Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Premier Tech celebrates with a three-finger salute as he wins E3 Saxo Classic a third time in a row in 2026 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) soloed to victory for a third consecutive time at E3 Saxo Classic on Friday. However, this time his long-range attack was nearly closed down by chasers in the final kilometre. Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) led a four-rider group who had the Dutchman in their sights, but received no cooperation. He would finish third behind Per Strand Hagenes (Visma-Lease a Bike) in a failed re-ignition of the chase, while Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) was fourth and Stan Dewulf (Decathlon CMA CGM) fifth.
E3 Saxo Classic History
The march toward the peak of the Spring Classics - the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix - begins with next week's Ronde van Brugge (formerly the Classic Brugge-De Panne) - and the E3 Saxo Classic, two cobbled races through Flanders.
The E3 Saxo Classic - formerly known as the E3 Harelbeke, is a one-day cobbled Classic that had its first edition in 1958. The race was cancelled once in 2020 due to the coronavirus global pandemic and will have its 68th edition in 2026.
It is a lead-up race to the Tour of Flanders, falling mid-week between Gent-Wevelgem and Brugge-De Panne. Since 2012 the race has been part of the UCI WorldTour.
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) is expected to return to try for a third straight win.
Tom Boonen holds the record for most wins with five between 2004 and 2012, breaking the previous mark held by Rik Van Looy who won four times between 1964 and 1969.
The E3 Saxo Classic is considered a 'mini Tour of Flanders' as it uses many of the same climbs and cobbles and is a major test for the contenders before the Tour of Flanders.
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In 2024, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won a head to head battle with historic Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), attacking on the Paterberg with 43km to go and then holding off Van Aert in a pursuit match to the finish.
In 2025 Van der Poel grabbed the spotlight at E3 Saxo Classic, riding to a solo victory into Harelbeke. The Dutchman struck out over the Oude Kwaremont, 40km from the finish, and accelerated away from four riders who had been at the front with him.
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) finished 1:07 behind and Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) was third at 2:05 back for third.
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
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