{"id":644695,"date":"2026-05-02T10:19:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T10:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/644695\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T10:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T10:19:11","slug":"cyclings-2026-spring-classics-best-moments-future-stars-and-lots-more-tadej-pogacar-wins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/644695\/","title":{"rendered":"Cycling\u2019s 2026 spring classics: Best moments, future stars, and lots more Tadej Pogacar wins"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WorldTour calendar is in a transitional moment. The spring classics are done, and Grand Tour season \u2014 starting with La Vuelta Femenina and the Giro d\u2019Italia, which both begin over the next week \u2014 is upon us. But before we settle down for the sport\u2019s top-tier stage races, let\u2019s reflect on an often astonishing couple of months of one-day events, from the tight bends of the Poggio to the torturous hills of Liege-Bastogne, via the cobbles of Flanders and Roubaix and myriad other competitions.<\/p>\n

The Athletic\u2019s writers review a memorable early-spring of one-day racing.<\/p>\n

What was your favorite moment from the spring classics?<\/p>\n

Jacob Whitehead: It has to be Wout Van Aert winning Paris-Roubaix. This was a victory which was a decade in waiting, delivered in the perfect manner \u2014 coming around the outside of the rainbow jersey in that famous velodrome.<\/p>\n

He burst into tears after crossing the line, before dedicating the victory to Michael Goolaerts, a former teammate who died while racing Paris-Roubaix in 2018. It meant that one of the decade\u2019s great animators \u2014 and really, the only rider among the \u2018big six\u2019 who consistently has to work for others \u2014 finally had the prize he cherishes the most.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Christophe Laporte congratulates team-mate Wout Van Aert in the Roubaix velodrome (Etienne Garnier \/ Pool \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Jessica Hopkins: Wout Van Aert winning Paris-Roubaix was brilliant. Your favourite rider\u2019s favourite rider getting one of his dream wins against the stiffest of competition, after fracturing an ankle in January. Honourable mentions have to go to Tom Pidcock and Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s sprint at Milan Sanremo, after the latter\u2019s crash, and Demi Vollering\u2019s solo win at Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge Femme, setting up the summer season.<\/p>\n

Duncan Alexander: I\u2019ve always been fascinated by La Redoute in Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, ever since Frank Vandenbroucke\u2019s mesmerising performance on its slopes in the 1999 race (a rider whose troubled life is the subject of an excellent book by The Athletic\u2019s Andy McGrath<\/a>). It\u2019s one of those climbs that always turns elevation into narrative, and when teenager Paul Seixas was able to stick \u2014 just about \u2014 to Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s back wheel, it hinted at a new chapter at the top of the sport. The fact they did it in a record time of three minutes and 45 seconds, taking 13 seconds off Poga\u010dar\u2019s record set last year, was jaw-dropping.<\/p>\n

On the same afternoon that the men\u2019s London Marathon record was being shattered 255 miles (409km) away, this was another era-defining piece of timekeeping.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udca5 Attaque de Tadej Pogacar! Paul Seixas est le seul \u00e0 pouvoir le suivre ! <\/p>\n

Tadej Pogacar attacks! Only Paul Seixas can follow! \u26a1\ufe0f#LBL<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/l2ve2IF6dJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge (@LiegeBastogneL) April 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

What was the most impressive result of the spring?<\/p>\n

Jacob: In the microcosm, it\u2019s Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s victory at Milan-Sanremo after crashing at the race\u2019s key moment \u2014 before remounting his bike to attack on the Cipressa, distance Mathieu van der Poel on the Poggio, and outsprint Tom Pidcock on the Via Roma.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s worth going over his 2026 Monuments record in totality \u2014 three victories and a second-place (plus a win at Strade Bianche) \u2014 and with a further success at Il Lombardia seemingly pre-ordained, this is set to be the greatest one-day campaign in history.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Poga\u010dar pips Pidcock \u2014 just \u2014 to land his first Milan-Sanremo win (David Pintens \/ Belga Mag \/ Belga \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Jessica: After his impressive showing at Itzulia Basque Country, Paul Seixas being on the Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge podium wasn\u2019t wholly surprising. The way in which he came second, however, was incredible.<\/p>\n

Usually when Tadej Poga\u010dar goes, everyone falls away \u2014 and at Li\u00e8ge they did, all apart from one. The world champion has been pushed hard before, and it wasn\u2019t his hardest day on a bike, but the estimated power numbers he put down on La Redoute were record-breaking. To see a teenager hold his own then was jaw-dropping and refreshing.<\/p>\n

