A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away from the universe containing Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), there was an era when whatever happened in the E3 Saxo Classic was seen as the most reliable optic for success for what played out nine days later in the Tour of Flanders.
While Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was considered too far away on the calendar and has never been won in the same year by the same rider who conquered De Ronde, the much closer Gent-Wevelgem (now In Flanders Fields) was always too much of a law unto its perpetually eccentric self and Dwars door Vlaanderen, now held on Wednesday, feels too straightforward (relatively speaking) and lowkey. E3 and Flanders have been won by the same rider in the same year no fewer than nine times since 1998.
