Wout Van Aert climbs the ladder of E3 favourites in absence of Tadej Pogacar: "If he's not there, it increases our chances of winning"
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar will be absent at the E3 Saxo Classic this Friday, which means the main story of the race will revolve around the first big road clash between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout Van Aert. The Belgian has kept his cards close so far, but there will be nowhere to hide against his great rival.
So there will not be three, but two big favorites racing for the victory on Friday. "It will of course influence the race," says Grischa Niermann, sports director of Van Aert at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, about the absence of Pogacar. "But there are still strong riders and teams. Van der Poel is still there as a favorite."
Despite Pogacar not appearing at the start, it will always be a beautiful race according to Niermann. On the other hand, the eyes are shifting more to Van Aert and thus Visma | Lease a Bike. A disadvantage for the Dutch team and the Belgian rider? "We'll see. We are mainly looking at ourselves, because we want to do well and perform."
Niermann, who spoke to the press and In de Leiderstrui before the start of the WorldTour classic Brugge-De Panne, sees the advantage of Pogacar's absence. "I would say: we also want to beat Tadej Pogacar. But if he's not there, that takes away a big competitor. So on the other hand, that also increases our chances of winning."
From the big three, nobody seems to have Gent Wevelgem on race programme which opens possibility for another rider to win. Visma would like to strike with sprinter Olav Kooij who showed that he's no stranger to longer races at recent Milano-Sanremo.
"That [absence of Van Aert, Van der Poel and Pogacar, ed.] will be different for Sunday," the German continues. Then all three tenors will be conspicuous by their absence. "That is why we are starting with Olav Kooij," Niermann explains the choice for Kooij. The chance of a group sprint is more than present. "He certainly has a good chance."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Bingo...I was going to say a 12 year obsessed Pogi fan girlie ! Like she's chasing a teen boy band! All glossy eyed about tadej!frieders312-11-2026
- That stint in the Pink was so good. If memory serves he struggled with the champagne cuz he'd never been on the podium before. I feel like it gave him some self-belief, and yeah - then the move to Visma to be one of their lieutenants has really brought him to the best version of himself.wrsty12-11-2026
- So, you never really compared Paul Seixas with his main rival Isaac Del Toro why jump to Pogačar? They've (Paul & Isaac) raced together here and there, and they've both shared in wins and losses, I think they should be compared to each other, even with Vingegaard and Remco first before even touching Pogačar. From your writing it's like he's better than Vingegaard, Remco and Del Toro already that his main target is now Pogačar 🤔Sadick11-11-2026
- gee i hope its a minor injury. a great rider and ambassador for the sport. get well soon Lucinda.
Davide11-11-2026 - some of lidl-treks retention and recruiting has been puzzling in the mens and womens teams.Davide11-11-2026
- Yeah his ride at World's was unreal. Over 6 W/kg for over an hour and a half...he single handedly destroyed the break.DAS11-11-2026
- Exactly, you hit the nail on te head.... Ayuso sucks. 3 to 4 years ago some cycling experts were comparing Ayuso as the "new Pogi"... but he's not even close to him... either physically or mentally. Capish you naive schoolboy?PogiSloFans11-11-2026
- I think they expected more from riders like Carlos Rodriguez, Vauquelin and Magnus Sheffield. Imo they should have focused on signing Primoz Roglic, at least they´d probably have had a guaranteed podium GT finisher (he still might sign for them). Now they have 2nd or third tier riders in the classics (Ben Turner, Arensman, Beloki and hopefully Onley can step up again even more). Sheffield, August, Bernal, Tarling and Geoghan Hart did not live up to the star expectations eventually..Jonatan11-11-2026
- Fuuuuuuck, Ciccone and Pidcock on the same team, attacking like crazy and taking it to the other competitors? Yes, please.Occam11-11-2026
- Oh Cameron, this win has been a long time coming! We could not be more proud. All I’ll say is: roll on Glasgow 🔥anonymouscyclist11-11-2026
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