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

[Breh]

The Evenepoel v Pog/MVDP chase was somewhat fun but overall the race wasn't particularly entertaining.
I'm not going to blame Pogacar because the race would probably not be any different without him, just the next supermutant head and shoulders above everyone else. It has been a peloton a deux vitesses for the past couple of years.

Start was back in Antwerpen so atleast I got to enjoy that.

 

[Barkintheeye]

All good and fair points. I still enjoyed seeing all the stars come out and battle.

Yes, nice to see all of the heavy hitters lining up and challenging each other.

A big no to the lack of unpredictability and linear outcome. Teams and tactics, wind and weather, course and road surface, equipment. None of it has any meaningful impact. The only thing that could've upset the race would be crashes and no one would like to see that.

All races are now, 1) all out from the start to make it as hard as possible, 2) attack from far (or very far out) and make selection, 3) individual TT to the finish.

The fact that Remco was there added at least a small pinch of uncertainty but that was it.

 

[Gigs_98]

What really drove me crazy this edition is the complete lack of any attempt to disrupt Pogacar's race. Literally the only attack between the original move on the Molenberg and Pogacars accelaration on the second Kwaremont was by another UAE rider. When MvdP won the Ronde two years ago it ended up being similarly easy for him as it was for Pogacar today, but there actually were a bunch of attacks going up the road before the second Kwaremont, they just neutralized each other and delivered MvdP in a position to solo away once the hardest part of the race started. But at least people realized they had to try something to anticipate an inevitable attack they would not be able to follow.

Today riders were in an attack of 20 and thought that means they were in the anticipatory move so they should be happy with the situation. Guys like Sheffield are helping in this group because it means Kasper Asgren, who might have made the difference between 15th and 16th place, is eliminated from the picture. Is that truly worth it? You'd rather make sure of that than try to sneak away in a move that no team is equipped to counter? I get that Pogacar is probably just too strong for any such move to win the race anyway, but at least this gives you the chance to finish higher up in the top 10. But no, nothing of that sort. It's been a few years since teams have realized that making races as hard as possible will mean the strongest rider wins 9/10 times and we have seen absolutely no counter measures attempted. If every non UAE rider in that Molenberg group collectively says, I don't want the hardest possible race today, and they do not end up working together, the race in fact becomes much easier and tactics play a role again. It's in those teams hands but they decide not to grasp this opportunity every single time. Everyone has just accepted that we live in an era of dominance and nothing can be done against it, without actually checking whether that is true.

 

[Red Rick]

What really drove me crazy this edition is the complete lack of any attempt to disrupt Pogacar's race. Literally the only attack between the original move on the Molenberg and Pogacars accelaration on the second Kwaremont was by another UAE rider. When MvdP won the Ronde two years ago it ended up being similarly easy for him as it was for Pogacar today, but there actually were a bunch of attacks going up the road before the second Kwaremont, they just neutralized each other and delivered MvdP in a position to solo away once the hardest part of the race started. But at least people realized they had to try something to anticipate an inevitable attack they would not be able to follow.

Today riders were in an attack of 20 and thought that means they were in the anticipatory move so they should be happy with the situation. Guys like Sheffield are helping in this group because it means Kasper Asgren, who might have made the difference between 15th and 16th place, is eliminated from the picture. Is that truly worth it? You'd rather make sure of that than try to sneak away in a move that no team is equipped to counter? I get that Pogacar is probably just too strong for any such move to win the race anyway, but at least this gives you the chance to finish higher up in the top 10. But no, nothing of that sort. It's been a few years since teams have realized that making races as hard as possible will mean the strongest rider wins 9/10 times and we have seen absolutely no counter measures attempted. If every non UAE rider in that Molenberg group collectively says, I don't want the hardest possible race today, and they do not end up working together, the race in fact becomes much easier and tactics play a role again. It's in those teams hands but they decide not to grasp this opportunity every single time. Everyone has just accepted that we live in an era of dominance and nothing can be done against it, without actually checking whether that is true.

Riders respond to a lot of subtle signaling, and mainly the fact that Red Bull were signaling super clearly they wanted to go and lose the braindead way made everything shut down.

But one other thing that frustrates me a lot is big teams don't put riders in the morning break. There's a lot of riders that don't add a lot in terms of help but could at least be annoying to have to deal with at least semi deep in the race.

