The second monument of the season is almost here. This Sunday, April 6, the Tour of Flanders 2025 takes place, and it will be one of its most anticipated editions in recent years. The main reason is that fans will enjoy a new chapter of the rivalry between Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel.
At the last Milano - Sanremo, the Dutchman proved that Pogacar is not invincible. With an epic performance, Van der Poel took the first monument of 2025. This caused the injured Slovenian to want to hit him back harder, confirming his presence in this Tour of Flanders and also with his debut at Paris-Roubaix.
However, first up is Flanders (also known as Ronde van Vlaanderen). Although Mathieu van der Poel will be his main rival, Tadej Pogacar must take into account that at the start (at least provisionally) there will be other big names...
1. Mathieu van der Poel
The most logical and already mentioned. Mathieu van der Poel is in such good form that it is risky to even consider Tadej Pogacar favorite ahead of the Dutchman. The Alpecin-Deceuninck star has won 3 of the 4 races he has contested in 2025: Le Samyn, the aforementioned Milano-Sanremo and the E3 Saxo Classic. The king of the monuments will come to the race to defend the title won in 2024, and also add the fourth of his career (counting also those of 2020 and 2022).
2. Mads Pedersen
The incredible Lidl-Trek rider is in one of the best moments of his career. At Milano-Sanremo he was 7th after suffering quite a bit throughout the day, but then he was the only rider to trouble Mathieu van der Poel in the E3 Saxo Classic with his two attacks (even though he was 2nd more than 1 minute behind the Dutchman). He then dominated Gent - Wevelgem with a solo victory to confirm that he will arrive at the Tour of Flanders with a good chance of hurting both Van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar. Also, let's not forget that he has already been on the podium 2 times: 2nd in 2018 and 3rd in 2023. Will the third time be the charm?
Mads Pedersen winning Gent Wevelgem. @Sirotti
3. Wout van Aert
In terms of form, he may not be the best candidate to hurt Pogacar. However, it would also be very risky to say that Wout van Aert is racing a monument not to win it. The Belgian wants to turn his so far irregular season around. Therefore, what better stage than a Tour of Flanders that he missed in 2024 due to injury. In addition, his main asset will lie in the strong squad that Visma will bring, with great teammates for the Belgian as Matteo Jorgenson, Dylan van Baarle or Tiejs Benoot.
4. Filippo Ganna
Probably the biggest unknown is the Italian INEOS Grenadiers. La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Ciro Scognamiglio previewed a last-minute change for Ganna, stating that he will race the Tour of Flanders for the third time in his career. He already participated in the 2018 (DNF) and 2019 (98th) editions, but at that time he was much less of a classics specialist than he is now. What's more, like Pedersen, Filippo Ganna is surely in the prime of his professional career. In Milano - Sanremo he was the only one to hold the pace of Pogacar and Van der Poel in Cipressa, and he ended up also arriving after the Poggio. In fact, he was 2nd at the finish ahead of the Slovenian. He then closed a creditable 3rd position in the E3 Saxo Classic. There is no doubt that the Filippo Ganna who faces this 2025 Tour of Flanders will do so with the sole objective of taking a top result.
5. Matteo Jorgenson
Other riders could have made the Top 5, but for the same main reason as Wout van Aert, the American from Visma cannot be counted out. Jorgenson has become a great specialist in the spring classics. With the Dutch outfit taking a strong team to the Tour of Flanders, Tadej Pogacar and his UAE will also have to keep a close eye on the 25-year-old, who finished 9th in his monument debut in 2023. After defending his title at Paris-Nice, Matteo Jorgenson is still looking for his first big win of the year in a one-day race.
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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Front24208-11-2026
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