classic, and the strong Mathias Vacek, the team should be able to ride in the final on Friday.

The E3 Saxo Classic is such a tough race that the best riders always seem to come out on top. In recent years, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) has done this several times and has a sprint up his sleeve. The Groupama-FDJ pawns Stefan Küng and Valentin Madouas are other men who can be counted on. You also hope to see guys like Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) and Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost) struggling.

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe has its entire spring squad in action for the first time, with Oier Lazkano, Laurence Pithie, and the Van Dijke brothers. Furthermore, we also see Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Rick Pluimers, Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), Mike Teunissen (XDS-Astana), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X), Ivan Garcia Cortina and Ivan Romeo (Movistar) riding in the top ten. However, a large part of the starting list has not been made public.

Top favorites: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Outsiders: Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
Long shots: Tim Wellens, Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Emirates-XRG), Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Jasper Stuyven, Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Oier Lazkano, Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike)

To watch the E3 Saxo Classic live on Friday, tune in to Eurosport (the main channel and HBO Max). The sports channel Eurosport 1 will not broadcast it until after the Tour of Catalonia, around 10:00 AM EST.