E3 Harelbeke 2015 **Warning: no spoiler tags**

218km across East and West Flanders, the race is an out-and-back loop with 17 bergs back-ended into the route. There’s a familiar but never comforting list of hellingen which really get going in the final 100km. The Taaienberg is orphaned without Tom Boonen but the narrow gutter is an obvious way to line out the peloton and get rid of some rivals.
The Paterberg is the daddy of the all, a 12% climb but with a moment at 20%, hard enough on asphalt but it’s rough cobbles and better or worse, very exposed to the wind. It’s chased by the Oude Kwaremont, a climb of two halves with a tarmac start before the steep part on cobbles and then pause before a drag up rough cobbles, it’s 2.2km long making it the longest berg and the ideal place to split the field to pieces. From here there are 40km to go, a long ride with rhe final two climbs of the Karnemelkbeekstraat is 1.2km at 6.5% peaking at 12% and the Tiegemberg, a regular road of 1km at 6%, nothing fierce but the fatigue can tell.

Eurosport1 have coverage at 4.15pm today but I think that is just deferred coverage