Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Cycling News
Cycling News
Sport
Alasdair Fotheringham

'He's one level above all the rest' - Mathieu van der Poel names Tadej Pogačar as top favourite to win 2026 Tour of Flanders

2026 Tour of Flanders: Mathieu van der Poel before the start.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) has pushed back on the pressure that he might be the rider to beat stand-out favourite Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in this year's Tour of Flanders, and instead suggested that Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) could be the rider to stop the Slovnian

A three-times winner of the Tour of Flanders in 2020, 2022, and 2024, last year Van der Poel was unable to prevent Pogačar from claiming his second Ronde.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.