2025 E3 Saxo Classic Odds, Predictions and How To Watch

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On Friday, March 28, the 67^th edition of the E3 Saxo Classic gets underway in Harelbeke, Belgium, and cycling fans will be get to witness one of the sport’s greatest rivalries: Mathieu van der Poel versus Wout van Aert.

These two rock stars of cycling have won the last three E3 races with MVDP winning last year and WVA winning in 2022 and 2023.

The exciting thing is that this race will have more firepower than just those two stars. American cyclist Matteo Jorgenson, who just won Paris-Nice nearly two weeks ago, is also joining his teammate van Aert in this event.

Additionally, the Italian sprinter Filippo Ganna, who just finished 2^nd at the Milano-Sanremo, is taking the starting line on Friday as he looks to pick up a big victory that has alluded him so far this season.

In addition to those four pre-race favorites, we’ll also see elite cyclists like Mads Pedersen, Michael Matthews, Tim Wellens, Stefan Kung, and Biniam Girmay to name a few.

As you can see, despite half of the rosters currently racing in Spain for the rest of this week, there’s still plenty of firepower in the 2025 E3 Saxo Classic.

With that said, let’s take a look at the latest cycling odds, courtesy of the top sports betting sites, and make our E3 Saxo Classic predictions.

How To Watch The E3 Saxo Classic?

For the international viewers, TNT Sports and Eurosport will cover this one-day race. For North American viewers, MAX is set to stream the event.

E3 Saxo Classic Route

Also known as “The little Tour of Flanders” this race gets underway in Harelbeke of the Flanders region in Belgium. It will span roughly 208.5km before finishing in the same town. However, those 200+km are filled with 17 climbs and five cobbled sections.

In addition to being eerily similar to the Tour of Flanders, this race will climb up some of that race’s most popular climbs like the Paterberg, Oude Kwaremont and Teigemberg. The following is a list of the 17 climbs that the peloton will race over:

• Katteberg (750m, 11% max)
• La Houppe (1.8km, 10% max)
• Kanarieberg (1.05km, 14% max)
• Oude Kruisberg (800m, 9% max)
• Knokteberg (1.26km, 13% max)
• Hotondberg (1.2km, 8% max)
• Kortekeer (1km, 17% max)
• Taaienberg (700m, 16% max)
• Berg ten Stene (1.3kkm, 9% max)
• Boigneberg (1km, 12.3% max)
• Eikenberg (1.25km, 10% max)
• Stationberg (700m, 10% max)
• Kapelberg (750m, 14% max)
• Paterberg (400m, 20.3% max)
• Oude Kwaremont (2.2km, 11.6% max)
• Karnemelkbeekstraat (1530km, 18% max)
• Tiegemberg (750m, 9% max)

E3 Saxo Classic Odds

Check out the latest E3 Saxo Classic odds:

Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert are the two clear-cut betting favorites heading into the 2025 E3 Saxo Classic. With that said, there’s plenty of betting value to be found on the cyclists behind the duo at the sportsbooks. Riders like Mads Pedersen, Matteo Jorgenson, Filippo Ganna, and Stefan Kung all offer solid betting value.

Additionally, longshots like Arnad de Lie, Biniam Girmay and Michael Matthews can all pay off if any of them can upset the field and win the race.

E3 Saxo Classic Favorites

Let’s take a look at the odds-on favorites for the 67^th edition of the E3 Saxo Classic:

Mathieu van der Poel (+125)     

The reigning E3 champion, Mathieu van der Poel, is returning to defend his title and try to beat his longtime rival Wout van Aert. The two have battled each other on every type of cycling course from mountains to cyclocross and road racing.

MVDP has made three appearances this season. He was first in the small Ename Samyn Classic in Belgium at the beginning of March. He followed that up with a 7^th in the points classification of the Tirreno-Adriatico. Yet, he did score two Top 3 finishes in that seven-stage race.

Where MVDP shot off fireworks was at Milano-San Remo when he outdueled Tadej Pogacar to win the race. It was a thrilling finish that still has the sport buzzing a week later.

It’s disappointing that we won’t see the two battle in the E3 as Pogacar decided to skip it. But a battle with WVA has just as much emotional interest. With that said, MVDP is clearly the man to beat on Friday.

Wout van Aert (+350)

When we last saw Wout van Aert, he was finishing well below his potential at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and Omloop Niuewsblad earlier this month.

Instead of continuing to race against the competition, van Aert decided to skip the last three weeks in order to focus on training. This has certainly led to a number of critics questioning WVA’s decision.

Nevertheless, van Aert is a two-time champ in this race and was right there with MVDP last year before a crash took him out. Although he closed the gap again in the latter portions of the race, MVDP was able to finish off without any threat from the field. Van Aert would finish 3^rd.

