The stats
Since the start of 2022, only six different riders have won
either a Monument, a World Championship, or an Olympic Games road race. Just
three, Matej Mohorič, Dylan van Baarle, and Jasper Philipsen, have interrupted
what has essentially become a cycling trinity.
Van der Poel, Pogacar, and Evenepoel have not only dominated
the biggest races, they’ve done so in entirely different ways: brute strength,
solo brilliance, tactical genius, and mind blowing endurance. And yet, as
dominant as each of them has been, the ‘complete set’ of Monument victories
remains elusive.
Here’s where they stand:
- Tadej
Pogacar has won three of the five monuments: Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the
Tour of Flanders, and Il Lombardia (four times), plus the 2024 World
Championship. He only needs Milan–San Remo and Paris–Roubaix to complete
the set.
- Mathieu
van der Poel now has seven Monuments to his name, including two
Milano-Sanremo, three Flanders, and two Paris-Roubaix, alongside the 2023
World Championship. He needs only Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Il Lombardia.
- Remco
Evenepoel, perhaps the most ‘incomplete’ of the three, still lacks
Flanders, Roubaix, Sanremo, and Lombardia, though he already owns two
Liège victories, a World Championship (2022), and an Olympic gold medal
(2024). The Olympic gold medal is the something neither of his two rivals
have…yet.
So, who’s most likely to complete the set.
Tadej Pogacar
Let’s start with the obvious frontrunner.
Tadej Pogacar is,
quite simply, one of the most complete riders cycling has ever seen. He has the
tactical intelligence, raw climbing ability, and endurance to win on any
terrain. His palmarès already reflects that. He is the only active rider to
have won a Monument on the cobbles (Flanders), in the Ardennes (Liège), and in
the mountains (Lombardia). He has even won from sprints and solo attacks.
Only Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix remain. And neither
appears out of reach.
Tadej Pogacar defies what is possible as a cyclist
Milano-Sanremo, despite its reputation as a “sprinters'
classic,” has become increasingly open to puncheurs and attackers. Pogacar has
already come close here, most recently forcing a Cipressa selection that
smashed a decades-old climbing record. “We are seeing new tactics succeed,”
analysts noted after this year's edition. Had it not been for Van der Poel’s
perfect timing and Filippo Ganna’s inspired ride, Pogacar might already have
ticked this one off.
The flip side to this argument is that Saturday showed just
how hard Milano-Sanremo is for Pogacar, essentially because it’s not hard
enough. Try as he might, Pogacar could not distance Van der Poel on the poggio,
and he lost the race there once again.
Then there's Paris-Roubaix, the elephant in the room for
climbers. But is Pogacar really just a climber? In 2022, he rode the cobbles of
the Tour de France like a veteran. He has never tested himself fully at
Roubaix, but his engine, power output, and bike handling are elite-level. Even
Van der Poel believes Pogacar will win the race one day, but will that come
this spring or in the future?
That final caveat may be the key. If he targets Roubaix with
the same focus he gave Flanders, the outcome may well be the same. But, will
someone with GC ambitions in the Tour in July be prepared to risk it all on the
cobbles in Roubaix?
Verdict: Let’s get one thing straight, Pogacar is the
most likely to win all five Monuments, not only because he is closest, but
because nothing in cycling seems beyond him.
Mathieu van der Poel
There is no doubt that Van der Poel is one of the most
gifted and captivating riders of his generation and in fact of all time. His
seventh Monument at Milano-Sanremo 2025 confirms what many already believed:
he’s a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Add in seven cyclocross world titles and
mountain biking success, and he has one of the most diverse records in modern
cycling.
But the road to five Monuments is not just about greatness, it’s
about versatility.
Van der Poel still needs to win Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Il
Lombardia. Neither of these is beyond his reach, but they are undoubtedly the
toughest fit for his style. They’re typically dominated by climbers and
puncheurs, riders like Pogacar and Evenepoel, especially in recent years.
Was Mathieu van der Poel's second Milano-Sanremo win his greatest?
Even Van der Poel himself is realistic: “Winning Liège and
Lombardy seems impossible to me if Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel are at the
start,” he told La Dernière Heure. “It’s not just about thinking about winning
the five Monument Classics, but also about which riders you will face in the
race.”
Yet he does believe it’s possible: “It would certainly be
nice to be able to win the five Monuments, but I know I have already won a lot
and I can think about moving this objective forward.”
Van der Poel has the power, and his descending and technical
skills are second to none. But to win Liège or Lombardia, he may need the stars
to align, or hope Pogacar and Evenepoel skip those editions.
In reality, Van der Poel’s next quest for greatness may come
on a mountain bike later this year, as he aims to add another rainbow jersey to
his extraordinary collection.
Verdict: He has the class and ambition, but winning
the hilly Monuments would require perfect preparation, course tailoring, and
perhaps a weakened start list. Less likely than Pogacar, but not impossible.
Remco Evenepoel
On paper, Evenepoel has the most ground to make up. He’s
never won a cobbled Monument, and has yet to seriously contest Milano-Sanremo.
But if there’s one thing we've learned about Evenepoel, it’s to never rule him
out when the terrain suits his raw power and aggressive racing style
He already has back-to-back wins at Liège, the 2022 World
Championship, and 2024 Olympic gold, all won with dominant, long-range attacks.
Few can match him when he gets 30 seconds of daylight.
We are still waiting to see Remco Evenepoel in 2025
Let’s cast our minds back to the Olympic road race in Paris
last year. People quickly forget how incredible the Belgian was on that day, I
would go as far to say that even Pogacar would have struggled to snatch the
gold medal from him then.
But the problem is Paris-Roubaix and Flanders, races that
don’t allow for the kind of controlled, solo effort he thrives on. Evenepoel is
yet to have proven himself capable of winning on the cobbles as Pogacar and Van
der Poel can, and does he lack some of the raw power of someone like Mathieu
van der Poel and Wout van Aert?
He also lacks a finishing kick in group scenarios when
compared to some of the bigger riders, which makes races like Sanremo difficult
unless he arrives solo, which, as Van der Poel has proven, is no easy task.
Still, Evenepoel is only 25. His tactical awareness improved
massively in 2024, and he is clearly aware of his place in cycling history.
He’s a student of the sport and may one day shape his entire season around
attempting to complete the set.
Verdict: A long shot for all five, but not out of the
question. If anyone can rewrite their own limits, it’s Remco.
Three great riders, one historic goal
The ambition to win all five Monuments once seemed like a
relic of cycling’s golden age. But thanks to Van der Poel, Pogacar, and
Evenepoel, it’s now a living question.
It almost seems wrong to not have truly mentioned Wout van
Aert so far, but for all his incredible ability he still has just one monument
win to his name. That’s a shame, as he may have the best all-round profile to
complete the set, judging by his climbing ability we have seen in the Tour.
Pogacar is the most complete and the closest to achieving
it. If he targets Roubaix, he can win it. Sanremo will continue to be
unpredictable, but he’s been on the cusp multiple times.
Van der Poel’s versatility, brilliance, and tactical
instinct make him a contender in almost any race, but climbing-focused classics
remain a challenge.
Evenepoel, for now, remains the outside, but perhaps the one
with the most upside if he evolves his style.
Who will be the first to join cycling immortality as the
next winner of all five Monuments?
Right now, the smart money is on Pogacar.
But as we’ve seen time and time again with this trio, expect
the unexpected.