E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
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| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Mid-March |
| Region | Flanders, Belgium |
| English name | E3 Prize Flanders |
| Local name(s) | E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (Dutch) |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI Europe Tour |
| Type | Single-day |
| History | |
| First edition | 1958 |
| Editions | 52 (as of 2009) |
| First winner |  Armand Desmet |
| Most wins | Rik Van Looy Tom Boonen (4 wins) |
| Most recent |  Filippo Pozzato |
The E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (English: E3 Prize Flanders) is a semi classic cycling race in the Flanders area of Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke over 210 kilometres. The event is organised by the Hand in Hand Cycling Club of Harelbeke and is ranked 1.HC on the UCI Continental calendar.
The E3 takes place on a Saturday in mid-March and marks the start of Vlaamse Wielerweek, a week of cycling which continues with the Brabantse Pijl on the Sunday and the Driedaagse van De Panne stage race midweek before the Ronde van Vlaanderen classic on the following Sunday.
The first E3 Prijs Vlaanderen took place in 1958 although there had been similar events in the area since 1955. In the early days the event was Harelbeke-Anvers-Harelbeke. It has also been known as the GP E3 Harelbeke. The race took its name from the E3 motorway built in the mid-sixties.
The E3 classic is preparation for the Ronde van Vlaanderen. The route is shorter but many of the climbs are tackled. The conditions are also comparable as cobbles, wind and climbs decimate the bunch. The route takes a large lap around East Flanders including 12 hills.
The race starts from Harelbeke's Grote Markt and travels east, the first 110km flat with cobbles around Oudenaarde and Zottegem. The riders reach the most easterly point at Ninove after 85km and after swinging west and going through Geraardsbergen and Brakel the tough part begins with a succession of short, sharp climbs some of which are cobbled as the race loops between Ronse and Oudenaarde.
The 12 hills in order are La Houppe, Berg Stene, Boigneberg, Eikenberg, Stationsberg, Taaienberg, Oude Kruikens, Kapelberg, Patersberg, Oude Kwaremont, Knokteberg and Tiegemberg. The Patersberg is a cobbled 500m climb that averages 2.5% while the Oude Kwaremont is cobbled for 1500m of its 2200m although its gradient averages 4.2%. The Tiegemberg is 16km from the finish.
The record for the most wins stands at four to Rik Van Looy, in 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1969, and Tom Boonen who won in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Dutchman Jan Raas took 1979, 1980 and 1981 after finishing second in 1978. Andrei Tchmil and Johan Museeuw have both won twice. The fastest race was in 2003 when Dutchman Steven De Jongh won at 45.9kmh.
