OFFICIAL: Tadej Pogacar leads UAE at Tour of Flanders - "We can give a really good showing to try and ride for the victory"

Tadej Pogacar is no stranger to the Tour of Flanders and this spring he will be back. After a dramatic defeat at Milano-Sanremo, he is now confirmed to battle Mathieu van der Poel in the steep climbs of Flanders in hunt of another monument.

“Flanders is an amazing race and for sure ranks as one of the most important victories in my career. The energy of the race and the passion for cycling in this region is something special," Pogacar said in a press release. "The team is very strong and I think we can give a really good showing to try and ride for the victory.

"In Milano - Sanremo we had a great race and a good battle between the rivals and I’m looking forward to doing it all again on Sunday, albeit in different circumstances." He will once again see van der Poel and Filippo Ganna, as well as an in-form Mads Pedersen as his main rivals. 

The team is very strong and well rounded, missing Florian Vermeersch but having a lot of firepower to attack the climbs. As in Sanremo, Jhonatan Narváez and Tim Wellens should be the most important support men.

However the lineup features Nils Politt, Antónnio Morgado and Mikkel Bjerg, all riders who finished in the Top5 last year in the absence of the World Champion. Concluding the lineup, as the rider who will likely do a lot of the work early in the day, will be Portuguese Rui Oliveira.

UAE Team Emirates - XRG for Tour of Flanders:

Mikkel Bjerg
Tadej Pogacar
Rui Oliveira
António Morgado
Jhonatan Narváez
Nils Politt
Tim Wellens