E3 BinckBank Classic

The E3 BinckBank Classic (formerly E3 Harelbeke / E3-Preis Flandern , nl. E3-Prijs Vlaanderen ) is a Belgian one-day race in road cycling and is held annually at the end of March / beginning of April.

The race was held for the first time in 1958, when the E3 (now A14) motorway was built between Harelbeke and Antwerp , which is why it served as its namesake. The race traditionally starts and ends in the small town of Harelbeke. In the first few years the route was about 200 km largely flat from Harelbeke to Antwerp and back. Today it leads in a loop east from Harelbeke to Ninove and back over numerous short but steep climbs, some of which are paved, including the "Hellingen" Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont known from the Tour of Flanders .

Since 2012, the race has been part of the UCI WorldTour , the most important series of cycling races, for an initial four years . From 2005 to 2011, the E3 prize was part of the UCI Europe Tour and was classified in the highest category, 1st HC. As it was upgraded to the World Tour, the E3 Prize has no longer been held on Saturdays since 2012, but has already taken place on Friday in order to gain a day's gap between the World Tour race Gent – Wevelgem .

The race has been held for several years as part of various Flemish classics at the end of March / beginning of April after Quer durch Flanders and before Gent – Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders and the Scheldt Prize . The Tour of Flanders takes place on a similar route nine days after the E3 price. Most recently, Fabian Cancellara in 2010 and 2013 and Tom Boonen in 2005, 2006 and 2012 won the E3 double prize and the Tour of Flanders in one year.

Record winner is Tom Boonen with five wins.