On Friday, the E3 Saxo Bank Classic is back for its 66th edition, but how on earth this race still exists is bewildering. It’s had a few different names over the years, E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke, and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, but it’s always one of the more prestigious races in the Flanders region. Beginning and ending in Harelbeke, Belgium the race goes through the Ardennes region of the country, and taking in anywhere from 12 to 17 of the steep climbs for which the area is known.
The past two years, the race has been won by Wout van Aert. But enough about that. Let’s talk about some of the stupid stuff that the race organizers have done. Let’s take a trip down dumbass lane, shall we?
2009 promo poster
Hey, sex sells, amirite? Except this is a bike race, not TMZ. Anywho, back then when it was known as the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, the organizers figured, what’s a better way to promote a pro men’s bike race then put a naked woman on a bike. And that’s what they did.
2011 promo poster
13 years ago, when it was known as E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, the organizers decided to make a promotional poster of a naked woman…with silhouetted riders going over her back. Well, you could say, OK, 2011, times have changed. That was then, right? Yeah no.
2014 promo poster
Just ten years ago, the organizers put out another winner of a poster. This time, a female cyclist is literally riding three other women. The caption in Flemish translates to, “Who is the ‘fastest’ in Harelbeke?”
2015 promo poster
You’re probably thinking, wow, these are pretty bad! It ain’t 1940 and there’s no way that just nine years ago they would dare to do any sort of sexist joke, right? Buckle in! In 2015 they really went for it. “Who will squeeze her in Harelbeke,” is the Flemish caption here. It’s a “joke” about Peter Sagan, (most people theorize) pinching a podium woman’s backside at the Tour de France in 2013. This grew the ire of not just the cycling media, but the mainstream as well. The Guardian wrote a scathing piece, “Only in cycling could a sexual assault inspire a race’s advertising strategy.” Well, OK, they must have learned from all the negative publicity and that was that right? Phew! We all learn from our mistakes, amirite?
Nope!
2019 promo poster
In 2019, organizers once again found themselves forced to retract a controversial poster. The visual featured two body-painted women intertwined to create…
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