Tadej Pogacar has already made history this season by conquering Milano–Sanremo, one of the only two Monuments that was still missing from his palmarès. However, the Slovenian remains hungry for the great Classics, and the next one is imminent. This Sunday, 5th of April, comes the next target: the Tour des Flandres 2026 (also known as Ronde van Vlaanderen), which he has already won twice.
It is no secret that Pogacar is more motivated by winning a Monument than a Grand Tour. The current double world champion enjoys one-day racing more, and in just a few days he will be trying to secure the 12th Monument of his career. A hat-trick at the Tour des Flandres would edge him dangerously closer to Eddy Merckx in the debate over the greatest of all time.
Even as the defending champion, Tadej Pogacar knows that winning this Tour des Flandres 2026 will be no easy task. The depth of rivals heading to Belgium’s cobbled Monument is remarkable: Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, Arnaud de Lie, Paul Magnier, Romain Gregoire, Matthew Brennan, Biniam Girmay, Christophe Laporte...
The list goes on and on. For that reason, this article picks the five headliners at the Tour des Flandres 2026 with the best chance of denying Pogacar a third crown. Who are the strongest threats to the UAE Team Emirates XRG star? These are some of the riders who can jeopardize the Slovenian's wins the most.
Read also
1. Mathieu van der Poel
Obviously, the strongest rival on the list is no surprise. Mathieu van der Poel, Pogacar’s great nemesis in the Monuments, is again his main obstacle. In fact, he is also one of only two riders realistically capable of dropping him. As always, the keys will be the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg.
Last year, at the Tour des Flandres 2025, Pogacar launched multiple attacks. The decisive move came 19 kilometers from the line, on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, where he finally managed to distance the Dutchman, Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, and Jasper Stuyven, who were part of the lead group at that point.
Van der Poel also animated that Tour des Flandres with several attacks, even recovering from an early crash 126 kilometers from the finish. But in 2025 he arrived after winning a Milano–Sanremo where, this year, he raised doubts by losing Pogacar’s wheel on the Poggio. The good news is he has rebounded with victory at the E3 Saxo Classic, setting the stage for a compelling duel.
2. Wout van Aert
In second place, Wout van Aert, who comes in superb form. The Belgian was third at Milano–Sanremo won by Pogacar, and then was the only rider able to follow Mathieu van der Poel at a De Ronde warm-up in Flanders where he himself had attacked minutes earlier. The bunch caught both with 1 kilometer to go, but the Visma | Lease a Bike leader’s sensations were excellent.
And, as noted above, Van Aert was among the very few who survived most of Pogacar’s accelerations at last year’s Tour des Flandres, matching Van der Poel deep into the finale. To cap it off, he managed to drop Pogacar himself to win stage 21 of the Tour de France 2025, in Montmartre, in a scenario quite similar to Flanders. Can he repeat it?
3. Mads Pedersen
The level of Pogacar’s top three rivals is sky-high, with Mads Pedersen growing stronger since returning from injury. He added fourth at Milano–Sanremo and another top 10 at the E3 Saxo Classic. He was not expected to win there either, yet he was back in the fight despite nearly two months out until La Classicissima.
His quality is undeniable, as is the fact he was, alongside Van der Poel and Van Aert, among the last to yield to Pogacar at last year’s Tour des Flandres. Now that the injury is further behind him, and with time to fully regain strength, the Slovenian will surely be thinking hard about the Dane. If he cannot drop him, beating him in a reduced sprint at the finish will be very difficult.
Mads Pedersen, a Lidl-Trek star
4. Arnaud de Lie
Time for the more “outsider” threats. It is clear the main dangers to Pogacar are the three names above, but Monuments often produce an “unexpected” protagonist, and Arnaud de Lie ticks many boxes for that role.
The Belgian is coming off 4th at a Middelkerke - Wevelgem where neither Mathieu van der Poel nor Wout van Aert could seal the win. His best chance hinges on hanging on with the front group when the race splits under the big favourites’ accelerations. Failing that, he can hope for a regrouping from a group has has happened before in this race, most recently in 2024 where the podium has unexpected figures from a sprint.
5. Paul Magnier
With that scenario in mind, we reach the last of Pogacar’s five key rivals for the Tour des Flandres 2026. Several names could fit here: Biniam Girmay, Romain Gregoire, Soren Waerenskjold, Mauro Schmid... But it has been “a while” since we have enjoyed a Paul Magnier victory, and the Wolfpack will aim to make a dent on such a grand stage.
