Pogacar, van der Poel and Van Aert - Where will the classics' 'big 3' battle this spring?

After Tadej Pogacar and Wout van Aert, finally Mathieu van der Poel had revealed his schedule for the 2025 spring. Whilst he and Pogacar do not have 100% confirmation of every single race they will take part in, a clear picture emerges, and we can expect several battles between the classics' 'big 3' over the coming two months: Here is where.

What is perhaps most impressive is that until the first monument of the season, the three will avoid each other almost religiously. Mathieu van der Poel revealed this Wednesday that he will start his season at Tirreno-Adriatico, serving as preparation for the rest of the spring classics before he aims for Milano-Sanremo.

Tadej Pogacar will make his season debut at the UAE Tour where he will be the man to beat in the overall classification, his only stage-race this spring. He will also race Strade Bianche as the reigning champion, where it is difficult to imagine he will be matched on the gravel roads.

Wout van Aert will follow a more traditional schedule, racing the 'Opening Weekend' in early March, getting a taste of cobbled racing before his rivals. However he will already get there with some race rhythm in the legs, as he will do the Clásica Jaen Paraiso Interior on his first race day, followed by the Volta ao Algarve where he will team up with Jonas Vingegaard.

The first race with more than one of them will be MIlano-Sanremo, where Tadej Pogacar is aiming for a win and UAE Team Emirates - XRG is planning a full-on assault on the climbs; and Mathieu van der Poel will either try to win as he did in 2023, or play a supporting role for teammate and defending champion Jasper Philipsen.

At the E3 Saxo Classic, as was the case in 2023, the three riders will all be face-to-face in the race that resembles the Tour of Flanders the best. These two races are the only two events where all three riders have confirmed their participation, and they are the toughest of the Flandrien block.

Tadej Pogacar will race Gent-Wevelgem as a bit of a novelty to his spring schedule, whilst van Aert is going to race Dwars door Vlaanderen. For both, van der Poel is in doubt, and it's likely that only in the week of the races there will be a decision.

Then the big question remains on Paris-Roubaix, where van der Poel and van Aert will obviously be aiming for the win, but they may have the company of the Slovenian who has done a recon of the race and could potentially be the ultimate wildcard if he decides to participate.