Duncan: I enjoyed Remco Evenepoel\u2019s tilt at the Tour of Flanders. As he said himself, third place behind Tadej Poga\u010dar and Mathieu van der Poel on his debut in the race was about as good as it could have got, and his refusal to stop trying to close down the gap to the front two in the latter stages was entertaining. Third at Li\u00e8ge, plus a first win at Amstel Gold means this was probably a solid 7\/10 for Evenepoel. He really should give Milan-Sanremo a go next year.<\/p>\n

Tadej Pogacar & Mathieu van der Poel drop Remco Evenepoel on the Paterberg! \ud83d\udd25 #RVV26<\/a> #FLCS<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9w039Szhf1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ronde van Vlaanderen (@RondeVlaanderen) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Who showed themselves as a future star?<\/p>\n

Jacob: Paula Blasi of UAE Team ADQ. The 23-year-old Spaniard only joined the development team last year after initially focusing on middle-distance running and triathlons \u2014 and just over 12 months later, having joined the seniors, took victory at Amstel Gold.<\/p>\n

It was hugely impressive in nature \u2014 she was the breakaway\u2019s last survivor and stayed away from a charging pair of former Tour de France winners in Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney \u2014 while three days later, just to prove it wasn\u2019t a fluke, she finished third at La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, before rounding out her Ardennes campaign with fifth at Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m excited to watch her on home turf when La Vuelta Femenina starts tomorrow (Sunday).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Paula Blasi celebrates Amstel Gold victory (Marcel van Hoorn \/ ANP \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Jessica: Megan Jastrab\u2019s fifth place at Paris-Roubaix was the best by a U.S. woman in the event\u2019s six-year history. Cycling is undeniably a Eurocentric sport at its peak. As American Matthew Riccitello told The Athletic, \u201cwhen I came over to Europe for the first time, you were a bit behind\u201d as Europeans start cycling \u201cbefore they can walk\u201d. Jastrab\u2019s impressive showing wasn\u2019t just a promising sign of what\u2019s to come from the 24-year-old, but another encouraging result for American cycling.<\/p>\n

Duncan: Just to keep Jacob happy, I\u2019m going to give Romain Gr\u00e9goire a shoutout for a very consistent spring. This is what he did: A win at the Faun Dr\u00f4me classic, fourth at Strade Bianche, 18th at Sanremo, 22nd at Flanders, fourths again at De Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold, ninth at Fl\u00e8che Wallonne and seventh at Li\u00e8ge. It\u2019s the sort of classics season that augurs well for the 23-year-old Frenchman in future years, it\u2019s just a shame Paul Seixas, who doesn\u2019t leave his teens until September, already makes Gr\u00e9goire look as if he\u2019s some sort of grizzled veteran.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Gr\u00e9goire leads Wout Van Aert at Dwars Door Vlaanderen (Jasper Jacobs \/ Belga Mag \/ Belga \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Who should be disappointed with their spring?<\/p>\n

Jacob: I really felt for Ben Healy, whose entire first-half of the season had been built around the Ardennes Classics \u2014 only for a seemingly innocuous crash in the recon of the Itzulia Basque Country to lead to a fractured sacrum (a triangular bone at the base of the pelvis). In a racing sense, Mads Pedersen entered the spring still searching for fitness after his own crash in February \u2014 and finished just off the podium in Milan-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. He is the best rider in the peloton without a Monument victory \u2014 the wait goes on.<\/p>\n

Jessica: Now this doesn\u2019t reflect on the whole spring but after Paris-Roubaix, the Alpecin-Premier Tech team had to be kicking themselves. Mathieu van der Poel entered as the favourite and, as is par for the course, following a series of mechanicals, took teammate Jasper Philipsen\u2019s bike.<\/p>\n

The defending champion couldn\u2019t clip into the pedals, however, as they were prototype models, leaving Van der Poel slipping off and unable to push properly. There may have been reasons behind the decision, but in the most chaotic race of the calendar, it seemed senseless not to have had multiple compatible backup options for their leader. Paris-Roubaix is as Paris-Roubaix does, however, and is never smooth sailing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Van der Poel\u2019s attempts to win a fourth straight Paris-Roubaix all but ended in the Arenberg Forest (Etienne Garnier \/ Pool \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Duncan: Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney finished on the podium at Omloop, Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge but did not win any of them. In fact, outside of her national championship last June, the Polish rider has not been on the top step as a race winner since the 2024 Tour de France, so a win soon would certainly be welcome, maybe at the Vuelta next week.<\/p>\n

Sum up this year\u2019s spring Monuments in five words\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jacob: Poga\u010dar sweep? Not so fast.<\/p>\n

Jessica:\u00a0Blink and you\u2019ll miss it.<\/p>\n

Duncan: Wout\u2019s the King of Belgium.<\/p>\n