The E3 Saxo Classic will be held on Friday, starting and finishing in Harelbeke, covering a total of 208.5 km.

The route partially follows that of the Tour of Flanders, with some iconic walls that will make the race tough: Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg above all.

The man to beat will be Mathieu Van der Poel , with Pedersen ready to challenge him.
For Visma, Van Aert will be missing, but the reference man is the reborn Laporte .

Other contenders for the podium could be F.Vermeersch, Stuyven , Abrahamsen, Morgado and Trentin .

It will be interesting to see how two novices of the Flanders walls like Gregoire and Andresen will behave.

Finally, among the possible surprises we mention Pithie, Vacek, Berckmoes. Segaert, Hagenes, Teunisse and Wright.