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

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Just watched the finish, and Pog was very gracious to Wout. I think the coldness between them has thawed, for sure. Knowing Pog, it's because of the final stage of last year's Tour. As much as I dislike his dominance and team, he is a gracious winner and competitor, and seems to be a kind person, Makes his win's slightly less horrible.

 

[Stelvio]

That‘s probably on the Koppenberg descent, the last left hand turn before the right handers towards the National road

Yepp: https://www.google.com/maps/@50.818...try=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDQwMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw==

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Pogačar got a yellow card, but it‘s pretty hard to get sanctioned through too many yellow cards.

I missed it. What was it for?

 

[Sciatic]

Looked like Pog did just enough so MVDP can follow

I think that was definitely true in the sections before the final Kwaremont. He could have disposed of him earlier if needed.

 

[Sciatic]

Should be looking at how Pidcock rode the part before the Poggio here

Too bad he wasn’t here as well. We’d have the same winner but the pre-launch part of the race would have been more interesting.

 

[Red Rick]

Pogačar got a yellow card, but it‘s pretty hard to get sanctioned through too many yellow cards.

Yellowcard means "shoudl be a DQ but we're too cowardly to do it"

 

[Sciatic]

Impressive dome of grass.

At first I thought it might be memorial for the sorting hat

 

[Sciatic]

He looked way worse than expected (by me at least) after the strong prep races. But yes, P-R suits him more

He blew himself up trying to stay right on Pog’s wheel on the 2nd Kwaremont. I don’t fault him for trying but he would have been better served to pace himself and perhaps be close to Remco.

 

[Sciatic]

4th year in a row that the race is brute-forced from the final Kwaremont/Paterberg combo, with no suspense in the last 20 km. It's getting a bit meh, despite record number of big name challengers this year.

This year it felt over after the 2nd Kwaremont, it seemed like Pogacar was on cruise control after that with MVDP hanging on. Remco chasing at least made it more interesting until the final ascent.

 

[Sciatic]

wtf happened to pog hair?????? whoever thought that was a good idea

Speaking of which, Pogacar is now so confident in his strength and ability that he no longer needs the aero hair tufts sticking out of the top of his helmet!

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

I missed it. What was it for?

2.12.007 8.3 | Disposing of waste outside of litter zones.

 

[noob]

Speaking of which, Pogacar is now so confident in his strength and ability that he no longer needs the aero hair tufts sticking out of the top of his helmet!

Pog at the hairdresser "I want to look like Wout! He gets all the pretty

Spoiler: ....

.....

Hair dresser: I'll make you look even more like Wout than Wout"

 

[Andy262]

Yup, that was actually my point; I think it’s going to be a much bigger battle than this was, the terrain should be much more of an equalizer. But Pog has all the momentum at the moment and will be extraordinarily motivated…if he gets past PR with another win his chance to be the first to win all 5 monuments in a season goes to about 97%. Hoping for a much more interesting race next week.

That would be the greatest news ever, though let’s not forget the PR cobbles are a whole different level of ugly compared to today. That said, I was very wrong about Remco, I didn’t think he had it in him to do this. He managed that solo really well; it would have been very easy to blow in any of those bergs and he really hung in there tough. Last Kwaremont cooked him some but that was a very impressive ride from him.

I’ve thought for ages that Remco should ride the cobbles. Probably passim here if I could be arsed to look. I don’t see him as a 3 week tour rider. Hope he rides Roubaix, even if just as a sighter.

 

[Tim Cahill]

With the train yellow and the disposal of littering that should be a red card. Disgusting cheating.

 

[noob]

https://cyclingflash.com/news/uci-on-tour-of-flanders-train-incident-riders-must-leave-the-race

Somebody tell me if this is real??

 

[aphronesis]

https://cyclingflash.com/news/uci-on-tour-of-flanders-train-incident-riders-must-leave-the-race

Somebody tell me if this is real??

The last paragraph matters.

 

[KZD]

Extremely high level race with arguably the five best classics riders at the start line. I liked the race even though it felt a bit too predictable with the race winning move happening exactly where it was expected and no major surprise result.

Pogačar adds one more chapter to his incredible career by getting his 12th monument win and becoming a joint record holder with three RVV wins. I would love to see him back in order to try a fourth win.

Van der Poel once again with a great performance, while it was still a defeat when you lose against the best ever on a race with hills there isn't much to be upset about. He will need to win Roubaix in order to make this a succesful season, though.

Remco with a fantastic podium spot on his debut, while we can criticise his tacticts, it felt that this was really the most that he could achieve so he should view this as an incentive to come back because after today I believe that he can win this race in the future.

Van Aert repeating the fourth place of last season, however this year I was expecting slightly more from him after the strong performances at GW and DVV.

Massive respect for Pedersen that finished fifth after a terrible preparation for this race and showed again that he is one of the best classics riders in the world. Roubaix should suit him better as long as the wrist doesn't bother him too much.

Finally, great to see Mohorič on the top10 of a monument again.

 

[Red Rick]

The last paragraph matters.

Lights start flickering way before.

Any excuse not to disqualify specific riders.

 

[AmRacer]

Lights start flickering way before.

Any excuse not to disqualify specific riders.

Evidence

 

[canina82]

This train incident just shows a lot of "cycling fans" here don't care about entertainment, they just care about one rider not winning.

 

[aphronesis]

This train incident just shows a lot of "cycling fans" here don't care about entertainment, they just care about one rider not winning.

Cycling and “entertainment” aren’t strictly synonymous.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

This train incident just shows a lot of "cycling fans" here don't care about entertainment, they just care about one rider not winning.

Should have given Alaphilippe the 2020 LBL then because he rides in an entertaining fashion.

 

[Sciatic]

Hey, great race. All the big stars showed out. Nothing surprising, but still very watchable race of attrition with some guys really hanging in at the end of their tether. Enjoying it.

I wouldn’t mind if Pogacar eventually distanced himself but what I really feel is missing is the drama around the selection. There was mainly just the one selection, going from 20 riders at the bottom of the Kwaremont to just 2 (one of whom already struggled to hold on) by the top. At least Remco’s pursuit added a bit more interest. But the tactical element of riders deciding which late attack to go with and which to let go and stay in the bigger group—there’s none of that. Just who has the legs when Poggi launches. I can still enjoy watching the race [which might say more about how little I have going in my life ] but I really miss that tactical element.

 

[TheKidsCallMeBoss]

Unsurprisingly, Sheffield was the first to go down. Trentin was taken to the hospital, possibly with a serious shoulder injury.

 

[Sciatic]

Cycling fans believing in miracles again without any sense of irony or self-awareness.

Magical thinking is a great tool!