The top five came home one by one after an attritional race through Flanders – Van der Poel and Evenepoel join the world champion on the podium.
Cor Vos
That’s two from two in 2026 for Tadej Pogačar – or three from three if you include unofficial sixth Monument Strade Bianche – as he wins his third Tour of Flanders on just his third race day of the season.
The world champion successfully defended his 2025 title with a confident and assured ride, along with luxury domestique Florian Vermeersch who was instrumental in forcing the elite selection on the Molenberg more than 100 km from the finish. All the pre-race favourites also made it, including debutant Remco Evenepoel, who also looked comfortable in the group, and reacted well when Pogačar made his first serious move on the second time up the Oude Kwaremont, leaving only three in the lead.
However, the newcomer to the cobbled Monument had his inexperience exposed on the Paterberg when Evenepoel essentially dropped himself after an early acceleration, leaving Pogačar and Van der Poel alone to fight over glory. The leading duo stayed together for about 35 km until the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, where Van der Poel let go near the foot of the infamous cobbled climb.
There was little more Van der Poel could do in the end – except perhaps to not have ridden at all with Pogačar. But the three-time winner limited his losses on the climbs rather than try to react to his rival’s blistering accelerations, conceding that second was the best he could do in the face of the world champion’s domination.
Evenepoel held onto the podium in his first Tour of Flanders, with Wout van Aert finishing fourth, and Mads Pedersen coming home fifth.
Brief results:Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 6:20:07Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) +0:34Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +1:11Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) +2:04Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) +2:48
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