First raced in 1958, the E3 Harelbeke in Belgium’s West Flanders province is one of the more recently founded one-day races, but it has developed into a hugely prestigious and well-respected event. As the UCI WorldTour’s first cobbled Classic of the season, E3 Harelbeke opens up a much-anticipated fortnight of WorldTour racing on the cobbles and bergs of Belgium and northern France.
Originally called Harelbeke-Anvers-Harelbeke, the ‘E3’ part of the race’s name comes from the E3 motorway - now rebaptised the E17 - that was built between the two Flemish cities in the 1960s.
Usually a little over 200 kilometres long and still starting and finishing in Harelbeke, this exceptionally difficult Classic contains anything between 15 and 17 short, sharp, cobbled climbs, mainly in the last 90 kilometres. As ever in one-day racing, local knowledge can be crucial, so it’s perhaps not surprising that Belgian racers have dominated E3 Harelbeke, with 38 wins. Five of those go to modern-day Classics star Tom Boonen (Etixx-Quick Step), the record holder for most victories ahead of another Belgian champion, Rik Van Looy, who managed to rack up four.
Whilst ‘Tornado Tom’ will surely be on the lookout for another victory in 2015, last year’s winner Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) has also clearly got the measure of the Belgian Classic. Second in 2013 behind yet another top contender for 2015, Classics star Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing), Sagan himself then went one better in 2014 when he outsprinted three other riders in Harelbeke last March. Sagan’s feat was all the more impressive because the leading break of four contained two from the same Quick Step team: future Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terpstra and Stijn Vanderbergh. Despite their repeated attacks, Sagan outsmarted both.
The first difficult ascent in E3 Harelbeke is traditionally the Leburg, which comes shortly after a quick spin through the town of Oudenaarde, where Belgium’s top cobbled Classic, the Ronde van Vlaanderen/Tour des Flandres finishes nine days later. After that, round about the halfway point, E3’s main series of climbs begins. Keep an eye out for the Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont, notoriously difficult bergs where the race tends to split apart for good, whilst the Tiegemberg climb, 16 kilometres from the finish, should see the definitive break of the day or a gutsy solo move go clear.