Julian Alaphilippe and Kasper Asgreen set to lead Soudal Quick-Step at the E3 Saxo Classic

Having taken their first win of the Spring Classics season with Tim Merlier at the Danilith Nokere Koerse last week, Soudal Quick-Step are now looking ahead to the main preparation race for the Ronde van Vlaanderen at the E3 Saxo Classic this weekend.

The Belgian team have won three out of the last five editions, with their most recent winner Kasper Asgreen, who won the race in 2021, set to lead the team at this year’s edition alongside two-time World Champion Julian Alaphilippe.

After abandoning both Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Strade Bianche at the beginning of his Classics campaign, the Frenchman took his best result in a one-day race so far this season last weekend, with a ninth place finish at Milano-Sanremo.

They will be joined by Classics specialists Yves Lampaert and Gianni Moscon, as well as Casper Pedersen, Jordi Warlop and neo-pro Pepijn Reinderink.

The E3 Saxo Classic takes in many of the same climbs that will feature in the Ronde van Vlaanderen at the end of the month, which is why many riders use it as a preparation race, as it includes the likes of the Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont.

On the upcoming race, the team’s sports director Wilfried Peeters said “E3 Harelbeke is a beautiful but hard race containing many of the roads and climbs that the peloton will tackle in Ronde van Vlaanderen next Sunday. We are going to the start with a solid team, comprising riders who are very motivated and who have shown a lot of nice things recently, so we are confident in our chances of fighting for a good result at the end of the day”.