WHY I LOVE…

E3 SAXO BANK CLASSIC 26 March | Belgium | 1.UWT

The race that heralds the start of Flemish week holds a special place in my heart. The build up to the Tour of Flanders is well and truly on when E3 Saxo Bank comes around, with the next 10 days also featuring GentWelvelgem and Dwars door Vlaanderen. It is heaven for those of us who love the Belgian classics.

E3 is more than just a ‘little Tour of Flanders’. It is a great race in and of itself, with only the very best riders conquering it. It uses many of the same cobbled climbs: the Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont, but has somehow got more edge to it, a less corporate feel. Fans rush from sector to sector in order to try and get a glimpse of their favourites, something that is almost impossible at Flanders just over a week later.

It is also a race for the very strongest - I have good memories of Geraint Thomas winning in 2015, ahead of Quick Step duo Ždenek Štybar and Matteo Trentin, which many thought heralded the start of a great classics career. He’s the only man to have won both E3 and the Tour de France, though, which is pretty cool.