E3 Prijs Vlaanderen to be World Tour next year

[El Pistolero]

http://www.nusport.nl/wielrennen/2540996/e3-prijs-wordt-world-tour-race.html

It will be ridden on the friday(instead of saterday) before Gent-Wevelgem.

Good idea in my opinion. Extra cobbled pleasure this season.

 

[jobiwan]

More World Tour Points for Cancellara!!!

 

[Andy99]

Good to see another 'proper' race added to the WT calendar.

 

[icefire]

I'm not sure making it world tour will make it a better race. Moving it from Saturday to Friday reduces my chances of watching it live, though

 

[Lanark]

E3-prijs is certainly one of the more important one-day races that wasn't World Tour, but I'm not sure if the friday is such a good day for them. This will probaly result in a stronger field (or better: a field comparable to what they had before Gent-Wevelgem was moved to sunday), but I can't imagine they won't lose viewers.

 

[Parrulo]

amazing news. this race deserves to be WT and imo should take the sunday spot instead of G-W

 

[El Pistolero]

E3-prijs is certainly one of the more important one-day races that wasn't World Tour, but I'm not sure if the friday is such a good day for them. This will probaly result in a stronger field (or better: a field comparable to what they had before Gent-Wevelgem was moved to sunday), but I can't imagine they won't lose viewers.

Holiday usually, so won't matter much. At least not in Belgium where they get most of their viewers from.

 

[hfer07]

Good to see another 'proper' race added to the WT calendar.

+1000 my exact sentiments

 

[Flamin]

Friday? stupid.

I prefer GW over E3 for the obvious reason the latter is too much mini-Ronde, so I would've liked Gent to attract most of the big guns permanently. But ahh, nothing against E3 though, they deserve it.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Friday? stupid.

I prefer GW over E3 for the obvious reason the latter is too much mini-Ronde, so I would've liked Gent to attract most of the big guns permanently. But ahh, nothing against E3 though, they deserve it.

You are probably one of the only Belgians to find GW better
I find the racing more exciting in E3 and a perfect warm-up for RvV, yes it's a mini-Ronde but it's always raced in an attractive way

 

[Descender]

Great news.

 

[Flamin]

You are probably one of the only Belgians to find GW better
I find the racing more exciting in E3 and a perfect warm-up for RvV, yes it's a mini-Ronde but it's always raced in an attractive way

I'm especially looking forward to the 2012 edition actually (235km of length). But yeah, imo GW has much more of its own identity, that's why

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Finally a good idea by the UCI.

This increases the limited amount of chances cobble specialists get to add WT points to their tally. And the diminishing interest after the GW to sunday debacle problem will be gone too. Boonen and co will go for E3, the real test, again.

Great.

 

[Lanark]

You are probably one of the only Belgians to find GW better
I find the racing more exciting in E3 and a perfect warm-up for RvV, yes it's a mini-Ronde but it's always raced in an attractive way

True. Gent-Wevelgem may have more of an unique identity, but it's a boring identity

A mini-Ronde is perfect a week before the real one. It's what the riders want, it's what the fans want.

 

[El Pistolero]

True. Gent-Wevelgem may have more of an unique identity, but it's a boring identity

A mini-Ronde is perfect a week before the real one. It's what the riders want, it's what the fans want.

I don't find G-W boring if it's 235k long and a bit of a harder final like it will be next year.

This year was a bit boring though. Even the stage in tour of Belgium this year that had the Kemmelberg in it was more interesting.

---

It was an insult that those Canadian races got to be World Tour and this one not. So I'm glad they sorted that out. Now we just need the Tour of Belgium to become World Tour and move to another date(after the Giro)

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

GW is my least favorite classic on the WT calander.

Anyway good news.
E3 is a great race

Omloop next

 

[Parrulo]

GW is my least favorite classic on the WT calander.

Anyway good news.
E3 is a great race

Omloop next

maybe one of the of autumn italian classics. emilia?

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

pretty sure it already is.

@emila, I think it is a pretty great race. It is an exciting race with nice parcours.

Races I think are worthy, but I don't necessary want to be WT. Although I don't mind the cobble races being WT, for the most part the Wt teams and wild cards have the best riders:


omloop het volk
Monte Paschi Strade Bianche
Paris-Tours
Brabantse Pijl
Giro dell'Emilia
Gran Piemonte
Dwars door Vlaanderen
Rund um den Henninger-Turm

maybe a few others also

 

[craig1985]

GW is my least favorite classic on the WT calander.

Anyway good news.
E3 is a great race

Omloop next

I would personally consider G_W to be a semi classic.

 

[El Pistolero]

pretty sure it already is.

@emila, I think it is a pretty great race. It is an exciting race with nice parcours.

Races I think are worthy, but I don't necessary want to be WT. Although I don't mind the cobble races being WT, for the most part the Wt teams and wild cards have the best riders:


omloop het volk
Monte Paschi Strade Bianche
Paris-Tours
Brabantse Pijl
Giro dell'Emilia
Gran Piemonte
Dwars door Vlaanderen
Rund um den Henninger-Turm

maybe a few others also

These should be world Tour. But don't find the last 2 races on your list all that interesting.

Making both Piemonte and Emilia World Tour could get quite messy

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Holiday usually, so won't matter much. At least not in Belgium where they get most of their viewers from.

Which holiday would that be

But they can schedule it to finish at 18h30 or something, so more people can watch the finale...

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Which holiday would that be

But they can schedule it to finish at 18h30 or something, so more people can watch the finale...

Paasvakantie? If RvV is in the 2nd week of it, E3 will be in the first week

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Only if RvV would be in the last weekend, which is very unlikely (that would mean PR is the week after the eastern holliday...)

Mostly RvV is the first or second week of the holiday, thus E3 is before...

 

[Peccio89]

Probably less people will be able to watch it, but with the movement on Friday maybe those who are participating here will be able to participate also in GW.

For what concern the world-tour thing i think that it is a pity because some small belgian team won't be able to race, while the Euskaltel and the Movistar guy will, i don't see how this would benefit the field.
But i personally think that Pro tour first and now World tour are ruining cycling,.

 

[El Pistolero]

Only if RvV would be in the last weekend, which is very unlikely (that would mean PR is the week after the eastern holliday...)

Mostly RvV is the first or second week of the holiday, thus E3 is before...

Easter can fall between 22 march and 25 april.