Pogačar vs. Van der Poel: Cycling's Greatest Rivalry Will Define the Tour of Flanders

Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel have won every edition of the Tour of Flanders since 2021.

It’s hard to see that streak being broken on Sunday.

Pogačar and Van der Poel will set the tone and dictate the narratives of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

It feels like only the cycling Gods could prevent one of them from taking the win on this “Holy Day” of Belgian cycling.

The rivalry between Pogačar and Van der Poel has become the driving force of the modern peloton. The cycling world shakes every time they clash.

And this time around, history is on the line.

Not even the prospect of a shock debut from Remco Evenepoel is more tantalizing. Flemish favorite Wout van Aert’s resurgence in form feels like a subheading.

Physiological phenom vs. cobblestone king

Pogačar is the favorite for the 110th Ronde van Vlaanderen.

The double world champion will land into Oudenaarde bubbling hot and brimming with confidence after he dropped Van der Poel and outsprinted Tom Pidcock for a sensational victory at Milan-San Remo.

King Pog will be level with Van der Poel on 3 wins if he defends his 2025 Tour of Flanders title on Sunday.

The Slovenian megastar could even – say it quietly – be on the brink of completing the sweep of all five monuments.

Van der Poel must still be haunted by the memory of being gapped by Pogačar last spring on the Kwaremont. Isn’t MVDP the “greatest cobblestone rider of our generation?”

He is – unless Pogačar is around.

Van der Poel could reaffirm that status Sunday if he wins a record fourth time at De Ronde. Of course, he’ll have to re-prove himself one week later in Roubaix.

Whether you like it or not, the Tour of Flanders could be a two-horse race on Sunday.

Van der Poel and Pogačar have won every monument on the calendar since Evenepoel romped away at the 2023 Liège-Bastogne-Liège. But sorry Remco, that race is asterisked *without Pogačar.

However, don’t despair.

If you zoom out a few dozen watts, Van Aert and Mads Pedersen are still in the scene as they pursue their monument dreams.

Old-school sluggers like Jasper Stuyven, Christophe Laporte, and Matteo Trentin are a cobbled sector back in a wide but distant chasing pack.

The historic stakes of the 2026 Tour of Flanders

It seems a wild statement, but De Ronde is a Tour de France climber’s race to lose.

Pogačar landed out of the off-season looking as good – if not better – than ever. Another massive victory at Strade Bianche and a beyond-belief win in San Remo prove that the Slovenian’s certainly not going stale.

Pogačar could be on the brink of history if he delivers his 111th career win on Sunday.

It would make the 66kg physiological freak a super-favorite for Paris-Roubaix.

He’d join Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlameminck, and Rick Van Looy in owning the monument set if he keeps cool (and navigates the corners) later this month in “Hell.”

He’d also be the reigning champion of San Remo, Flanders, Roubaix, Liège, Il Lombardia, and the Tour de France. The baby-faced wonder would be a rainbow jersey-clad king of the cycling world.

And if Van der Poel proves those hints of weakness at E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem were a blip?

He’d become the winningest rider in the history of De Ronde if he slaps on back at Pogačar. The strapping Dutchman would be deserving of an honorary Flemish passport.

A rivalry that brightened as others faded

Pogačar vs. Van der Poel is the narrative of the modern era.

Not Pogačar vs. Jonas Vingegaard.

Not Van der Poel vs. Van Aert.

Pogačar and Van der Poel have lit up one-day racing in a 36-month blaze of Richard Milles, Whoop straps, and crushing attacks.

They pressed fast forward on the spring classics and forced a wild new form of one-day racing.

Meanwhile, Pogačar’s domination of the past two Tour de France changed the complexion of the grand tour landscape.

Vingegaard, torpedoed by crashes and concussions, was relegated to a chaser.

It’s a similar story for Van der Poel and Van Aert. Their “rivalry” across the bumps and bergs of Flanders lost relevance when Van Aert was struck by a curse of calamity.

The rivalry that will dictate the Tour of Flanders

Here’s the lay of the land ahead of Sunday’s race.

Tadej Pogačar, 27:

• Monument starts: 21
• Monument victories: 11
• Flanders starts: 3
• Flanders victories: 2 (2023, 2025)

The monument stakes: Victory in Flanders would elevate Pogačar to second-best monument rider on record with 12 total wins.

“The Greatest” monument rider? Guess.

Yep, Eddy has 19 of the fantastic five on his palmarès.

Mathieu van der Poel, 31:

• Monument starts: 22
• Monument victories: 8
• Flanders starts: 7
• Flanders victories: 3 (2020, 2022, 2024)

The monument stakes: Van der Poel would go level with Tom Boonen if he wins De Ronde for a record-making fourth time. It would take MVDP to 4 in Flanders and 3 in Roubaix – a mirror of Tommeke’s 3 in Flanders and 4 in Roubaix.

Victory Sunday would erase beyond doubt that MVDP is one of the cobblestone GOATs.

Bonus fact: Believe it or not, but Van der Poel and Pogačar are currently tied 11-11 in their history of classics head-to-heads.

Who will take bragging rights on Sunday afternoon?

Pogačar vs. Van der Poel, data courtesy Pro Cycling Stats:

A ‘modern’ route for a modern rivalry

Two gut-punch repeats of the Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg duo will be the stage of a big brawl Sunday at De Ronde.

The “OG” Muur-Bosberg finale hasn’t been seen since organizers put Flanders in a fluster by cutting it from the course in 2012.

For Pogačar, the playbook is simple: Shake everyone off the wheel before the final berg.

The Paterberg at 15km to go is Pog’s last chance. He’s not going to gamble on taking a rider with an extra 10kg and 100 watts to the finish line.

For fast-finishing Mathieu, Wout, and Mads, the strategy is equally straightforward.

Don’t. Get. Dropped.

Ranking the outsiders

The Tour of Flanders could be a two-man show. But there’s a full echelon of riders who won’t let them rule entirely.

Here’s our not-so-expert ranking of the outsiders, from best to worst:

1. Wout van Aert: The rider the world wants to win
2. Mads Pedersen: The comeback king?
3. Florian Vermeersch: Pog’s backup plan
4. Remco Evenepoel: Begging for beginner’s luck
5. Jasper Stuyven: The Wolf Pack’s top dog
6. Christophe Laporte: Wout’s backup plan
7. Alec Segaert: The super-outsider
8. Jonas Abrahamsen: No skipping pulls this time
9. Tim van Dijke: Resurgent on a Red Bull
10. Matteo Trentin: Mr. Consistent

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