E3 in the world tour

[Cult Classics]

What do you make of this? I suppose it stops the race losing out on riders to Gent-Wevelgem (see Boonen slagging G-W off in the media and then being forced to backtrack and ride it in place of E3 as Quick Step needed World Tour points). But on the other hand it's a race that's basically a mini Ronde, a week before the Ronde. In fact loads of the hills and the roads are identical, even more so now theyve messed about with the Ronde route and chopped the Muur out. I like the E3 because I like the Ronde and those East Flanders bergs, but personally I prefer the Omloop because it has some of that but then the flat cobbled sections to end off, making it a bit different.

Personally I also dislike moving it to the Friday - now I won't able to watch it.

Good race but if they were going to stick another cobbled or offroad one in there I'd rather it had been Omloop or Strade Bianche near the start of the season.

 

[will10]

I would prefer to see E3 in and Wevelgem out. Het Volk should be WT too.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Sucks that it's on a friday, but it's also a race that deserves to be WT, always exciting, very hard race with a lot of nice winners Omloop also deserves WT status. Strade Bianchi might as well be, given that the Canadian races are WT

 

[Cult Classics]

Sucks that it's on a friday, but it's also a race that deserves to be WT, always exciting, very hard race with a lot of nice winners Omloop also deserves WT status. Strade Bianchi might as well be, given that the Canadian races are WT

All good points - it does have a very strong list of winners. But I must say I don't mind the Canadian races - the racing isn't bad at all and there are fans all along the route. I'll save my dislike for races in non-traditional countries for the Tour of Beijing and this ridiculous new one in Russia.

 

[ak-zaaf]

In fact loads of the hills and the roads are identical, even more so now theyve messed about with the Ronde route and chopped the Muur out.

I think I read somewhere that the E3 is going to give De Muur a prominent place in the race because De Ronde is skipping it.

Can someone confirm this?

/edit: found it: http://www.focus-wtv.be/nieuws/spor...ke-lonken-naar-muur/article-1195105499090.htm

 

[The Hitch]

UCI want to make E3 world Tour.

But thats a race in Europe, with a history, a good palmares, and isn't throwing money at Pat Mcquaid.

What gives?

 

[Michielveedeebee]

All good points - it does have a very strong list of winners. But I must say I don't mind the Canadian races - the racing isn't bad at all and there are fans all along the route. I'll save my dislike for races in non-traditional countries for the Tour of Beijing and this ridiculous new one in Russia.

Neither do I, they're exciting and attract a lot of spectators as you say But they should try to make them less of a criterium imo.

 

[Gloin22]

Neither do I, they're exciting and attract a lot of spectators as you say But they should try to make them less of a criterium imo.

Although that's main reason for the big crowds. Crowds can see the riders more ,than once if the circuit wasn't a criterium imo.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

All good points - it does have a very strong list of winners. But I must say I don't mind the Canadian races - the racing isn't bad at all and there are fans all along the route. I'll save my dislike for races in non-traditional countries for the Tour of Beijing and this ridiculous new one in Russia.

If it was a five day race around Sochi and they made sure to climb either Mount Akhun or the Rosa Khutor ski station, then I'd have nothing against the Russian race at all. But this whole St.Petersburg->Moscow->Sochi idea is just preposterous. The transfers are stupid, and there will be little to no interesting terrain until the final couple of days either.

 

[CobbleStoner]

who cares? E3 Harlebeke is/was/will be a great race that I will look forward to and watch no matter what distinction it has in McQuaid's little scheme of things.

 

[Descender]

UCI want to make E3 world Tour.

But thats a race in Europe, with a history, a good palmares, and isn't throwing money at Pat Mcquaid.

What gives?

haha that was my first thought as well.

 

[Winterfold]

Omloop and Strada Bianchi both have more character and are IMO more deserving of status than E3

They have much cooler names if nothing else, but they have more...

 

[Matthijs]

Gent-Wevelgem has more history then E3 and of course Strade Bianche. Besides, E3 is just a small Ronde. It's good it's their, but it has the same characteristics and that is a little bit lame I guess. Why not promote a Italian race before Lombardia (Emilia, Piemonte, Beghelli, Sabatini, take one) to W then? Or program Tro bon leon somewhere in front of Roubaix.
I mean: the races have their history and their own characteristics. A smaller copy of a good race makes good racing as we know from E3, but it does not make unique racing....