I think everyone from like Stuyven down should actually want to be in the morning breakaway. And nobody should then ever lend a hand to UAE to close it.

 

[onefortheroad]

I said at the end of last year, that this year would be the most boring year in cycling, ever. MSR was interesting, and the races Pog was not in, were better than expected when MVDP was there, but ultimately, this is boring horse manure for most fans. I hope next week, the harshness will make a better race. We can always hope for an ill-timed puncture, but save that, Pog will just drop everyone again, and regardless of Vingegaard's apparent improved form, over last year, Pog will crush him in July.

Yawn.

I didn’t even look today. It was just so predictable.
I refused to watch just to spare myself the boredom and the inevitable predictable disgust. Once again.

Seeing Pogacar storm into other territories and crush them in their own backyard, it’s a massacre.
He used to lose a few here and there due to lack of experience on some of these classics, but in 2026? I doubt he’ll lose a single race he enters.
The Tour is already a bore of atrocious superiority.
What the other "giants" would actually love (but can't, specially the Tour and main classics) is to race where he isn't. Just leave him to ride alone.

 

[Gigs_98]

Riders respond to a lot of subtle signaling, and mainly the fact that Red Bull were signaling super clearly they wanted to go and lose the braindead way made everything shut down.

But one other thing that frustrates me a lot is big teams don't put riders in the morning break. There's a lot of riders that don't add a lot in terms of help but could at least be annoying to have to deal with at least semi deep in the race.

I think everyone from like Stuyven down should actually want to be in the morning breakaway. And nobody should then ever lend a hand to UAE to close it.

Yes, I've been thinking this for a while now. The rational against putting one of your best riders in the break is that the early break is so unlikely to succeed that they are more useful in the finale. But nowadays those riders who are considered too good to be in the break are dropping out of the group of favorites with 100km to go and end up doing nothing all day. Teams should clearly adapt to their new reality in this regard but it's taking them years.

 

[Oldman]

Riders respond to a lot of subtle signaling, and mainly the fact that Red Bull were signaling super clearly they wanted to go and lose the braindead way made everything shut down.

But one other thing that frustrates me a lot is big teams don't put riders in the morning break. There's a lot of riders that don't add a lot in terms of help but could at least be annoying to have to deal with at least semi deep in the race.

I think everyone from like Stuyven down should actually want to be in the morning breakaway. And nobody should then ever lend a hand to UAE to close it.

That's credible, tactically. That leaves two Belgian heroes to wait how long before they engage? The press has not let up on expectation once Wout has shown signs of injury recovery and Remco became the Suprise Party Debutante. It's not like you can cruise indefinitely and still have your own chance to win; Remco in particular benefits from a small, select group. He got 3rd as an excellent 1st attempt today. Wout showed his depth of form long before the finish but still hurt himself to stay in it.
I didn't see any early broadcast so this opinion is solely on later highlights. What early moves that could have helped weren't even mentioned in those abbreviated broadcasts and I'd agree on the wisdom getting bodies...anybody up the rode to have a chance.

 

[Netserk]

What really drove me crazy this edition is the complete lack of any attempt to disrupt Pogacar's race. Literally the only attack between the original move on the Molenberg and Pogacars accelaration on the second Kwaremont was by another UAE rider. When MvdP won the Ronde two years ago it ended up being similarly easy for him as it was for Pogacar today, but there actually were a bunch of attacks going up the road before the second Kwaremont, they just neutralized each other and delivered MvdP in a position to solo away once the hardest part of the race started. But at least people realized they had to try something to anticipate an inevitable attack they would not be able to follow.

Today riders were in an attack of 20 and thought that means they were in the anticipatory move so they should be happy with the situation. Guys like Sheffield are helping in this group because it means Kasper Asgren, who might have made the difference between 15th and 16th place, is eliminated from the picture. Is that truly worth it? You'd rather make sure of that than try to sneak away in a move that no team is equipped to counter? I get that Pogacar is probably just too strong for any such move to win the race anyway, but at least this gives you the chance to finish higher up in the top 10. But no, nothing of that sort. It's been a few years since teams have realized that making races as hard as possible will mean the strongest rider wins 9/10 times and we have seen absolutely no counter measures attempted. If every non UAE rider in that Molenberg group collectively says, I don't want the hardest possible race today, and they do not end up working together, the race in fact becomes much easier and tactics play a role again. It's in those teams hands but they decide not to grasp this opportunity every single time. Everyone has just accepted that we live in an era of dominance and nothing can be done against it, without actually checking whether that is true.

