Pogačar Solo Again in Oudenaarde for the second time
World champion Tadej Pogačar completed his masterclass at the Tour of Flanders with a stunning solo victory. The Slovenian unleashed a barrage of attacks on his rivals. With a final explosive effort on the third ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, he dropped Van der Poel and the rest. Pedersen and Van der Poel sprinted for second and third place, with Van Aert just missing out on the podium.
Strong headwinds in the early stages prevented several attackers from forming a breakaway. After a long wait, a group of eight managed to escape. Elmar Reinders (Team Jayco AlUla), Sean Flynn and Timo Roosen (Team Picnic – PostNL), Connor Swift (INEOS Grenadiers), Rory Townsend (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana Team), Marco Haller (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) and Victor Vercouillie (Team Flanders – Baloise) received the peloton’s blessing. Max Walker (EF-EasyPost) and Jens Reynders (Wagner Bazin-WB) also tried to bridge the gap, but were unsuccessful.
Silvan Dillier (Alpecin – Deceuninck) and Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates XRG) took the reins in the peloton and controlled the breakaway, allowing a maximum gap of 4 minutes and 35 seconds. As the race entered Oudenaarde, tension rose sharply. Joint record holder Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin – Deceuninck) crashed ahead of the Eikenberg. Just over 100 km from the finish, the race opened up. Benoot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) launched an attack after the Molenberg and was joined by, among others, Küng (Groupama – FDJ). A group including Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) soon bridged across.
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On the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, the world champion lit the fuse. Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) launched a blistering attack with the other favourites in pursuit. Only Van Aert, Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Van der Poel and Pedersen (Lidl – Trek) could hold his wheel.
The Koppenberg proved to be the first major battleground among the favourites. Pogačar attacked again, with only Van der Poel able to follow. The breakaway and the chase group merged shortly after on the Mariaborrestraat. Attacks continued on the Steenbeekdries, Stationsberg and Taaienberg. The latter looked decisive. The Slovenian pulled clear with Van der Poel and Pedersen, with Van Aert and Stuyven (Lidl – Trek) rejoining just before the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont.
The Oude Kwaremont–Paterberg combination proved decisive in the finale. Van Aert tried to anticipate, but yet another acceleration from Pogačar shattered the group. Even Van der Poel, who initially seemed able to respond, had to let go. On the Paterberg, the world champion maintained his 25-second lead. He never looked back and, just as in his first win in 2023, finished solo on the Minderbroedersstraat. Pedersen and Van der Poel sprinted in that order for the remaining podium spots, ahead of Van Aert.
