UAE Team Emirates-XRG selects its squad for the E3 Saxo Classic

Two days after the refreshed Ronde Van Brugge began a flurry of one-day races in Belgium, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will take on a race that has long since established its reputation as one of the most exciting of the season. Known as the mini-Tour of Flanders, the E3 Saxo Classic will take place on Friday, 27 March.

There, the Emirati squad will be led by the in-form Florian Vermeersch, who helped Tadej Pogačar to a first Milano-Sanremo victory last weekend, and raced on the front foot in the Ronde Van Brugge.

In a race more suited to a sprint finish, Vermeersch’s efforts were not rewarded on Wednesday, but the Belgian should have a better crack at the whip in E3. With climbs such as the Oude Kwaremont, the Taaienberg, and the Paterberg on the route, Friday’s Classic should see a far more open affair.

In turn, UAE Team Emirates-XRG has selected a team with a number of options strong enough to make a result, including Nils Politt and António Morgado. Together, Vermeersch, Politt and Morgado will be joined by Rui Oliveira, Julius Johansen, Rune Herregodts and the returning Mikkel Bjerg.

Bjerg was ruled out of the Santos Tour Down Under in the freak kangaroo incident, which also sidelined eventual race winner Jay Vine. Since that unfortunate crash, the Dane has recovered from his injuries with great patience and, as such, is ready to make his racing return in one of the season’s most difficult challenges.

The E3 Saxo Classic is a race that the Emirati squad has yet to win, but Pogačar bagged a third-place finish in 2023, followed up by fourth and eighth-place finishes by Tim Wellens in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Aiming to improve upon those results, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will be led on Friday by Sports Directors Marco Marcato and Fabio Baldato.

At over 208km in length, the E3 Saxo Classic is made all the more difficult by its four cobbled sectors and no less than sixteen hills. It all begins to kick into gear with the Oude Kruisberg after a little over 100km of racing, before the hills fall in quick succession until the finish in Harelbeke.

Along the way, the riders will have to conquer the E3-Col, Oude Kwaremont, Hotondberg, Kortekeer, Taaienberg, Boigneberg, Eikenberg, Kapelberg, Paterberg and the Tiegemberg.

Cobbles are an ever-dangerous facet of racing in Belgium, and the E3 Saxo Classic proves no different. The Oude Kwaremont itself is a cobbled climb, whilst the final climb of the day (Tiegemberg) is closely preceded by a stretch of flat cobblestones at Varent. From the top of that final climb (750m at 5.6%), less than 20km remain until the finish line.

Thanks to its parcours and spot in the WorldTour calendar, the E3 Saxo Classic has more than earned its reputation as the mini-Tour of Flanders. Sitting just over a week out from the second Monument of the season, this race often sees creative tactics and daring attacks, with teams and riders alike both keen to test the legs ahead of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

As such, viewers can expect to tune into another thrilling afternoon of action on Friday. For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Vermeersch and company will hope to put on a show.