At the age of 26, Tadej Pogacar already has a Hall of Fame-level career. The Slovenian seems to win at will, attacking anytime the terrain slopes upwards and – generally speaking – dropping everyone, even the most determined opposition.
It isn’t always plain sailing: he was foiled by Mathieu van der Poel at Milan-San Remo, pegged back by the overwhelming raw power of the Dutchman’s engine every time he tried to distance him. But he got his revenge at the Tour of Flanders, wearing an elite group down – including Van der Poel – through a series of attritional attacks, before striking the killer blow on the final climb of the 269km race. The pair reconvene on Sunday for the final episode in an engrossing trilogy of spring races, as they fight for supremacy at the first three of the year’s Monuments.
