E3 Harelbeke: "a small Ronde van Vlaanderen"
Less than ten days before the Tour of Flanders, the E3 Grand Prix is a concentrate of the difficulties of the Flemish monument.
“The E3 Grand Prix counts in a season of classics. I did a reconnaissance of the course a few weeks ago. It was beneficial for me because I could see the sequence of difficulties: there is never a break. It’s like the Tour of Flanders, but without the distance. It really fits the type of race I like.”
“Even though we were able to race the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad a few weeks ago, the E3 kicks off this series of great classics with the Tour of Flanders as the highlight. Of the races to come before the Ronde, this is perhaps the hardest. We have almost all the hills of Flanders, all the sectors, which are condensed into one race. Matîs showed great ability in similar UCI World Tour events last year and again this season on the opening weekend. We will count on him and the Arkéa-Samsic team to achieve the best possible result in Harelbeke.”