Van der Poel wins the E3 Saxo Classic 2026 after a thrilling finish

Mathieu van der Poel once again imposed his law at the E3 Saxo Classic and secured a victory in Harelbeke with enormous authority, although this time with much more suspense than expected. The Dutchman conquered the Belgian classic for the third time in his career after successfully navigating a long solo adventure that, in the final kilometers, almost became complicated to the limit.

Van der Poel wins the E3 Classic after a performance that almost slipped away at the end

On paper, the pre-race pointed to a race marked by his status as the favorite and the absences of Tadej Pogacar and Wout van Aert. On the road, however, the victory was far from a simple exercise in control. Van der Poel won, yes, but he had to empty himself completely to maintain a minimal lead over a chasing group that came very close to him as they approached the finish.

The race started with the usual script of this type of classic, with numerous attempts until a breakaway of the day formed, composed of Michiel Lambrecht, Bastien Tronchon, Nickolas Zukowsky, Stan Dewulf, Luke Durbridge, and Sven Erik Bystrom. The peloton always kept the situation under surveillance, although without a truly organized chase for much of the central stretch. That allowed the breakaway to survive well into the decisive phase.

Things started to tighten up for real in the approach to the Taaienberg (about 70 km from the finish), the point that many riders had already pointed out before the start as the place where the race should break apart. There, the first major move among the favorites occurred. Jasper Stuyven accelerated, Tim van Dijke responded immediately, and only Van der Poel was able to follow the maneuver. From there, the race changed dimension.

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The Dutchman took very little time to assume command. First, he linked up with the pursuers, and then, on the Boigneberg, he even dropped Van Dijke to launch himself solo for the lead of the race. It was a sharp acceleration, one of those that not only creates a gap but also completely disorganizes everyone coming from behind. In just a few kilometers, Van der Poel went from watching the favorites to positioning himself from where he could win the classic.

The union with the breakaway occurred before the decisive chaining, and the final attack came on the Paterberg. There, he changed pace again with a violence that only Stan Dewulf was able to withstand for a few meters. When the slope became steeper, the Belgian also ended up giving in. From that moment on, more than forty kilometers of individual time trial lay ahead on the Flemish roads.

Van der Poel topped the Oude Kwaremont, extending his lead and giving the impression that he had sealed the race. Behind, the peloton became fragmented, and the attempts to respond came too late. Antonio Morgado made an interesting attack, Mads Pedersen tried to harden the chase in some sectors, and names like Laporte, Stuyven, or Florian Vermeersch appeared in different splits, but no one found a clear structure to organize the hunt.

The situation began to change in the final part. Florian Vermeersch, Per Strand Hagenes, Jonas Abrahamsen, and Stan Dewulf ended up consolidating a chasing quartet that did start to cut the gap consistently. While Van der Poel faced the Tiegemberg with a still solid lead, the group behind began to chip away second by second, with Vermeersch as the main engine.

With fifteen kilometers to go, the lead was no longer reassuring. With ten to go, the margin continued to fall. And in the last six kilometers, the race entered a completely different phase, because the winner no longer seemed so clear. Van der Poel began to look back, an unmistakable sign of fatigue, while the four pursuers closed in on him. With three kilometers to go, the difference was minimal, and in the streets of Harelbeke, they got to within just a few seconds.

It was then that the other great virtue of the Dutchman appeared, in addition to his explosiveness on the climbs. When capture seemed unstoppable, the chasing group inexplicably hesitated.

There were glances, irregular pulls, and moments of indecision. That small pause proved decisive. Van der Poel found the last bit of strength he had left, held the advantage, and crossed the finish line exhausted but victorious.

Behind him, Per Strand Hagenes took second place, and Florian Vermeersch completed the podium after a very aggressive chase in the final stretch. The result confirmed that the UAE rider was one of the strongest names of the day, while Dewulf delivered a standout performance by being present first in the good break and then holding on in the fight for the top positions. Abrahamsen, another of the protagonists of the final chase, fell just short of the podium.

The victory carries special weight because it confirms several things at once. The first is that Van der Poel remains the absolute reference when the race breaks in short, violent, and repeated efforts on cobblestones. The second is that his decisive move still comes in the most feared part of the course, with the Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont as judges. And the third is that even on a day when he finished on the brink of collapse, he was able to endure and win.

The E3 Saxo Classic thus left a clear reading for the major cobbled events ahead. Van der Poel remains the man to beat, but this time it was also clear that there are riders and teams capable of putting him in trouble when the chase finds some order. In Harelbeke, it was not enough to defeat him. It did serve to demonstrate that, heading into the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the Dutch champion will no longer be able to count on any respite.