For Paul Magnier, the hopes mirror the two scenarios outlined for Arnaud de Lie. Moreover, Soudal Quick-Step is still chasing its first WorldTour win of the season. The Frenchman gave them two at the Volta ao Algarve, but those were 2. Pro and over a month ago. If he reaches the finish in the lead group, few will beat him in a sprint.
With Dylan van Baarle and Jasper Stuyven, the team not only has a lot of experience but quality, whilst at the same time not being a lineup that can make the difference uphill. This could see them change their aims towards supporting the Frenchman survive the Flandrien roads and then go on to sprint in Oudenaarde.
6. Remco Evenepoel
He could just as well be ranked ahead of Mads Pedersen and even Wout van Aert. On pure ability, Remco Evenepoel belongs in that conversation. But if he does line up at the Tour of Flanders, it will be his first appearance in his home Monument — and that matters. Experience is often decisive here, and it’s exactly where riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Van Aert, and Pedersen still hold the upper hand.
That said, if Evenepoel hits top form, he is more than capable of beating Tadej Pogačar. Aside from the UAE Tour — where he finished 10th overall — the Red Bull–BORA leader has been impressive since his debut with the German team. At the Volta a Catalunya, he came close to two stage wins and finished fifth overall.
Evenepoel has already shown he is built for the Monuments. He has two victories at Liège–Bastogne–Liège and two runner-up finishes at Il Lombardia — both times only beaten by a dominant Pogačar. Now is the time to test himself in Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, and Milan–San Remo. His first Tour of Flanders could prove a defining moment in shaping his future in the cobbled classics.
Jorge BorregueroWriter
Jorge Borreguero is a journalist with a degree from the Complutense University of Madrid and has been a writer for Cyclinguptodate and Ciclismoaldia since early 2023. In this role, he has played a key part in the evolution of the website, particularly as a specialist covering Movistar Team. He regularly writes race reports, analytical pieces, and in-depth features about the team, and has conducted exclusive interviews and attended multiple team presentations, providing readers with firsthand insights into one of the leading professional cycling squads.
Throughout his career, Jorge has maintained a strong focus on sports journalism, gaining experience across a variety of disciplines, including basketball and football. However, his current work is almost entirely dedicated to cycling, contributing extensively to Ciclismoaldia and its sister website Cyclinguptodate. For these platforms, he combines thorough research with detailed reporting to deliver high-quality content, ranging from race previews and results to expert analysis of teams and riders.
Jorge’s reporting is marked by accuracy, depth, and a commitment to providing readers with reliable and authoritative information. His direct engagement with teams, athletes, and events ensures that his coverage reflects firsthand knowledge and professional insight. Through his work, he has established himself as a trusted voice in professional cycling journalism, bridging the gap between the sport and its global audience while maintaining rigorous editorial standards.
claps 5visitors 5
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- I preferred the one about amateur riders and passing (perhaps to explain why he can’t ride at 220 which would probably be more effective to return to shape).Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Not just ManU, far worse in some minority sports ventures.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- From your writing it sounds like you’ve been sharing your views with people here for quite a while, quite presumouptuous for a new profile.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Which is amazing given his weight and size, though, unlike in boxing and some rare instances we haven’t a clue what his fighting weight was. Anybody know why these “public” figures floated around are considered as being accurate?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was also going to say that young pretty women are obsessed Pogi fan girls... who are chasing him. All glossy "____" (blank) about Tadej. PS: You can all fill in the "blank" yourselves, whatever you prefer. The definition of glossy is: It looks unusually shiny, glazed over, watery, or vacant/unfocused.PogiSloFans12-11-2026
- Are you able to discuss ANYTHING without making a reference back to your Special 1? It’s almost as if you’re paid by his marketing team to improve his ranking in search results.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- PogiSloFansUpToDate: The Tadej Pogačar Foundation has awarded scholarships for the 2026/2027 school and academic year in Slovenia. It received more than 60 applications from young people who have faced cancer, and all of them were approved. This year, Pogi's Foundation has therefore signed scholarship agreements with 63 recipients, totalling €166,000. This is almost double last year’s amount, when it awarded 35 scholarships worth €94,000. Pogačar: "We believe in you and your dreams. Now I’m cheering for you."PogiSloFans12-11-2026
- as we all like the david-style rebels, he will leave a gap.Ketterechts12-11-2026
Loading
5 Comments