Tadej Pogacar eyes solo attack in bid to edge Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel at Tour of Flanders

Tadej Pogacar says that his best chance of victory at Sunday’s Tour of Flanders will be by making it to the end alone and avoiding a sprint finish with the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.

The trio are the favourites in Belgium; Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) warmed up with victory at the E3 Saxo Classic, while Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is the defending champion after edging out Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) last year.

Two-time Tour de France winner Pogacar acknowledged ahead of the event that his best chance lies in losing Van Aert and Van der Poel on the cobble-strewn 273km course and not relying on the Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg finale.

He added: “It’s a really, really long race, and a lot can happen before the final. I need to save a lot of energy and choose the right moment to go. I don’t have anything in mind. We will see on Sunday how the race goes, how are the legs.”

The battle between the big three riders is hotly anticipated, and Pogacar was quick with a comeback when it was pointed out to him that he has never won a one-day race when Van Aert and Van der Poel were also competing.

“It’s not unusual, they also didn’t win a Grand Tour where we all started,” he said.

Jumbo-Visma are the team in form coming into the event, after Van Aert’s win at E3 Saxo Classic and Christophe Laporte’s victory at Gent-Wevelgem.

“Jumbo-Visma have a strong team, so I think they will play as in all the Classics up until now,” Pogacar said.

When asked about Van der Poel, he replied: “He will probably just go and attack on some random climbs.”

The hilly and cobbly challenge of Flanders hasn’t been historically kind to Tour de France champions – only Eddy Merckx and Louison Bobet have won both events – but Pogacar’s motivation for being there is clear.

“I like the races. It’s as simple as that,” he said. “I feel good, my shape is good. It would be a waste if I just stayed home and watched it on TV.”

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