He also has a runner up finish in 2019, which was his E3 debut. That’s four podium results in five appearances. If WVA is healthy, I fully expect him to contend for another podium finish and mark his rival all the way until the end of the race.

Mads Pedersen (+800)    

Mads Pedersen has been impressive this year so far. He’s already picked up two wins this season including Stage 6 in Paris-Nice. He followed that up with a 7^th at Milano-San Remo.

Pedersen has yet to crack the Top 10 at the E3 Saxo Classic. He finished 11^th last year, which was an improvement from his 14^th in 2023.

With that said, Pedersen’s form this season gives me confidence he can crack the Top 10 this year. And, if he can hang with the two favorites, then I wouldn’t be surprised if the Danish rider finished on the podium.

Matteo Jorgenson (+1100)

Wout van Aert is getting all of the attention for Team Visma-Lease a Bike, but don’t count out Matteo Jorgenson. The American ended up defending his Paris-Nice title to win for a second straight year. He also scored three Top 3 finishes in the race.

Jorgenson went into Paris-Nice overshadowed by co-leader Jonas Vingegaard. After the latter left the race due to a crash, the American was able to excel for the race win.

WVA is coming into this Friday’s race with questionable form. Jorgenson looks to be in great form this spring. I wouldn’t be surprised if the American surprised critics, pundits, and the field this week with a strong result.

The Best E3 Saxo Classic Betting Value

The following cyclists offer betting value based on their current E3 Saxo Classic odds, early season performances, and past success in this race:

Filippo Ganna (+1400)

I’m a bit surprised that Filippo Ganna’s odds are this high considering how great he’s looked in his last two races. Ganna didn’t impress in the Algarve a month ago, but he came out on fire for the Tirreno-Adriatico where he finished second overall. Let that sink in for a moment.

He was first in the ITT on Stage 1 and finished 7^th on Stage 4. Additionally, he did a solid job in the mountains which led to his runner-up finish.

And, for the critics who thought that Ganna was lucky, he turned right around and finished second at the Milan-San Remo behind MVDP and ahead of Tadej Pogacar.

That’s right, the Italina locomotive hung with Pogacar and MVDP in the final climbs to finish second overall.

I have been extremely impressed with Ganna over the last two races that I won’t count him out of the E3 on Friday. His best result came in 2023, when Ganna finished 10^th. I believe he will better that mark this week.

Stefan Kung (+3300)

Stefan Kung hasn’t done anything noteworthy this year so far, except for an 11^th in the Team Time Trial on Stage 3 of Paris-Nice. However, we can’t dismiss this talented cyclist just because he’s not listed as one of the pre-race favorites.

Last year, Kung was fantastic and excelled against the best of the peloton. He had four Top 5 finishes and a stage win in the Vuelta a Espana.

Additionally, he finished in the Top 8 for both the Olympic Road Race and Time Trial. He was a National Champion for Switzerland and Top 5 for both Paris-Roubaix and Dwars door Vlannderen.

Kung’s best result in the E3 came in 2022, where he finished 3^rd. He was also 6^th in 2023, but fell to 16^th last year. I think the 31-year-old still has plenty of power in those legs to be a contender this week.

The Top E3 Saxo Classic Longshot

Michael Matthews (+8000) is my top choice for a longshot winner this week. Matthews is a crafty rider who can pull off the upset this week in Belgium. He finished 4^th at Milano-San Remo and scored a 2^nd on Stage 3 of Paris-Nice.

Furthermore, Matthews is the type of cyclist who can excel on these short, punchy climbs while having enough horsepower to sprint with guys like WVA and MVDP.

It looks like the Australian is heating up as we get deep into the Classics Season. I like his chances to contend on Friday and think he’s worth a small flier.

E3 Saxo Classic Predictions

If you watched Milan-San Remo and saw how awesome MVDP looked, then you would feel like I do and put your money on the defending champ.

Van der Poel was the only man capable of hanging with Pogacar up a climb and outsprint him for the win. Additionally, MVDP said that the performance gave him a lot of confidence moving forward. That’s scary news for the rest of the peloton.

I’m a big fan of Wout van Aert and will be rooting for him along with Jorgenson. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Ganna win as well. With that said, I can’t bet on anyone but MVDP for this race due to how awesome he looked at Milan-San Remo.  

Bet: Matthieu van der Poel (+125)

E3 Saxo Classic Results

Belgum’s Tom Boonen holds the record for the most all-time wins with five. Fellow Belgian Rik Van Looy is second with four wins. Belgium has a commanding lead with 40 all-time victories in this race. The Netherlands are second with seven wins.

The following is a list of the recent E3 Saxo Classic winners: