Cycling, Pogacar, Van der Poel, Evenepoel and Van Aert at the Flanders show

Monument is perhaps not enough to define the Tour of Flanders edition 110. Stellar. Gigantic. Eye-catching. Because Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu Van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel and Wout Van Aert together at the start of the same race are (very much) worth the price of the ticket for the Ronde, even the one that exceeds 500 euros in the VIP area on the Old Qwaremont, champagne included. Never together in a one-day classic, they have only competed against each other in three World Cups from 2021 to 2023, wearing the jerseys of their respective national teams. Tomorrow is Easter, and Belgium usually brings a tenth of its inhabitants, a million fans, to the streets. We can hypothesize that there will be even more, because other aspects come into play. Pogacar the champion of everything, Van der Poel who is Dutch but lives in Belgium, and then Evenepoel and Van Aert, who in this country have a rivalry similar to that between Moser and Saronni in Italy. Let’s not exaggerate, no, because in the spring weeks in this country the first sport is cycling, football is bypassed. It is the highlight of the year, it is simply everything that Flanders has to offer in one day, in each village there is also a program of celebrations, from a barbecue to a village festival.

uniqueness

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From the Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2022 won by Evenepoel to Pogacar’s Milano-Sanremo 2026, out of 18 Monuments, Pogi, VdP and Evenepoel have won 17: the exception is Jasper Philipsen’s Sanremo 2024, also at the start of Flanders. From the Market Square of Antwerp, with forty thousand people in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady and the bells ringing when the runners parade on a yellow carpet, to the finish line in Oudenaarde, 278 kilometers with 16 Walls and six pavé sections for the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, the essence of cycling. In the last 75 km the circuit of death, with the double passage on the Old Quaremont (2200 metres, peaks of 11.6%) and on the Paterberg (360 metres, max 20.5%), interspersed with the Koppenberg, the hill of heads, where even Merckx was forced to put his foot on the ground under its 22% slopes. From Paterberg there will be 13 km to the finish line in Oudenaarde, near the Museum of Flanders whose custodian is Freddy Maertens, one of the Flemish legends.

red bull factor

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The big news today is only one: Remco Evenepoel. The R factor can shock Flanders, because the Flemish’s mentality, analytical ability and running behavior are unique. Since this season, the two-time Olympian and four-time world champion has been racing for Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, a group that has Max Verstappen in F.1 and is bringing not only economic weight (budget of more than 50 million euros per year) to cycling but also the most advanced technological research, attention to the smallest details, scientific application to the bicycle, the repeated use of wind tunnel tests, the choice of the most futuristic materials. Evenepoel plays at home, he has never competed for Flanders, he has always denied (he and the team) that he wants to compete, yet they have been preparing him since December. Remco trained on the route on December 27th, he went up and down the Walls in 4 degree temperatures, he tried to improve his riding on the pavé, on the stones, on the streets. “I’m on the Koppenberg, I’m doing a secret reconnaissance. I’m dressed in black because I can’t wear the new Red Bull jersey yet. I want to be 100% prepared, I’ll race my first Flanders. I’m excited.” So Remco explained in a video recorded on December 27, 2025 and posted on his YouTube channel on Thursday. He only runs to win. Always. This is why that “R” factor on Flanders is worrying, and quite a bit.

goals

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Tadej Pogacar won the Flanders in 2023 and 2025, he reached 11 Monuments (he reached De Vlaeminck, none like the Slovenian among the active riders): Merckx leads with 19. Tadej won the Sanremo two weeks ago in a sprint on Pidcock, he arrives at the Flanders with immense morale and self-esteem, given that the Sanremo for him, considering the route, was the highest obstacle of the Monuments. To enter the club of those who have won all 5, they only need the Roubaix (Sunday 12 April), but in the meantime the Ronde is worth a master’s degree in cycling even for those who have won 1 Giro, 4 Tours and 2 World Championships. To continue, above all, that project of winning the 5 Monuments in a single year which no one in the history of cycling has ever achieved, not even Merckx.

strategy

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From Pogacar’s possible trio to the poker of victories that Mathieu Van der Poel dreams of, unbeatable in the Monuments of the North: three Tours of Flanders and three Paris-Roubaix. Since the first edition in 1913, no one has ever achieved 4 triumphs in the Ronde. On these roads, on the treacherous stones of Flanders, no one drives like Mathieu, his strategy is excellent, but perhaps with this Pogacar might not be enough. And Wout Van Aert? The Flemish native of Herentals, recovering from serious injuries in the last two years, enters the home race with third place at Sanremo and second at Attraverso le Flanders, where Ganna overtook him in the last 50 metres. Morale is high, because he knows he can play it. He and Remco, when they are in the national team, barely look at each other, but in any case for the Belgium shirt they have always respected and embraced each other, as at the arrival of the 2022 World Cup won by Evenepoel. Today they could find themselves allies against those two, because they both know that they struggle head-to-head with Pogacar and VdP. But… But it happens that even the big names are feared. Evenepoel is the best time trialist in the world (one Olympic title and three world championships), his pace is phenomenal, and Van Aert is no different on this track. An attack together, an ambush from afar, maybe not on the cobblestones but on the asphalt… who knows. In any case, this is the R factor that Pogacar fears the most, “because there are a thousand ways in which Evenepoel can attack, he can do it in the most unexpected places, even on the flat, and if he has an advantage it is very difficult to go and catch him.” And remember: Remco, when you put the number on your back, never starts to lose.