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It was one of the most impressive Tour of Flanders performances in history as Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) took the race by the scruff of the jersey from over 50 kilometres out on the Oude Kwaremont and rarely relenting as he chased down a dangerous breakaway, then broke clear to solo in for victory.
The expected showdown between the top three favourites of Pogacar, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) came to pass after the attacks exploded from the peloton, but Pogacar always looked the strongest and despite a sterling ride from van der Poel as runner-up, Pogacar was a cut above.
“It’s a day I’ll never forget,” Pogačar said. “I can say I can retire after today and be proud of my career but I can be super, super happy and proud."
“I knew I had to go solo on the last time up the Kwaremont. I just gave it all. I almost cracked on the Paterberg but I knew it was going to be tough. It was the only way to go to the finish.”
“The Kwaremont suits me the most, we hit it with speed and we suffer on the cobbles. Then it’s pure power to the top and it’s long. It favours me.”
It took a long time for the initial breakaway to form and a few splits occurred in the peloton. Pre-race favourites like Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) were caught behind and had to get their teammates to chase and bring them back to the peloton.
Jasper de Buyst (Lotto Dstiny), Daan Hoole (Trek-Segafredo), Elmar Reinders (Jayco-AlUla), Filippo Colombo (Q36.5) and Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Bingoal WB) were the riders to first get a gap at the head of the race, but only once there had already been 100 kilometres raced. The peloton was in no mood to give any free lead to the five riders, and they didn’t get a gap of over half a minute initially.
Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost) and Tim Merlier (Soudal QuickStep) attacked on an early cobbled sector and made their way over to make it an escaped group of seven as the peloton finally relented in the chase.
A big crash was by Filip Maciejuk (Bahrain Victorious) as he tried to skip up the peloton off-road, hitting a puddle and then veering back onto the road, skittling the main bunch and bringing down a large portion of the peloton.
The group waited for the majority of those disadvantaged to rejoin, with the breakaway pushing out to their biggest advantage of the day at just over six minutes.
Mads Pedersen attacked with 113 kilometres to go on the Wolvenburg, eventually pushing clear a group that included some big names in former winner Kasper Asgreen (Soudal QuickStep), Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates), Nathan van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma), Neilson Powless (EF Education-Easypost) Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Dstiny), Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Jhonathan Narvaez (INEOS Grenadiers) and Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ). They set off in pursuit of the front group whose gap was rapidly decreasing.
The chasers joined the original breakaway forming a group of 19 riders at the front of the race with 77 kilometres to go, holding a two minute advantage on the peloton which still contained the major pre-race favourites.
With some riders joining up with teammates in the group, the pace lifted at the head of affairs, and they pushed out their lead to three minutes, while the Alpecin-Deceuninck squad led the way within the peloton with little assistance until UAE Team Emirates began to lend a hand with just over 60 kilometres remaining.
Pogacar made an attack with the leaders holding a two-minute and 15-second advantage with 55 kilometres remaining on the Oude Kwaremont, dropping everyone in the peloton with an elite group of van der Poel, van Aert, Laporte and Pidcock chasing just behind. The chasers eventually caught Pogacar after the Slovenian sat up slightly to allow them to join forces.
Pogacar hit out again on the Koppenberg, dropping Laporte and Pidcock from the elite chasing group, with van Aert and van der Poel struggling, but just able to follow the impressive acceleration. The trio worked together to chase their way onto the front group, the leader’s gap diminishing every time the race hit a significant climb.
Pedersen made an attack from the leading group with 30 kilometres remaining, jumping clear on the flat to forge clear on his own at the head of the race and build a 30 second lead ahead of the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont.
There, Pogacar launched what proved to be the winning move, blasting clear of the chasers and across to Pedersen, passing the Danish rider and setting off alone to the finish.
Van der Poel was the next to follow over the top of the climb and the defending champion rallied to keep the two-time Tour de France champion close over the Paterberg and stay clear of the chasing group, which had seen van Aert join after van Hooydonck dropped back to pace his team leader.
Pogacar extended his lead on the flat run into Oudenaarde, crossing the line clutching his head in disbelief as he became just the third man to win the Tour de France and the Tour of Flanders after Eddy Merckx and Louison Bobet.
Van der Poel came in 16 seconds later, with Pedersen sprinting to third from the chasing group to complete the podium.
Kelland O’Brien (Jayco-AlUla) was Australia’s top-placed finisher, 13 minutes and 18 seconds behind Pogacar in 72nd.
