'We have the big gun still to come' – Are UAE Team Emirates-XRG the biggest threat to Mathieu van der Poel at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, even without Pogačar?

Belgian champion Tim Wellens of UAE Team Emirates-XRG pictured in action during a track reconnaissance session ahead of this weekend's one-day cycling race Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the opening race of the Flemish classic one day races season, Thursday 26 February 2026.BELGA PHOTO DAVID PINTENS (Photo by DAVID PINTENS / BELGA MAG / Belga / AFP via Getty Images).

With Wout van Aert out of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad due to illness, debutant Mathieu van der Poel stands alone at the top of the favourites list, with some distance between him and the next expected best. But, even without their talisman, Tadej Pogačar, could men's cycling's top team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, actually be the biggest threat to the Dutchman's chances of winning the first big Classic of the 2026 season?

It's no secret that when racing reaches Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix – the first three of the five Monuments, cycling's biggest one-day races – Pogačar and Van der Poel will be the two likely protagonists, having won 18 between them.