Tadej Pogacar breaks Mathieu van der Poel in Tour of Flanders masterclass - next stop, Paris-Roubaix

Tadej Pogacar added another sensational solo victory to his palmares at the Tour of Flanders. The cobbled Monument looked set for a thrilling finale after Pogacar reached the top of the Kwaremont with just 15 seconds on a stellar quartet of chasers, but four failed to catch one as the Slovenian ripped away to write another grand chapter in his extraordinary career. Next up: Paris-Roubaix…

After making multiple attacks in the final phase of the Tour of Flanders, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was able to make the last one stick.

The world champion attacked a select group of superstars on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, before going solo to glory on the famous finish in Oudenaarde.

As he denied Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) what would have been an unprecedented fourth Flanders title, Pogacar made it one each in Monument battles against his great rival this season. Van der Poel finished third behind Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) with Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) just off the podium.

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After heading south out of coastal Bruges the early break took a little while to form. When it settled down it comprised of Elmar Reinders (Jayco AlUla), Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana), Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Sean Flynn (Picnic PostNL), Timo Roosen (Picnic PostNL), Rory Townsend (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Marco Haller (Tudor Pro Cycling), Victor Vercouillie (Flanders-Baloise).

The group made good progress towards the infamous Flandrian bergs, but between them UAE and Alpecin-Deceuninck kept it from getting out of hand. The breakaway’s lead never topped five minutes, and was generally nearer four.

Nerves in the bunch just as they reached the circuit of cobbled climbs induced a crash on an innocuous stretch of paved road. John Degenkolb (Picnic PostNL) was forced to abandon, while Tim Wellens (UAE), though able to continue, would not contribute any further. Van der Poel was held up but returned to the front of the bunch within 16km.

'Very bad etiquette' - Pogacar targeted mid-wee at Tour of Flanders

Video credit: TNT Sports

As the 16 marked cobbled sectors followed one after another, the gap to the breakaway began to rapidly tumble. That inspired attacks out of the bunch, with team-mates of some of the favourites, including Tiesj Benoot (Visma), Quentin Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Daan Houle (Lidl-Trek), disappearing up the road. That took the pressure off those teams and laid it squarely at the feet of UAE.

No bother for Pogacar who remained cool as can be in the company of Mikkel Bjerg, Antonio Morgado and Nils Politt. He knew when he was going to strike and it was on the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, with 56km to go. Even at an 80% attack it was enough to test his rivals and begin to break the bunch down. Van der Poel, Pedersen and Van Aert were among the few able to follow, as a select group of superstars made a beeline for the front of the race.

A second attack on the Steenbeekdries was followed by Van der Poel and Pedersen, providing an early glimpse of the podium although on that occasion it failed to stick. Van Aert measured his effort and found better legs than he had shown all season to get back into contention.

'There’s the gap!' - Pogacar soars up Kwaremont as Van der Poel drifts backwards

Video credit: TNT Sports

The Belgian even found enough in reserve to attack the quartet in the lead-up to the final ascent of the Kwaremont but he only gained 20m or so of advantage as the tarmac turned into cobbles. Pogacar knew he could not win if he could not win solo, and that was where he launched his 100% attack. For the first time the elastic to Van der Poel began to stretch before it successfully snapped. 

With less than 20km to the finish, most of those flat, the group behind could have kept themselves in it if they were able to limit their losses and work together for the run in. Neither of those things happened. 

After hitting out to go solo, Pogacar benefitted from a lack of cohesion in the chase. Even as he faced a headwind for the final few kilometres on the level, he was able to turn a 20-second lead at the top of the Paterberg into 45 seconds with 5km left to ride. By the flamme rouge it was nearer a minute and as he neared the line there were no others in sight.

'I will accept the challenge' - Pogacar on looming Paris-Roubaix debut

Video credit: TNT Sports

In his post-race interview Pogacar confirmed it was always the plan to attack on the Kwaremont, "and we followed the plan."

He also talked about the "bad luck" of the early crash, which took out team-mates Wellens and Florian Vermeersch. "In the end all was good," he said. "I’m so happy to win in this jersey."

With one Monument secured for the season, Pogacar will immediately look to next Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix. It will be his first time on the startsheet for the Hell of the North and although he agrees that "Flanders suits me better, you never know. With this shape I should be able to give it a try."

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