E3 Harelbeke

24 March, 1.WT, Belgium

Two days after Dwars door Vlaanderen and two days before Gent-Wevelgem, the independently organised E3 is starting to !ind itself getting a bit cramped in the WorldTour. However it is still the best form-tester for Flanders: every year since 2004, with the exception of 2011, the winner of Flanders has !inished in the top 10 of E3, which uses many of the same roads and bergs as the big one, nine days later. Last year, Micha¯ Kwiatkowski and Peter Sagan attacked with 30km from the !inish and were never seen again. Tom Boonen holds the record number of wins with !ive.