Ronde van Vlaanderen 2025, one day monument, April 6 (men's)

[Gratemans]

All in all, it was a pretty good race to watch, because it's RVV. But I do feel kind of.. meh.
I don't know. Pog won, as expected. Mathieu did his best. I don't know about the circumstances they now choose to mention: him having been sick and that crash can be a thing, but come on. You don't talk that sh*t untill the next day. Not really classy.

I still think Mathieu can smoke him at PR. But I wouldn't mind an outsider winning PR at all. man, I loved that Colbrelli win. I'd like to see something like that again.

 

[JoãoRamos]

It's funny because everyone in the media was stating how VDP was in his best form ever, that he was the clear favorite, and so on.

Now, when he is beaten in a dominant fashion, cracking after multiple nukes, seeing Pog establishing the fastest Ronde ever (sub 6 hours) and claiming some KOMs as well in the process, now he was sick, it was the crash, the stars were not aligned.

He was cocky as hell before the race, saying that he and Pog were in a level above everyone and was trashed by Mads in the sprint. Such a glorious day.

Now, let's wait for P-R, after being stomped again, what will be his excuse.

 

[Panda Claws]

It's funny because everyone in the media was stating how VDP was in his best form ever, that he was the clear favorite, and so on.

Now, when he is beaten in a dominant fashion, cracking after multiple nukes, seeing Pog establishing the fastest Ronde ever (sub 6 hours) and claiming some KOMs as well in the process, now he was sick, it was the crash, the stars were not aligned.

He was cocky as hell before the race, saying that he and Pog were in a level above everyone and was trashed by Mads in the sprint. Such a glorious day.

Now, let's wait for P-R, after being stomped again, what will be his excuse.

Is this about the Boonen interview? Easiest narrative was to just present it as a clash and give both of them five-stars. At least that was the case in most media I saw.

Let's not fall into any 'world against my boo'-narratives that fans are prone to though.

 

[Oldman]

A sign of greatness is when other fans pick apart your wins as underwhelming or that long range attacks are boring - no, sprint finishes are boring!

There was a huge buildup and anticipation of this clash. Maybe MVDP’s “weakness” had something to do with his crash? But the Flanders parcours was never going to be as good for him as MSR.

But after the finish Pedersen put it best for me: Pogacar is simply the best rider in the sport. No shame in being beaten. I was impressed that Mads could even be that close, and he was obviously firing by demolishing MVDP in the sprint for 2nd. Mads showed why his world title was no fluke. Lidi-Trek did well to also have Stuyven there.

But for Pogacar it’s another monument in his back pocket.

Not having the benefit of a broadcast; the highlights were thin on how much effort and challenges the top 10 faced. Even the reporting didn't have rider blow by blow impacts so I'd be inclined to agree that Mads could've been the best challenger.
Are there any long streams available to US viewers?

 

[Cookster15]

Are there any long streams available to US viewers?

Not sure, I am in Australia

 

[scribers]

I missed most of it, did Powless show at all?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1908903595048661448

View: https://x.com/efprocycling/status/1908903595048661448?s=46&t=X4NqNG7J5ZQ-MxPOi53ECQ

 

[red_flanders]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1908903595048661448

View: https://x.com/efprocycling/status/1908903595048661448?s=46&t=X4NqNG7J5ZQ-MxPOi53ECQ

Perfect, thanks!

 

[kn0s]

It's funny because everyone in the media was stating how VDP was in his best form ever, that he was the clear favorite, and so on.

Now, when he is beaten in a dominant fashion, cracking after multiple nukes, seeing Pog establishing the fastest Ronde ever (sub 6 hours) and claiming some KOMs as well in the process, now he was sick, it was the crash, the stars were not aligned.

He was cocky as hell before the race, saying that he and Pog were in a level above everyone and was trashed by Mads in the sprint. Such a glorious day.

Now, let's wait for P-R, after being stomped again, what will be his excuse.

Pogi being sick before hand, crashing and getting hit by a car before second Kwaremont, then losing to MvdP. What is your reaction? "Oh well, MvdP the GOAT I guess"?

I really don't get why people aren't more upset that we didn't get the fight we where hoping for. I for one was hoping for a race without all these external factors.

 

[JoãoRamos]

[quoted content and response deleted]

Pog won, and the UAE Team also faced several issues during the race — with Politt, Narvaez, Wellens, and others. That’s racing: unpredictable things happen.


VDP had his fastest Ronde ever, setting multiple KOMs alongside Pog.

He simply cracked under the relentless pressure. The better rider, with the superior form, as many of us said, won.

Pogacar is the best classics rider of his generation. By the end of the year, he will have 10 monuments. And excuse me, but this is not a random palmares.

 

[Berniece]

[deleted content]

Pog won, and the UAE Team also faced several issues during the race — with Politt, Narvaez, Wellens, and others. That’s racing: unpredictable things happen.

VDP had his fastest Ronde ever, setting multiple KOMs alongside Pog.

He simply cracked under the relentless pressure. The better rider, with the superior form, as many of us said, won.

If you want to push that narrative go ahead. In the real world we’ll go with Pogi’s biggest challenger was sick and had to take antibiotics before the race, then crashed and wasn’t able to drop Stuyven.

 

[JoãoRamos]

If you want to push that narrative go ahead. In the real world we’ll go with Pogi’s biggest challenger was sick and had to take antibiotics before the race, then crashed and wasn’t able to drop Stuyven.

He rode the fastest Ronde of his career, set multiple KOMs alongside Pogačar, and simply met a rider who is, at this moment, stronger. He lost in 2025 the same way he did in 2023: unable to follow after relentless attacks in an exceptionally hard race.
[content deleted]

 

[Berniece]

He rode the fastest Ronde of his career, set multiple KOMs alongside Pogačar, and simply met a rider who is, at this moment, stronger. He lost in 2025 the same way he did in 2023: unable to follow after relentless attacks in an exceptionally hard race.

