Often seen as a 'mini-' Tour of Flanders, E3 Harelbeke traverses many of the same cobbled climbs as Belgium's biggest race. The Taaienberg, Paterberg, and Oude Kwaremont are all on the menu during a winding, 206.1-km trek through West Flanders.
Kicking off a weekend of top-tier racing – with Gent-Wevelgem on its heels two days later – E3 has drawn increasingly impressive start lists in the past few years, with a collection of recent winners worthy of a new Classics staple.
Worlds winners went head to head in the 2016 edition of the race. Sky's Michal Kwiatkowski, the 2014 world champion, escaped with rainbow jersey-wearing Peter Sagan and the pair held off a hard-charging peloton on the bumpy Flemish terrain to duel for the victory in Harelbeke. Kwiatkowski emerged victorious, surprising Sagan in the sprint to earn a first career Cobbled Classic win.
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2016 E3 Harelbeke Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|
| 1 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky | 4:49:34 |
| 2 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team | 0:00:04 |
| 3 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky | 0:00:11 |
| 4 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek-Segafredo | |
| 5 | Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo | |
| 6 | Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team | |
| 7 | Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
| 8 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
| 9 | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team | |
| 10 | Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
2016 E3 Harelbeke | 2015 E3 Harelbeke | 2014 E3 Harelbeke
