Three favourites stand above all others ahead of the Tour of Flanders. Tadej Pogačar, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel looked several rungs ahead of the rest at last week’s E3 Saxo Classic, the quintessential Ronde dress rehearsal, and it will class as a major surprise if the spoils don’t fall to one of that trio in Oudenaarde on Sunday afternoon.
The Tour of Flanders, however, is a race apart and, as last year’s tumultuous finale showed, one that is always capable of throwing up late twists. There are three outstanding contenders – and one dominant team in Jumbo-Visma – but there are plenty of riders who will line up with ambition in Bruges on Sunday morning.
