E3 Saxo Bank Classic Adds Climb to 2021 Race Route

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E3 Saxo Bank Classic Adds Climb to 2021 Race Route

Organizers of the Belgian one-day race, the E3 Saxo Bank Classic (formerly the E3 Binckbank Classic), announced Monday that three mountains will be added to the 2021 route and another will be removed. The race was canceled in 2020 due to a coronavirus outbreak, but will return in March 2021 with a new name and new climbs. [According to HLN, the Canaryberg, Aude Kruisberg, and Eikenberg climbs will be added to the route, while Hoogercht will be removed.

The spring classic, which closely resembles the Tour of Flanders' cobbled and Bjerg course, will be held on Friday, March 26 in 2021, just one week before its "big brother" Flanders, which takes place on the first Sunday in April.

The name of the race will also be changed from the E3 Binckbank Classic to the E3 Saxo Bank Classic, the name of the race starting in 2019, as the Dutch financial services company was acquired by the Danish investment bank Saxo Bank last year.

The race starts and finishes in the Kortrijk suburb of Harelbæk, which many fans still call E3 Harelbæk. Incidentally, the "E3" in the race name refers to the E3 highway, now called E17.

The first event was held in 1958, and since 2012 it has been part of the UCI World Tour's premier series. The previous winner in 2019 was Zdenek Stibal of Dečuninck-Quick Step, and the Patrick Lefebvre-led team has won seven of the last 16 editions and will likely line up with their classics specialist teammates again in March.

Tom Boonen (with the team from 2003 until his retirement in 2017) holds the record for most E3 wins with five, winning from 2004 to 2007 and again in 2012.

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