With the next two monuments close by, Friday’s E3 Harelbeke provided a good opportunity to see how the legs are feeling. Team Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff did just that in Friday’s 215 km cobbled race that was marred with crashes all through the day, taking fourth place in the sprint.

"In the final I was blocked by a rider, so I had to go on the other side for my sprint. This meant I started a little bit later and did not have time to pass Trentin. It was a very close finish and in the first moment I did not know if I was third or 4th. I hoped for a podium and didn’t get that, but it was a good race anyway. The team was super today and I had great support during the race. I felt quite well on the climbs and I am happy with the way I passed (the climbs of) Paterberg and Kwaremont. Honestly I thought we could catch Thomas, Stybar and Sagan, but when Van Avermaet crashed and BMC stopped working, the group lost some time. Our team did its best to bring the break back, but it was a sprint for third place only. Anyway I have good feelings after this race and I am looking forward to next race," said team leader Alexander Kristoff.

The three person break of Geraint Thomas (Sky), last year’s winner Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Zdenek Stybar (Etixx – Quick Step) held a gap coming into the final with Team Katusha leading the furious chase behind to reach them. But on a day filled with crashes, efforts to reach the trio were disrupted and unsuccessful. In the end Thomas attacked his group with 4 km to go and earned a solo victory. Second place went to Stybar with Matteo Trentin (Etixx – Quick Step) in third and Alex Kristoff in fourth place.

"I am really happy with the way our team rode today’s race. It was a pleasure to see guys fully dedicated to our common purposes. We did a strong race. In the final Kolobnev and Paolini did a super job and what a pity that we missed the podium, but that is cycling. We can't forget this is a WorldTour race with all the best teams and riders. We were strong today and I hope on Sunday we can continue in the same way," added team director Torsten Schmidt, referring to the upcoming Gent – Wevelgem.

After E3 Harelbeke both, Team Katusha and Alexander Kristoff moved up to 3rd position on the UCI WorldTour ranking. Team Katusha scored 211 points, while Kristoff has 127 points.