[deleted content]

Well yeah, I didn’t know he was sick.

 

[JoãoRamos]

Well yeah, I didn’t know he was sick.

If you truly believe that Van der Poel would have been unbeatable and would have triumphed over Pogacar if it hadn’t been for the cold, that’s perfectly fine — everyone is entitled to their opinion.

However, what matters to me is that, as of now, Pog has 8 monuments to his name, with 2 more where he’s the overwhelming favourite. By the end of this year, at just 27 years old, he will likely have 10 monuments.

 

[Berniece]

If you truly believe that Van der Poel would have been unbeatable and would have triumphed over Pogacar if it hadn’t been for the cold, that’s perfectly fine — everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Yeah I’m sure of that, because he showed the week before already how much better he was than the rest. Not being able to drop Stuyven tells you enough.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

He rode the fastest Ronde of his career

Average speed of a race is a more or less meaningless measurement. Pogacar ride a faster Tour in 2022 when he got beaten by Vingegaard than in any of his victories. No one would say that’s the best version of Pogacar, even if “the fastest Tour of his career”

 

[AmRacer]

Yeah I’m sure of that, because he showed the week before already how much better he was than the rest. Not being able to drop Stuyven tells you enough.

Hadn't Pogi been there, Mathieu would've dropped all the rest. Then he would have raced at his pace, not at 🐐 pace.

 

[Rackham]

Yeah I’m sure of that, because he showed the week before already how much better he was than the rest. Not being able to drop Stuyven tells you enough.

He finished with Stuyven because Pog exploded him.

If VdP raced to his own strength and didn't try to follow Pog that last time, then he could have probably finished between Pog and Mads Pedersen. VdP was second best yesterday. But sometimes when you go over the limit you get tossed back into the group of chasers who under usual circumstances you'd beat on the day.

That's cycling.

 

[JoãoRamos]

Yeah I’m sure of that, because he showed the week before already how much better he was than the rest. Not being able to drop Stuyven tells you enough.

You may be absolutely certain of that, and I’m glad for you.

However, at the end of today, we, the Pogacar fans, will rest easy knowing that he claimed yet another RVV victory and now proudly holds 8 monuments to his name.

And as for the Stuyven subject, that doesn’t really tell us much. Ben O’Connor, who isn’t exactly at the same level, managed to finish second, ahead of VDP, at last year’s World Championship.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Yeah I’m sure of that, because he showed the week before already how much better he was than the rest. Not being able to drop Stuyven tells you enough.

He was able to drop everyone (except Pogacar) multiple times. He looked superb following Pogacar on most bergs. He only cracked on the last Kwaremont, which may have had something to do with following Pogacar relentless accerelations on every berg, don't you think? Do you know the term cumulative fatigue?

I'm not denying that an illness can hamper your fitness though. Yes, it could've affected him. But we really don't know if the outcome would've been different. Being sure of that is a very naive approach.

 

[JoãoRamos]

He finished with Stuyven because Pog exploded him.

If VdP raced to his own strength and didn't try to follow Pog that last time, then he could have probably finished between Pog and Mads Pedersen. VdP was second best yesterday. But sometimes when you go over the limit you get tossed back into the group of chasers who under usual circumstances you'd beat on the day.

That's cycling.

You were absolutely surgical with that observation, and I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Cycling is often about managing limits, and sometimes pushing too hard can bring unexpected results.

VDP simply cracked like a battery running out of charge.

 

[tobydawq]

Livyns is now figuring on the results but it doesn't seem like the riders after him have been bumped one position so he must have been misidentified. Can anyone figure out which rider had originally been given his placing (number 34)?

 

[Berniece]

And as for the Stuyven subject, that doesn’t really tell us much. Ben O’Connor, who isn’t exactly at the same level, managed to finish second, ahead of VDP, at last year’s World Championship.

Again you don't take any context into account. The WC profile was much harder... The amount of meters in altitude alone made it more like LBL than RVV.

 

[fox]

Again you don't take any context into account. The WC profile was much harder... The amount of meters in altitude alone made it more like LBL than RVV.

And what's even more important. You can't compare a steep cobbled climb with a long climb on asphalt. On a steep and relatively short cobbled climb you go in the red and then it is key to recover in the short downhill sections. On a long asphalt climb it is key to keep below threshold. So, I would not say the WC was harder, it was just a complete differente type of race.

 

[fox]

Yes, ofc they do.That's another story, but at the same time, it is what it is—emotions don't change that equation.

When it comes to PR, there are still a lot of unknowns and questions regarding Pogacar, particularly about the extent to which it will impact him.

Especially, how much will it affect him being so much lighter. No bergs—how much will that play a role. Both of these factors, and especially the extent to which, are still question marks who can close the deficit by alot. In my opinion, both factors can go either way— it could have more of an impact than we think, and he is a mere mortal there and be top 5 and be happy and lucky—or it could have less. It is definitely exciting until we know for sure how much it will effect him.

PR will be something else, trust me. The cobbles are much harder and it's just flat. On the flat cobbles the advantage is for Van Aert, MVDP and Pedersen. You could even see that on the flat section of the kwaremont. Pogi was the clear favorite for Flanders, but he is not for Roubaix.

 

[tobydawq]

Livyns is now figuring on the results but it doesn't seem like the riders after him have been bumped one position so he must have been misidentified. Can anyone figure out which rider had originally been given his placing (number 34)?

I found it out myself. It was Piet Allegaert who originally featured as number 34 but he was a DNF.