The Flemish E3 Saxo Classic was the first real test for the upcoming Tour of Flanders. The course followed around Harelbeke, where a total of 17 hellingen had to be tackled over the course of the 204km race. A breakaway group initially managed to go clear until Van der Poel and Van Aert attacked and the group was then reeled back in. With 55 km to go, the decisive phase of the race was heralded when a six-man leading group formed around Van der Poel, while Nils Politt and Marco Haller managed to make it into a chasing group behind the leaders. In the end only Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pogacar were able to hold their ground and with around 1000m to go, the three in the lead started to sprint it out for the win at 200m remaining. In the end, Van Aert got the better of his two rivals and took the win, while Nils Politt won his group's sprint and finished in 13th place.
Result
01 W. Van Aert 4:44:59
02 M. Van Der Poel +0:00
03 T. Pogačar +0:00
13 N. Politt +2:12
From the Finish Line
“It was extremely windy with scattered showers, but luckily it wasn't too cold. There was always quite a lot of wind on the course, which made the race rather difficult. Definitely it was an extremely tough day, but the form seems to be there. Unfortunately, I had a mechanical and it took a relatively long time before our car could pull up from behind and I was able to get a new bike. From the Boigneberg I had to really push through and that cost a lot of energy. I think that was the energy that was missing on the Kwaremont. It was a pity that I couldn't go with all the moves after that, but despite this bad luck I think I rode a good race today." - Nils Politt
“We started the race with two leaders, Nils Politt and Marco Haller. I have to say we are a bit disappointed that we had quite a bit of bad luck today. Marco had to change his shoe and Nils had a problem with his seat post. Things like this can happen in cycling. But it's really a shame that it had to be today, because the guys were really doing well. Nils and Marco definitely deserved a better result, but despite everything, Nils was still able to place well. The fact that he beat former world road champion Mads Pedersen in a sprint also shows his form. Hopefully luck will be more on our side in the next races." - Torsten Schmidt, Sports Director