Tadej Pogacar looks with excitement for his next races. On the tour of the Flanders, Mathieu van der Poel, which is currently evident in impressive form, leads to the direct duel with Mathieu van der Poel, as the Slovenian superstar emphasized.
There may not be many races in which Tadej Pogacar does not necessarily go into the race as a top favorite. The cobblestone paving spectacle on the tour of the Flanders should be part of this category. At least when the Dutch Mathieu van der Poel starts.
Before the race asked whether he sees himself on a level with the 30-year-old, the tour of the Tour de France from 2024 remained defensive. “I don’t know. He beat me in Milan-Sanremo, but that’s a different race. A race with more effort and meters in altitude is also his favorite terrain.”
Pogacar: “He is a better sprinter than me”
Van der Poel “will be the man to beat,” said Pogacar, who also referred the competitors of Visma – Lease a Bike and Lidl -Trek. “I expect many attacking teams and have to stay concentrated. I don’t know the route so well either, but I know where to be in front. And I can rely on my team and the sporting management.”
Some disadvantages opposite van der Poel are obvious for Pogacar: “He is a better sprinter than me, that’s sure. And I think he is better to drive on the cobblestone pavement. I will try not to take it into the sprint, but if it still happens, I can’t do much more than do my best.” The 26-year-old, who then also participates in the classic Paris-Roubaix for the first time, does not deal with “revenge”.
Van der Poel had won the cycling monument in western Belgium last year – in the absence of Tadej Pogacar, who won in 2023 with just 16 seconds ahead of his competitor.