Saturday E3 Women’s 1st Edition: “I want to grow to the level of the WorldTour fast” | E 3 Harlequin

The women’s peloton will have 134 kilometers to choose from tomorrow, with 9 slopes and some challenging cobbled sections. The beginning and end are in the center of Bavikhove.

“In the past, we sometimes received comment that we didn’t have a women’s edition. However, as of tomorrow that won’t be the case,” says organizer Jack Cousins.

“By the way, it will be a full day program, because not only are the elite women’s races, but also our famous mini race and an evening standard for the elite jockeys.”

“For our first women’s race, we collaborated with the organizing committee of the Lidal Corsi. They previously had a benchmark in Pavikhov, but together we turned that into a race of over 134 kilometres.”

“A very difficult track when I hear the reactions of some of the teams that went out exploring this week. That’s also allowed, after all, the race is called the E3 Saxo Bank Classic.”

Coussens does not hide the fact that he wants to quickly expand the cycle. “In our first year we can only organize a 1.2 race. But anyone who knows us knows we want to grow as fast as we can. And yes, that is the level of the WorldTour,” it sounds ambitious.

“Will the women ride on the same day as the men? We’ll evaluate our first version. We’ll see where we can improve. The date should also be correct on the calendar.”

“Let me just say that tomorrow is our first day of school, but with the knowledge we’ve gathered in the meantime with our men’s race, I’m not worried that the women’s version will become a big thing either.”