 

[greenedge]

The way races are being chopped or with new ones added is crazy. Oh well i like this race.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Gent-Wevelgem has more history then E3 and of course Strade Bianche. Besides, E3 is just a small Ronde. It's good it's their, but it has the same characteristics and that is a little bit lame I guess. Why not promote a Italian race before Lombardia (Emilia, Piemonte, Beghelli, Sabatini, take one) to W then? Or program Tro bon leon somewhere in front of Roubaix.
I mean: the races have their history and their own characteristics. A smaller copy of a good race makes good racing as we know from E3, but it does not make unique racing....

No but it's very exciting nonetheless + GW has been ProTour/WorldTour for quite a time as well. Emilia might become WT in my book as well nice race with nice winners and it's of course over 100 years old.
Tro Bro Leon shouldn't be WT though, it's too much of a French affair... although WT status should give it a huge boost...

 

[Mellow Velo]

I don't have an issue with E3 becoming a WT event, given the "quality" of some of the races already included.
Why Omloop is not, is a mystery, given that everyone considers it to be the race that kicks off the season, proper.
Imo, the WT is light on one-day races. A few races with pedigree should be bumped up, to counter balance these novelty stage races.

Personally, I'd like to see Emilia given a slot to add a bit of security to those Italian races left out on a Lombardia limb.

 

[Kvinto]

E3 is entertaining, for me it's quite enough. I would rather watch a "small Ronde" without long history than ancient Scheldeprijs with a great cobbled rider from the Isle of Man. I think the comparison to RVV together with a PT field can benefit E3: less pressure - more improvisation - more entertainment

 

[Cult Classics]

I would love to see Emilia in. But as has been pointed out moving the Lombardia dates wrecks things somewhat. Also if you promoted Emilia would that harm Paris-Tours? Given they're the same weekend and currently neither is on the calendar. Probably not given they are very different types of race, but you never know. I would like both of those races in though.

 

[Kvinto]

i would risk to state that imo E3 is more interesting than Emilia though Emilia is very entertaining race...

 

[Michele]

2 totally different races; both of them would be worth the WT.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

who cares? E3 Harlebeke is/was/will be a great race that I will look forward to and watch no matter what distinction it has in McQuaid's little scheme of things.

agreed.

only thing that changes is riders might not priorities another race for Wt points.

One of the best classics of the year

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Omloop and Strada Bianchi both have more character and are IMO more deserving of status than E3

They have much cooler names if nothing else, but they have more...

disagree with sb.

it is a new race with little history.

Great race, I just wish it had proper coverage.

 

[Cult Classics]

disagree with sb.

it is a new race with little history.

Great race, I just wish it had proper coverage.

Fairly decent field already though considering it is only 1.1 ranked. Just 7 world tour teams (only 14 teams raced it) but quite a few of the bigger profile ones and certainly some bigger name riders.

Have been looking through the start lists of some of the 1.HC/1.1 races to see how strong they are. Dwars door Vlaanderen is another 1.1 with a very strong field for the category it is in, I think it had 12 world tour teams in it including most of the big guns for Flanders, and the same winner as Flanders in 2011 indeed. Beghelli in Italy the other week had a similar number of top flight teams. I guess Beghelli and Dwars both have the advantage of being in the build up races for one of the monuments (we shall have to see what becomes of Beghelli in 2012 with the Lombardia date shift)

Then you've certain 1.HC (European) races that none of the bigger name riders/teams seem bothered about, such as the Swiss Aargau race (1 world tour team), Vendée (3), Fourmies (6) and I was surprised that the 3 Valli Varesine only had 5 world tour teams in it. And none of these really ties in to the bigger picture - they're not at times of the year when riders are building up to a major race (well riders are building up, but they're doing bigger, more important stage races or something).

So I guess a race's position in the calendar is fairly key. And you could also say that's why E3 gets the nod over the Omloop for promotion. Omloop for me opens proper cycling season, but as soon as that and K-B-K are done the riders head down south for French and Italian races and it's not until Dwars door Vlaanderen three-and-a-half weeks later that big name racers return north for the cobbled racing. By which time much of the significance of Omloop as a build-up event has been lost, whereas E3 is just a week before the big one.

 

[El Pistolero]

Tour of Belgium should be World Tour instead of the Eneco Tour. Place it at the same time of the Tour de Romandie.

Tour of Belgium is one of the oldest stage races in the world, first created in 1908, and used to be one of the most prestigious races back in the early days of cycling.

 

[The Hitch]

Tour of Belgium should be World Tour instead of the Eneco Tour. Place it at the same time of the Tour de Romandie.

Why not lets just move all 3 grand tours to Belgium too.

Is having half the season in your country not enough?