itd be boring not to pull , only boring riders dont pull

today was very exciting as all the riders were exciting riders who knew how to pull

more macho racing please it is the best the sport has to offer

 

[Red Rick]

Yes, I've been thinking this for a while now. The rational against putting one of your best riders in the break is that the early break is so unlikely to succeed that they are more useful in the finale. But nowadays those riders who are considered too good to be in the break are dropping out of the group of favorites with 100km to go and end up doing nothing all day. Teams should clearly adapt to their new reality in this regard but it's taking them years.

Pre finale long range moves aren't a thing anymore, cause these days they just always contain the top dogs who then wait until the next moment to shed the dead weight. Previously those anticipatory moves would also not get that much time, so I think the minutes gained in the morning breakaway can be quite useful.

The problem is it requires multiple teams to play ball and it's heavily negated when one team outside of UAE wants to herd themselves to the slaughter.

 

[Netserk]

Pre finale long range moves aren't a thing anymore, cause these days they just always contain the top dogs who then wait until the next moment to shed the dead weight. Previously those anticipatory moves would also not get that much time, so I think the minutes gained in the morning breakaway can be quite useful.

The problem is it requires multiple teams to play ball and it's heavily negated when one team outside of UAE wants to herd themselves to the slaughter.

if only mister muscles hadnt taken the start ...

 

[saunaking]

I said at the end of last year, that this year would be the most boring year in cycling, ever. MSR was interesting, and the races Pog was not in, were better than expected when MVDP was there, but ultimately, this is boring horse manure for most fans. I hope next week, the harshness will make a better race. We can always hope for an ill-timed puncture, but save that, Pog will just drop everyone again, and regardless of Vingegaard's apparent improved form, over last year, Pog will crush him in July.

Yawn.

so depressing that this is true

 

[Didinho]

It was always an unfair battle because the top 5 all started on the first row this morning.

 

[Gigs_98]

Pre finale long range moves aren't a thing anymore, cause these days they just always contain the top dogs who then wait until the next moment to shed the dead weight. Previously those anticipatory moves would also not get that much time, so I think the minutes gained in the morning breakaway can be quite useful.

The problem is it requires multiple teams to play ball and it's heavily negated when one team outside of UAE wants to herd themselves to the slaughter.

I think this is another point that annoys me throughout classics. The finale is usually started much earlier today than 10 years ago. Teams have realized that it doesn't really matter if your leader goes solo with 10 km to go or with 50 km to go. If the race was sufficiently hard there will not be an organized chase either way. But if the finale starts 50 km earlier than it used to it means you also must make your anticipatory moves 50 km ealier. Maybe today was not a great example of this because the crucial split happened so early that it was kinda hard to anticipate, but in other races this has been driving me crazy. For example teams still approaching LBL like the finale is happening on RaF and nobody trying to enter La Redoute a minute before Pogacar seems mad to me. But that's how that race has worked for the last few years.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I'm damn thankful I watched only the end of those Cav victories. 21 and 22. Had I been there for the long run I'd get absolutely bored.

It had a good breakup of the wins though. Just 4 years at a high pace.

 

[saunaking]

This race has become too hard and selective, the riders were in ones like a mountain stage. They need to take some of the climbs out, otherwise this will become like Il Lombardia.

just take a specific rider out

 

[Squire]

I think this is another point that annoys me throughout classics. The finale is usually started much earlier today than 10 years ago. Teams have realized that it doesn't really matter if your leader goes solo with 10 km to go or with 50 km to go. If the race was sufficiently hard there will not be an organized chase either way. But if the finale starts 50 km earlier than it used to it means you also must make your anticipatory moves 50 km ealier. Maybe today was not a great example of this because the crucial split happened so early that it was kinda hard to anticipate, but in other races this has been driving me crazy. For example teams still approaching LBL like the finale is happening on RaF and nobody trying to enter La Redoute a minute before Pogacar seems mad to me. But that's how that race has worked for the last few years.

This is a good discussion to read.

