2024 E3 Saxo Classic Results & Recap
2024 E3 Saxo Classic is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
What a day in West Flanders. The 2024 edition of E3 Saxo Bank Classic Harelbeke delivered everything you could want from a cobbled Classic, with Mathieu van der Poel putting on an absolute masterclass to take the victory ahead of a select group of rivals.
The race was defined by its usual brutal combination of bergs and cobbled sectors in the final hour, with the Taaienberg, Kortekeer, and the fearsome Paterberg all playing their part in splitting the peloton to pieces. Van der Poel, riding for Alpecin-Deceuninck, was simply untouchable on the climbs, repeatedly accelerating and making it look effortless while the rest of the favorites scrambled to hold his wheel.
It was on the Paterberg where things truly came apart for many of the contenders. Van der Poel hit the climb at a ferocious pace, and only a small handful of riders could stay anywhere near him. Behind, teams like Visma-Lease a Bike and Soudal Quick-Step were chasing hard but found themselves in real trouble as the selection grew smaller and smaller.
In the closing kilometers, van der Poel had enough in the tank to control proceedings and ultimately came across the line with a convincing margin, arms raised in celebration. It was the kind of dominant performance that reminds everyone why he is considered the best one-day rider on the planet right now.
With Paris-Roubaix just around the corner, this result sends a very clear message to the rest of the peloton.
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