Tadej Pogačar has set his sight on completing an historic clean sweep of cycling’s five Monuments, after winning his third on Sunday at the Tour of Flanders.
The Slovenian superstar continued his extraordinary form, attacking on the Kwaremont with 17km to go and holding onto to win in Oudenaarde ahead of Mathieu van der Poel.
Victory means that the 24 year old has now won three of cycling’s most prestigious one-day races, having previously triumphed at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and twice at Il Lombardia.
The UAE-Team Emirates rider now needs to win both Paris-Roubaix and Milan-Sanremo to become just the fourth man after Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck to win all five races.
Speaking after his outstanding win in Flanders, Pogačar referenced the record: “We will not give up. We leave it in reserve. I think I have to gain some kilos for Roubaix and gain strength in my hands. We saw in Sanremo it is the most difficult, [but] this year I have been in one of my best forms of my life,” the two-time Tour de France champion said.
Despite being caught behind a crash early on in the race that meant his team had to work hard to regain touch with the peloton, Pogačar was imperious during De Ronde and joked that he could leave cycling a happy man following victory. “I could retire after today and I would be very proud of my career. I can be happy and proud. It was an incredible job by the team today. A day I will never forget," he said.
Discussing his race-winning move, he reflected: “We were coming with speed onto the cobbles, really suffering, so the entry into the climb [of the Kwaremont] is all about giving it all the power to the top. It’s very long to the top so it’s my favourite [berg].
“I knew I just had to go on the Kwaremont. I gave everything, and then I almost did crack on the Paterberg. I knew it was going to be hard, but it was the only option for me.”