I share your incredulity at the lack of inventiveness from non-Pog teams, but I'm not sure how they should actually approach it. The main difference from some years back is that the Pog types have data (and fuel) that tell them they can sustain a prolonged effort much better than everybody else, so I'm not sure they would be scared to go with the anticipation attempts even if they happened earlier. It almost has to be the morning breakaway, as Red Rick says.

I do agree that one improvement is to not work with Pog in the group. Seeing all the sacrificial lambs pulling through in the 18-or-so man group today was insane. Okay, each individual rider didn't lose much energy by doing it, but it meant that Pog also saved energy and got an overall harder race on top of it. Wout kinda did the sane thing and stayed back, but even he sent Laporte to work so that social media wouldn't complain about wheelsucking. On a related note, it was ridiculous to hear MVDP say in the pre-race interview that he would always take turns no matter what. If people didn't just lead themselves to the slaughter, then an earlier secondary move could at least have the positive effect of shedding some alien teammates, even if the aliens themselves tag on. Now it's like, who needs friends, when you have enemies like that.

I don't know if it's cycling that has changed permanently, or if the Pog brute-force tactics (and to a lesser extent the other aliens) is a transient phase that just happens because there's a once-in-a-century so-much-better-than-others rider. Most smaller races this season have actually been very good, so I'm leaning towards the latter.

 

[Breh]

just take a specific rider out

Doesn't matter. Take Pogacar out of RvV or TdF and both these races would've been just as boring as the 2nd best guy is still miles ahead of the rest.
Pogacar is not the problem, he's just the most prominent symptom.

 

[Sciatic]

I think this is another point that annoys me throughout classics. The finale is usually started much earlier today than 10 years ago. Teams have realized that it doesn't really matter if your leader goes solo with 10 km to go or with 50 km to go. If the race was sufficiently hard there will not be an organized chase either way. But if the finale starts 50 km earlier than it used to it means you also must make your anticipatory moves 50 km ealier. Maybe today was not a great example of this because the crucial split happened so early that it was kinda hard to anticipate, but in other races this has been driving me crazy. For example teams still approaching LBL like the finale is happening on RaF and nobody trying to enter La Redoute a minute before Pogacar seems mad to me. But that's how that race has worked for the last few years.

II think the overall strength of the big teams is also a factor, as they keep breaks especially quality breaks much closer —the lowly domestiques are much stronger riders than their predecessors of 15-20 years ago.

 

[canina82]

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[AlpRaid]

2024 was more dynamic and uncertain

well only because we thought we would only have to deal with 2023 Pog who was excellent, but human.

little did we know.

 

[proffate]

I didn't read this whole thread nor did I have time to watch the race super closely but it seems like mvdp pulled more than he should have (which would be none, imo) after it was down to just him and Pog. What is the point of keeping Remco at bay when MVDP will clean any group sprint? Is it just a pride thing? Imo he doesn't look any cooler for digging his own grave

 

[Sciatic]

well only because we thought we would only have to deal with 2023 Pog who was excellent, but human.

little did we know.

Exactly

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

I didn't read this whole thread nor did I have time to watch the race super closely but it seems like mvdp pulled more than he should have (which would be none, imo) after it was down to just him and Pog. What is the point of keeping Remco at bay when MVDP will clean any group sprint? Is it just a pride thing? Imo he doesn't look any cooler for digging his own grave

A couple of possibilities, but not the only ones. Could be that his friendship with Teddy influenced the way MVDP rode. Could also be that Mathieu has never been the clearly weaker rider, like he was today, and didn't want to show weakness, or admit to himself that if he pulls, he loses.

Look at the stark difference between how he rode today versus last Sunday. Sure, I understand that Jesper was there last Sunday, but he doesn't consider Wout to be a real threat, so he doesn't pull as hard, but he clearly can see that Pogacar incredibly strong, so he works with him. These two days should be reversed, in terms of MVDP tactics.

 

[Oldman]

It was always an unfair battle because the top 5 all started on the first row this morning.

That's the call up when 2 of the 5 have won it multiple times, one has 2 recent gold medals....It's also not a single track CX start for a 45 minute race. None of those guys stayed in the front 20 riders for more than a few minutes so your point suggests subterfuge where it doesn't really happen.
Also...only 2 of them would likely be classified as aliens by Belgian fans.

 

[veganrob]

I was skeptical about Remco but props to him. Great effort.