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The E3 Saxo Classic is where the gloves come off and season’s first “real racing” begins.
Winter training is over. “March Madness” has officially begun.
As the unofficial start of “Flanders Week,” the race named after a highway is often seen as a dress rehearsal for the main event at the Tour of Flanders.
But make no mistake, this is no jolly warm-up. Nothing “mini” about E3 Saxo Classic.
With its relentless string of steep bergs, narrow roads, Flemish-stewed pavé and an all-star cast, E3 is a full-throttle war of attrition that always separates out the class.
Also read: Pogačar to skip E3 for Paris-Roubaix debut
Even without Tadej Pogačar on the start list this year, there’s still plenty of intrigue.
In fact, the race — at least in terms of having some suspense about who might actually win — will be better without him.
Here’s what to watch in what promises to be one of the most explosive one-day races of the spring:
No Pogačar, no worries: The OGs take center stage
Sure, it’s a shame Pogačar is skipping E3 this year.
Of course, the big payback will be watching him bounce over the cobblestones in an unprecedented debut at Paris-Roubaix in a few weeks. Let’s let that simmer for a while while we dive into some pre-monument snacks.
Don’t fret. His absence opens the door for the revival of one of cycling’s best duels: Mathieu van der Poel vs. Wout van Aert.
Remember, before the rise of Pogi as cycling’s all-conquering superhero, it was WVA vs. MVDP that got the heart pumping.
This Pog-less E3 might lose some luster — come on, who doesn’t love watching him race? — it will give us a chance to relive one of cycling’s most enduring rivalries.
Van der Poel comes barreling in as the man to beat. His form in Milan-San Remo was nothing short of monstrous, and now he’s only interested in racing and winning the biggest and baddest races.
He won E3 last year for the first time and without Pogačar in the grid, he starts as the lone five-star favorite.
#E3SaxoClassic
All set for the cobbled climbs! pic.twitter.com/b0sUR7AAte
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) March 27, 2025
Before Pogačar emerged as MVDP’s most troubling puzzle, Van Aert was his eternal rival.
Since they were rosy-cheeked teens, the Dutchman’s outshone Van Aert on just about every metric — seven monuments vs. one in the latest count — but Van Aert will be riding on pride.
The big question at E3 is which version of Van Aert shows up? Is he healthy and fit enough to attack? He didn’t look great in his opening races, but he’s been camped out on Teide for nearly a month.
The battle is set.
This rematch almost seems old-school for the new kids on the block, but this is what I’ll be watching Friday.
It will seem so 2021.
Jorgo time: Visma’s tactical balancing act
One of the more intriguing storylines this year is the evolving role of Matteo Jorgenson.
He’s not only a “Killer Bee,” but is emerging as a chameleon-like shape-shifter along the same lines as Pogačar.
The American all-rounder already confirmed his breakout 2024 was no fluke with an ever-steady, dominant repeat at Paris-Nice. And much like Pogi, who can swap his stage-racing cruise ship to become a one-day man-o-war battleship, Jorgenson is ready to rumble.
Back in January, Jorgenson told me outright that E3 “is the one I think I can win.”
Some might look at Visma’s crowded bus as a potential problem, but we’ve seen how the yellow jackets race as one.
Also read: Jorgenson bullish on classics repeat
Remember Van Aert gifted Gent-Wevelgem a few years ago to teammate Christophe Laporte? Unfortunately, the fast Frenchman is still beleaguered with health issues and will not race.
That only means more space for Jorgenson, who also said he believes — and rightly so — that he has better chances to win races like E3 with Van Aert as a teammate rather than racing against him on a rival team.
“Jorgo” is out to prove he belongs alongside the big boys in the cobblestone playground.
His apprenticeship is over. He’s racing to win.
A chance to fill the void
With UAE under-gunned without Pogačar, and Soudal-Quick Step still searching for its former dominance, this year’s E3 feels like a three-horse race between Visma, Alpecin-Deceuninck, and a quietly impressive Lidl-Trek.
Lidl-Trek’s classics squad has quietly become one of the most balanced in the peloton.
With Mads Pedersen as the hammer, Jonathan Milan adding speed (he’s not racing E3), and Jasper Stuyven providing the anchor, the team is best placed to disrupt the Van der Poel-Van Aert show.
Pedersen, a former Flanders winner, has the power and stamina to survive the bergs and unleash a vicious sprint if things come together for a reduced bunch kick. The ever-improving Toms Skujins will have the green light to attack, and I’m watching the untapped power of Mathias Vacek.
Also read: Pressure on Alaphilippe to show he still has it
Beyond that? It gets thin real fast.
Ineos Grenadiers packs the horsepower with Filippo Ganna and Groupama-FDJ brings eternal near-miss man Stefan Kũng, but the explosive bergs and treacherous roads are not their preferred wheelhouses to open up their diesel engines.
Lotto’s Arnaud De Lie seems destined for bigger things, but his spring has been a disaster of crashes and bad luck. The talent is there, but there’s a growing sense he might need a change teams to fulfill his potential.
As for outsiders, keep your eye on Neilson Powless, Biniam Girmay, Tim Wellens, and Fred Wright, all riders who know how to get in the right break and exploit an opening when the big teams hesitate.
Waiting for the next ‘Tomeke’
For hard-core racing fans, this week is when the good stuff starts.
I write this sitting in the airport terminal waiting for a flight to head north to the land of mud, manure, and madness.
Belgian fans are the most informed in cycling, and there’s no better atmosphere than to melt into the masses at the pre-race signing-in ceremony in some cold and dank town square.
With beer in hand, these fans cluck and admire the latest cycling thoroughbreds with a discerning eye.
Also read: A fan’s guide to watching the classics in person
Everyone’s waiting for the next Tom Boonen. Some are hoisting that honor onto the slender shoulders of France’s Paul Magnier (also not racing E3), but he was born on the wrong side of the Meuse.
These fans want their next Tomeke, a homegrown hero for the cobbles they can call their own.
Remco Evenepoel has given them something they haven’t seen in nearly 50 years with a legitimate Tour de France contender, but it’s this deep vein of one-day races — ranging from the weekend kermesses to the kings of the classics — that keep the heart of Belgian cycling pumping.
