Cycling: Kasper Asgreen won the 64th E3 Classic with start and finish in Harelbeke. The Danish champion played the numerical superiority of his team Deceuninck - Quick-Step with his teammates Zdenek Stybar and Florian Senechal perfectly.
Asgreen attacks multiple times
The Deceuninck – Quick-Step team once again proved their strength in the classics. With a double victory, the Belgian team ended the "Little Tour of Flanders" which gave us a foretaste of the Tour of Flanders next Sunday with 17 poisonous climbs and 9 uncomfortable cobblestone passages. Kasper Asgreen was already part of the breakaway group. After being caught, he went on the offensive again shortly before the finish. Because his teammates Florian Senechal and Zdenek Stybar secured in the chasing group, no one could bring him back. top favourite Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Fenix) was only third.
Greipel in the breakaway group
12 escapees including the German André Greipel (Israel Start-Up Nation), the Austrian Mark Haller (Bahrain – Victorious) and the Swiss John Jacobs (Movistar) formed the breakaway of the day today. However, the dozen could not keep ahead of the peloton for very long. They were caught around 75 kilometers from the finish line. Then the Danish master tried Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) as a soloist. A 12-strong chasing group formed behind them wout van aert (Jumbo – Visma), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Fenix) and greg van avermaet (AG2R - Citroën). There too Zdenek Stybar and Yves Lampaert and Florian Senechal were represented in it, the team Deceuninck - Quick-Step was in an excellent starting position, which they finally knew how to use.
Bora – hansgrohe was not allowed to start
Unfortunately, the German team Bora could not start today – hansgrohe, as their driver Matthew Walls tested positive for the coronavirus. Last year, the E3 Classic could not be held at all due to the corona pandemic.
#replay 🎥 / #E3SaxoBankClassic 🇧🇪
Repris une première fois, 🇩🇰 Kasper Asgreen (DQT) a eu les forces pour attaquer dans les derniers kilometres et s'imposer en solitaire.Enormous work from the Quick Step to the final 🐺pic.twitter.com/jzn3rPX3GF
— Renaud Breban (@RenaudB31) March 26, 2021