Van der Poel also animated that Tour des Flandres with several attacks, even recovering from an early crash 126 kilometers from the finish. But in 2025 he arrived after winning a Milano\u2013Sanremo where, this year, he raised doubts by losing Pogacar\u2019s wheel on the Poggio. The good news is he has rebounded with victory at the E3 Saxo Classic, setting the stage for a compelling duel.<\/p>\n
2. Wout van Aert<\/p>\n
In second place, Wout van Aert, who comes in superb form. The Belgian was third at Milano\u2013Sanremo won by Pogacar, and then was the only rider able to follow Mathieu van der Poel at a De Ronde warm-up in Flanders where he himself had attacked minutes earlier. The bunch caught both with 1 kilometer to go, but the Visma | Lease a Bike leader\u2019s sensations were excellent.<\/p>\n
And, as noted above, Van Aert was among the very few who survived most of Pogacar\u2019s accelerations at last year\u2019s Tour des Flandres, matching Van der Poel deep into the finale. To cap it off, he managed to drop Pogacar himself to win stage 21 of the Tour de France 2025, in Montmartre, in a scenario quite similar to Flanders. Can he repeat it?<\/p>\n
3. Mads Pedersen<\/p>\n
The level of Pogacar\u2019s top three rivals is sky-high, with Mads Pedersen growing stronger since returning from injury. He added fourth at Milano\u2013Sanremo and another top 10 at the E3 Saxo Classic. He was not expected to win there either, yet he was back in the fight despite nearly two months out until La Classicissima.<\/p>\n
His quality is undeniable, as is the fact he was, alongside Van der Poel and Van Aert, among the last to yield to Pogacar at last year\u2019s Tour des Flandres. Now that the injury is further behind him, and with time to fully regain strength, the Slovenian will surely be thinking hard about the Dane. If he cannot drop him, beating him in a reduced sprint at the finish will be very difficult.<\/p>\n
![\"Mads](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/mads-pedersen-69cbf0a7197e8.JPG@webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
Mads Pedersen, a Lidl-Trek star<\/p>\n
4. Arnaud de Lie<\/p>\n
Time for the more \u201coutsider\u201d threats. It is clear the main dangers to Pogacar are the three names above, but Monuments often produce an \u201cunexpected\u201d protagonist, and Arnaud de Lie ticks many boxes for that role.<\/p>\n