The 68th edition of the E3 Saxo Classic got underway shortly after noon in Harelbeke. The riders set off on a 208-kilometer route featuring sixteen climbs. The opening phase was relatively calm. A breakaway of six riders was given space by the peloton. Far from the finish, Timo Kielich accelerated from the peloton. The 26-year-old Belgian was joined by several others.  

The first accelerations among the favorites came on the Taaienberg. Top favorite Van der Poel, among others, pushed hard. Christophe Laporte tried to follow the Dutchman’s pace but had to drop back shortly afterward. Together with a few others, Van der Poel closed the gap to the chasers. Shortly afterward, he launched a powerful solo attack, catching and passing the leaders.  

Due to the quick succession of climbs, the groups began to split. About thirty kilometers from the finish, a strong chasing group formed, including Hagenes. The Norwegian was joined by strong riders Florian Vermeersch and Jonas Abrahamsen. Early breakaway rider Stan Dewulf also bridged across. The quartet steadily reduced the gap to race leader Van der Poel. In a nail-biting finale, they closed to within a few seconds, but the Dutchman just managed to stay out of their reach. Hagenes ultimately proved the fastest in the sprint for the remaining podium places.  

“Of course, it would have been nice if I could have sprinted for the win, but this second place is definitely a great result,” Hagenes said afterward. “It was a difficult situation chasing Van der Poel. I already found it impressive that we almost managed to close the gap. We could have handled the final kilometers differently. I took the risk of waiting, and in the end, that didn’t work out well.”  

“You don’t come close to winning a major classic every day, but these kinds of tactical situations are part of cycling. I can look back on this performance with pride. As a team, we also rode a very strong race. We had several riders we could play tactically. I’m very pleased that I was able to deliver a podium finish for the team in one of the biggest races of the spring,” Hagenes concluded.