Eve of Flanders: Pogacar, Van der Poel, Van Aert and Evenepoel Reunited for First Time in 966 Days
Bruges is gridlocked. Helicopters hover over the Markt. The Ronde van Vlaanderen team presentation spilled out across the medieval square tonight with an intensity the race hasn't seen since 2023, and for one very simple reason: for the first time in 966 days Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel will all start the same one-day race. Easter Sunday's 110th edition of the Tour of Flanders is shaping up to be the most loaded Monument in a generation.
The sporting director briefings from all four leader teams confirmed what every tifoso had been hoping to hear in the final 24 hours: none of the Big Four are carrying any last-minute injury concerns. Van Aert, who had looked laboured in the closing kilometres of Dwars door Vlaanderen after being caught and passed by Filippo Ganna, told reporters at the Visma-Lease a Bike bus that the stomach bug he had been managing during E3 week was "completely gone" and that his power numbers on Thursday's recon ride over the Koppenberg were the best of his spring.
Pogacar, as expected, was the last rider to take the stage at the presentation, and the rainbow jersey received the loudest ovation despite racing for Slovenia rather than Belgium. The world champion is chasing a third Ronde victory in four starts and, crucially for his legacy, a twelfth career Monument that would move him into outright third place on the all-time list behind only Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck. He is likely to face direct marking from both Van der Poel's Alpecin squad and from a motivated Soudal Quick-Step lineup built around Evenepoel.
Van der Poel's storyline, meanwhile, is perhaps even bigger. Already a three-time winner of the race, the Dutchman has the chance to stand alone in the record books with a record-breaking fourth Ronde victory. Alpecin-Deceuninck DS Christoph Roodhooft confirmed that the plan is to race aggressively from the second Oude Kwaremont and that Van der Poel's hand — bruised in a training incident last weekend — "will be a non-factor by Sunday morning".
The wildcard of the day is Evenepoel. A Tour of Flanders debutant at 26, the Belgian has spent the last six weeks quietly transforming his position on the bike, adding bike-handling sessions with former cyclocross pro Niels Albert and completing three full reconnaissances of the course since early March. Soudal Quick-Step arrive with what is undoubtedly their strongest classics squad since Patrick Lefevere's glory days, with Yves Lampaert, Gianni Moscon and Bert Van Lerberghe all on the startsheet to protect their Olympic champion.
Behind the Big Four, the list of credible winners is alarmingly long. Mads Pedersen, always dangerous in a sprint from a reduced group, leads a Lidl-Trek team in rampant form. Dylan van Baarle returns to the race where he was second in 2022 with a strong Visma-Lease a Bike supporting cast. Stefan Küng, Romain Grégoire, Christophe Laporte and Matej Mohoric all arrive with realistic podium ambitions on a course that traditionally rewards strength over positioning.
The weather forecast is benign — 13 degrees, light winds from the south-southwest and no rain in the hours leading up to the 10:00 start from Antwerp. A dry Koppenberg will favour the pure power riders who have struggled to get up the 22% slopes in wet editions, and race organiser Flanders Classics has confirmed that all seventeen hellingen will be tackled as planned. The finish line arch on the Minderbroedersstraat in Oudenaarde went up at dawn this morning ahead of an expected crowd of more than 200,000.
Cycling Lookout's view: this is the hardest men's Ronde to call in years. If we had to pick one, we would still go with Pogacar — his ability to attack from distance and hold a time trial effort for 40 kilometres gives him the widest range of winning scenarios on this course. But the gap to Van der Poel, Van Aert and Evenepoel has never felt narrower, and a single mistake or crash could open the door to the Monument win that would define any of their careers. See you tomorrow in Oudenaarde.