The organisers of the E3 Saxo Classic announced some important tweaks to the 2026 route in October, with the 2026 edition set to include both a second ascent of the iconic Oude Kwaremont from a different direction, as well as sending the race twice up the E3-Col climb.
The changes were announced as the E3 organisers committed to the next five years of partnership with the town of Harelbeke, where the race starts and finishes. Harelbeke has agreed to host the race until at least 2031, as it has done since 1957.
In the typically strange way the E3 Saxo Classic organisers try to be creative – which has previously included posters objectifying women’s bodies, and cartoons mocking gay people – the announcement was staged as a wedding between the race and the town.
As well as this double climb in Ronse, the route will also face the Oude Kwaremont a second time. Normally, the race has gone up the well-known side of the Oude Kwaremont from the Paterberg in the final 50km, and this ascent remains, but the hill will also feature earlier in the race, after 121km.
However, interestingly, they’re not going to climb to the top of the famous hill the usual way, but via a different approach – a route that’s never been used in a major race before, according to the organisers. This climb comes up Keuzelingstraat, and isn’t cobbled but is steep.
The added climbs makes for a higher elevation gain total in the race – which might seem like bad news for 2025 winner Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) or his main challenger…
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