"It Takes Away All Hope" — The Peloton Reacts to Pogacar's Tour of Flanders Demolition
Tadej Pogacar's third Tour of Flanders victory was not just a race win — it was a statement of superiority that has left the professional peloton searching for answers. In the days since the Slovenian's devastating solo attack on the Oude Kwaremont, a procession of riders have spoken publicly about the psychological toll of competing against a man who appears to have no physical ceiling. The picture that emerges is one of collective helplessness mixed with grudging admiration.
Matej Mohoric, the Bahrain Victorious veteran who finished in the top ten, offered perhaps the most vivid description. "This was the best I could do," the Slovenian said after the race. "I was hanging on for dear life. When Pogacar accelerated on the Kwaremont, it was like trying to follow a motorbike. You know it's coming, you prepare for it, and it still breaks you." Mohoric, a former Monument winner himself at Milan-San Remo and a rider who knows what it takes to win at the highest level, was visibly shaken by the experience of being so thoroughly outclassed.
Juan Ayuso, who had arrived at the Itzulia Basque Country still processing his Flanders disappointment, was equally blunt. "One of my worst performances I can remember," the young Spaniard said of his Classics campaign, before admitting that the gap to Pogacar feels wider than ever. The Lidl-Trek leader, widely regarded as one of cycling's brightest GC talents, has found the cobbled Classics a humbling experience in 2026.
The sentiment extends far beyond individual riders. "It takes away all hope," was the assessment heard across multiple team buses after the race, according to reports from Belgian media. Directeurs sportifs who spoke off the record described the challenge of motivating riders to race aggressively when the likely outcome — Pogacar attacking in the final 30 kilometres and riding away from everyone — feels predetermined. One team manager compared it to "setting tactics for a football match where the other team has an extra three players."
The power data provides the clinical evidence behind the emotional responses. Mathieu van der Poel produced 650 watts on the Kwaremont — a figure that would have won virtually any other edition of the race — and still could not hold Pogacar's wheel. The world champion's sustained output in the final two hours of racing, with repeated efforts above 530 watts after more than four hours in the saddle, places him in physiological territory that no other active rider can match.
What makes the situation particularly demoralising for Pogacar's rivals is the breadth of his dominance. This is not a specialist winning on his home turf. This is a Grand Tour champion — the reigning winner of the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana — systematically dismantling the Classics specialists at their own game. After Milan-San Remo in March and now Flanders, the Monument Grand Slam bid heading to Paris-Roubaix on Sunday feels less like a fantasy and more like an inevitability.
Not everyone has surrendered, however. Van der Poel, who finished second at Flanders for the third time in his career, has said little publicly but is understood to view Paris-Roubaix as his best chance of stopping Pogacar's sweep. The cobblestones of northern France are the one terrain where raw power alone may not be enough — where bike handling, tactical experience and a willingness to suffer through six hours of chaos can level the playing field. Van der Poel has won the last three editions. He knows the race better than anyone alive.
Wout van Aert, too, refuses to accept the narrative of inevitability. The Belgian's fourth place at Flanders was his best Classics result since joining Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and his team are publicly backing him as a genuine Roubaix contender. But even Van Aert's encouraging form exists in the shadow of what Pogacar did on the Kwaremont — a single acceleration that rendered the entire peloton's preparations irrelevant.
The question now, with four days until Paris-Roubaix, is whether the cobbled roads of northern France can do what 200 of the world's best cyclists could not: find a way to stop Tadej Pogacar.