Mathieu van der Poel won E3, but Tadej Pogacar is the real winner for Johan Bruyneel: "What is going to stop him?"
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel won the E3 Saxo Classic, however with a much less dominant performance than a year back. Whilst he has taken the win on the 'mini Tour of Flanders', the performance didn't look convincing against a modest field that is likely going to be no match to Tadej Pogacar next week.
The Dutchman launched a long-range attack and was without a doubt the strongest in the race, riding to his third consecutive win in E3. But it was an attack that perhaps came too early, and at a high cost.
“Personally, I think it would have been smarter to keep [Tim] Van Dijke with him for a bit longer (the two attacked on the Taaienberg, but van der Poel dropped his compatriot soon after, ed.). His attack came with 65 kilometers to go, that is far out, and in E3, there is still a long way to race after the hill zone," Bruyneel said on The Move podcast.
Afterwards, the Dutchman maintained his gap, but saw it fade in the final flat section of the race. Against a strong group that was cooperating well, the gap began to fade. Whilst this is not unusual in a regular race scenario, riders such as van der Poel and Pogacar have gotten fans used to obliterating performances that defy logic.
On Friday, van der Poel's victory was widely attributed to the chasing group's lack of cooperation in the final kilometer. Even van der Poel himself argued that he couldn't sprint anymore. "He showed that he is human. It is incredible that he still won, because I thought he was done.”
But 'being human' is not the kind of performance that is encouraging ahead of the second monument of the season, where Pogacar already managed to win in his two participations. There is much more climbing, and the Koppenberg where historically Pogacar has been able to put van der Poel on the ropes.
“He is ready, but there is one problem: Tadej Pogacar. That is his problem, and it will be his problem in the races to come. Who is good enough to beat Pogacar? Okay, Tom Pidcock was able to follow him in Sanremo, but without the crash I think Pogacar would have gone solo on the Cipressa and ridden all the way to the finish.”
Five monuments in a year quite possible for Pogacar
The Belgian pundit did not see van der Poel's performance as encouraging, but this Sunday's Middelkerke - Wevelgem can still change things. The Alpecin-Premier Tech is also still carrying the wounds of his Milano-Sanremo crash, which can eventually improve over the coming week and provide him better chances.
“It is genuinely possible that Pogacar wins all five Monuments in one season," with Paris-Roubaix perhaps being the one true race that is in doubt. "The problem with Flanders and Roubaix is that there are external factors, and those are hard to avoid. But he has already won the one that was hardest for him to win: Milano-Sanremo. What is going to stop him?”
Bruyneel believes that at the Tour of Flanders, the Slovenian will be the outright favourite. His recent climbing performances and the strong collective strength back that up. “Normally, he wins Flanders again. He has a strong team, and you could also see an unbelievable ride from Florian Vermeersch, who came back after a mechanical problem.”
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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