Ronde van Vlaanderen 2026, monument, April 5 (men's)

[Boehmand]

Thanks for lettting me know. After MSR the only thing I was looking forward to at De Ronde was to see whether Pog would wait for his formulaic attack on the last Kwaremont or he would try and succeed somewhere else before. Now I can add to that the performances of Remco and that Mongolian dude. I'm thrilled.

You gotta find joy in the little things mate

 

[Ilmaestro99]

@Ilmaestro99 thoughts on pozzato ranking Wout first?

No surprises there. It's nice that pippo supports his Belgian protege

 

[Boehmand]

Carlton Kirby is ready for De Ronde

https://twitter.com/x/status/2040337850655260797

View: https://x.com/carltonkirby/status/2040337850655260797?s=20

I never watch the sport with English commentary.

For the longest time I have seen people complain on here about the commentary of "Carlton" and "Kirby" - and just now realised they were not unhappy with two different commentators - it was all the same dude

 

[Lequack]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPHbHmAghlk

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

"Dat is inderdaad erg constructieve feedback": how are we anglophones expected to make anything of that?

 

[the asian]

Voted Pogi, but would really love to see Wout Van Aert or an outsider win. I really miss those days when a Devolder, Nuyens, Zaugg, Ciolek would win a monument. These days it's always the strongest rider who wins, it's alaways the same names, and not much fun in it.

 

[Potomac]

"Dat is inderdaad erg constructieve feedback": how are we anglophones expected to make anything of that?

You know those times if you are looking at something and it is a little bit fuzzy, but if you squint your eyes it comes into focus?

When listening to Flemish or Dutsch, English speakers just need to squint their ears a bit and they can understand it.

 

[RedheadDane]

When listening to Flemish or Dutsch, English speakers just need to squint their ears a bit and they can understand it.

How do you squint your ears?

 

[Potomac]

How do you squint your ears?

Practice, practice, practice

 

[Tommy Gun]

Eurosport currently showing a re-run of least year's edition, I am afraid we will see exactly the same pictures tomorrow: the same World Champion jersey riding alone into the sunset, the same attack on the Kwaremont, the same group struggling to chase behind, and so on... A change cannot come soon enough
I would love to see Remco show something interesting in the pointy end of the race, but I am starting to lose faith, the guy seems to regress year after year, sadly.

 

[ice&fire]

How do you squint your ears?

Just play the video slower and louder

 

[postmanhat]

Voted Pogi, but would really love to see Wout Van Aert or an outsider win. I really miss those days when a Devolder, Nuyens, Zaugg, Ciolek would win a monument. These days it's always the strongest rider who wins, it's alaways the same names, and not much fun in it.

Agree with your overall pessimism, but this has been the most enjoyable classics season for a few years for me, with most of the breaks being chased down. And I don't think tomorrow will be any different.

Pog rides away with 50 or 40k to go. Lets assume MVDP, WVA, Pedersen, Evenepoel aren't that far behind. Plus or minus one, if they form a group, he'll be caught. Then of course, there's the wild card of whoever else might have been able to hang on over the Paterberg.

 

[canina82]

There will be a strong headwind on Kwaremont. Not good for Pogacar.

 

[Oldman]

Pippo Pozzato's ranking for the Ronde:

1. Wout van Aert
2. Mathieu van der Poel
3. Tadej Pogacar
4. Christophe Laporte
5. Florian Vermeersch

Cinque nomi per il Fiandre e perché: la previsione di Pozzato

Chi vincerà il Giro delle Fiandre? Filippo Pozzato sceglie i suoi 5 favoriti: Van Aert davanti a Van der Poel e Pogacar. Ecco analisi e sorprese

bici.pro

Unless Wout, Christophe and Mathieu are riding as a combine (it'll happen someday to beat TP) I doubt they'll relegate him to 3rd place without outsized bad luck to Tadej. Likewise MvP vs Wout. Mathieu should be the best prepared and well rested of the 3, IMO.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

At what time can we expect the entrance to the second Kwaremont?

 

[QueenStagiaire]

There will be a strong headwind on Kwaremont. Not good for Pogacar.

Wind direction from WSW, riding direction towards S/SSE, so a bit of cross headwind, mostly crosswind

 

[canina82]

At what time can we expect the entrance to the second Kwaremont?

Around 3.15 pm.

 

[ice&fire]

Wind direction from WSW, riding direction towards S/SSE, so a bit of cross headwind, mostly crosswind

Oude Kwaremont with the crowds is a narrow corridor for most of its length. Is the wind direction still relevant?

 

[Sciatic]

At what time can we expect the entrance to the second Kwaremont?

Timetable in the guide says 16:09 CET but unlike the chrono for most races it doesn’t give separate times for 3 different average speeds. So figure +/— 20 minutes?

 

[Sciatic]

Around 3.15 pm.

Wouldn’t that be the time for the 1st passage?

 

[Cookster15]

Huge anticipation for this edition despite the overwhelming favoritism of Pogacar. Glad to see Remco targeting this race, unlikely but who knows would be a fairy tail? Nearly 280km of hills and cobbles, a race of strength and endurance.

Maybe MVDP gets an upset victory if Pog cannot shake him on the Kwaremont / Paterberg combo? Paterberg looks best for Pog to get the gap as so steep but he would need to smash Kwaremont beforehand to empty the legs and set up the next climb. I hope not too much headwind in the final.

 

[Lequack]

 

[canina82]

Wouldn’t that be the time for the 1st passage?

I think the race will start at 10:20 am. So 5 hours later they are probably in the 2nd Kwaremont

 

[Boehmand]

There will be a strong headwind on Kwaremont. Not good for Pogacar.

Where did you hear that?

I read crosswinds on Kwaremont and tailwind on Paterberg in the Danish TV2 pre-race analysis, and they are usually on point.

 

[Boehmand]

Oude Kwaremont with the crowds is a narrow corridor for most of its length. Is the wind direction still relevant?

If head- or tailwind yes, if crosswind less so (and yes, it's not a straight road)