Pogacar, Van Aert, Van der Poel, star appointment at Harelbeke

The Belgian classic season heats up this Friday with the contention of the 65th edition of the E3 Saxo Classic which will start and finish in Harelbeke, with a distance of 204.1 km, where will be present, among others, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, the Belgian Wout Van Aert and the Dutch Mathieu Van der Poel.

The inclusion of Pogacar, winner of Paris Nice and dominator of the season, will improve in an edition of the old E3e Harelbeke that will focus a real constellation of stars at the beginning. Along with the Slovenian, Van der Poel, king of Milan San Remo, wants everyone, like Van Aert, in front of a Jumbo Visma with a big weight, other candidates like Chistophe Laporte, Benoot and Van Baarle.

The list of notable names does not stop there, as Soudal presents Alaphilippe as the head of the ranks, with Lampaert and Asgreen options. Bahrain rely on Matej Mojoric and Ineos have the fine form of Filippo Ganna.

With the participation of the Spaniards, Movistar bet on the American Matteo Jorgenson, recent winner of the Tour of Oman, and Iván García Cortina, within a team completed by Iván Romeo, Lluís Mas, Johan Jacobs, Mathias Norsgaard and Fernando Gaviria.

The test formerly known as E3 Harelbeke It usually serves, along with Ghent-Wevelgem, as a test for the Tour of Flanders which was debated for ten days.

A race with 17 hills, some of them cobbled, the Molenberg is absent, but there are demanding sections like the Taaienberg, just ahead of the Kortekeer, which always chooses: the Eikenberg or, above all , the chain, here opposite to ‘De Ronde’, from Paterberg with Oude Kwaremont, who can make decisive attacks to form the team playing for victory.