2012 E3 Harelbeke

2012 E3 Harelbeke
2012 UCI World Tour, race 6 of 28
Race details
Dates23 March 2012
Stages1
Distance203 km (126.1 mi)
Winning time4h 51' 59"
Results
  Winner  Tom Boonen (Belgium) (Omega Pharma–Quick-Step)
  Second  Óscar Freire (Spain) (Team Katusha)
  Third  Bernhard Eisel (Austria) (Team Sky)
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The 2012 E3 Harelbeke was the 55th running of the E3 Harelbeke single-day cycling race.[1] It was held on 23 March over a distance of 203 kilometres (126.1 miles) and was the sixth race of the 2012 UCI World Tour season. E3 Harelbeke was held as a UCI World Tour event for the first time,[2] after previously being held as a 1.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour.[3] As well as its promotion to the World Tour, the race moved to a Friday running from a Saturday; the move was in order to give riders a day's break prior to the following World Tour event, Gent–Wevelgem.[4]

Stijn Devolder leads over the Muur

In a mass sprint finish, the race was won by Omega Pharma–Quick-Step rider Tom Boonen,[5] who in the process, became the most successful rider in the history of the race; his fifth victory – after four previous victories in succession between 2004 and 2007 – in Harelbeke took him beyond the record tally of four victories that he had been sharing with fellow Belgian rider Rik Van Looy.[6] Boonen finished ahead of Team Katusha's Óscar Freire and Team Sky's Bernhard Eisel, who completed the podium.[7]

  1. ^ Fontecchio, Chris (22 March 2012). "E3 Harelbeke: The New Heavyweight Champ". Podium Cafe. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  2. ^ "E3 Harelbeke to be WorldTour race in 2012". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  3. ^ "54th E3 Prijs Harelbeke 1.HC". Daily Peloton. Earthlink. 26 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  4. ^ Rogers, Neal (22 March 2012). "Flanders predictor E3 Harelbeke makes WorldTour debut Friday". VeloNews. Competitor Group, Inc. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  5. ^ Walker, Lee (23 March 2012). "Five-star Boonen takes E3 Harelbeke". Yahoo! Eurosport. TF1 Group. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  6. ^ Atkins, Ben (23 March 2012). "Tom Boonen edges out Oscar Freire to take his fifth E3 Prijs Vlaanderen". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  7. ^ Decaluwé, Brecht (23 March 2012). "Boonen victorious at E3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 23 March 2012.