News shorts: Pozzato out of E3 Harelbeke, Terpstra to skip De Panne

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Pozzato out of E3 with virus

Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida) has been forced out of Friday’s E3 Harelbeke after falling ill the night before the race. Pozzato is a previous winner of the Belgian classic, after beating Tom Boonen and Maxim Iglinskiy in a two-man sprint.

"In the night, Pozzato suffered with a temperature and viral gastrointestinal troubles,” the team’s medical head Carlo Guardascione explained in a team press release.

The Italian will stay in the team’s hotel in Kortrijk, Belgium and is still set to start Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday. Sprinters Davide Cimolai and Niccolo Bonifazio will lead at E3 Harelbeke.

Terpstra to skip the Three Days of de Panne

Niki Terpstra (Etixx-QuickStep) will not ride the Three Days of de Panne for the first time since 2010, according to reports in the Belgian press. Terpstra is a regular feature at the mid-week race but has opted to ride Gent-Wevelgem this Sunday as part of his preparation for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Terpstra has had a mixed relationship with the race. He finished on the podium in 2013 but missed out on what looked like a certain victory last year when his pedal broke during the final time trail. The race was eventually won by his teammate Guillaume Van Keirsbulck.

Top 10 riders to watch

E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem mark the true start of the classics campaign for many riders. With many of the same climbs, E3 is a perfect tune-up for the Tour of Flanders, while Gent-Wevelgem is a chance for the sprinters. We will have live coverage of both races on Cyclingnews and in this video you can see our top ten riders to watch.

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Boudat wins Clasica Corsica

Thomas Boudat (Europcar) won the inaugural edition of the one-day Clasica Corsica, the first professional victory for the 21-year-old. A world champion on the track, Boudat is riding his first season as a professional on the road.

Boudat beat fellow track specialist Shane Archobold (Bora-Argon 18) and Daniele Ratto (United HealthCare) in the sprint. The race, which serves as a warm-up to the Criterium International this weekend, saw 39 riders escape the peloton. After 90 kilometres of racing three riders from that group then made a bid for freedom.

The group was never allowed more than four minutes on the peloton and as the bunch arrived in Bastia the escapees had just a few short metres in hand.

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