Cycling: Mathieu van der Poel won the E3 Classic. The Dutchman gave the competition no chance in the rainy one-day race. Wout van Aert also has to admit that his biggest opponent was significantly stronger today. Nils Politt came seventh as the best German.
Mathieu van der Poel with 45km solo
The 66th edition of the E3 Classic was won by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck). The Dutchman dominated the one-day race, which started and finished in Harelbeke and covered 207,6 kilometers, as a soloist. He left Jasper Stuyven (Lidl – Trek) and Wout van Aert (Visma – Lease a Bike) behind. The two top stars engaged in a head-to-head battle over the final 45 kilometers. After Van der Poel had built up a lead of almost 40 seconds, Van Aert chased him down solo. The gap narrowed to under 10 seconds, but then quickly widened again. In the final kilometers, Van Aert practically collapsed, allowing Stuyven to catch up. Van Aert conceded the sprint for second place without a fight.
Wout van Aert falls on the Patterberg
Numerous attacks in the first half of the race reduced the peloton to approximately 30 riders. Smaller groups or even solo riders were unable to break away, despite many professionals giving it a try. Among them were the Germans Jannik Steimle (Q36.5), Nils Politt (UAE), and Niklas Märkl (dsm-firmenich PostNL), as well as the Swiss rider Stefan Küng (Groupama – FDJ), who were all part of a breakaway group at times. However, it was Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) who truly caused a significant shake-up. The Dutchman attacked with around 45 kilometers to go on the Paterberg climb, immediately after a crash by Wout van Aert (Visma – Lease a Bike). Fueled by a considerable amount of anger, the Belgian then chased him down – also as a soloist. The duel of the titans had begun.
Van der Poel wanted to be definitively with Van Aert for the suelos. #E3SaxoClassic | #LaCasadelCiclismo pic.twitter.com/zGxqnJrQM9
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) March 22, 2024