The build-up is well and truly underway for what the Flemish call the Holy Week. Before we reach the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, however, last weekend’s E3 Saxo Classic and In Flanders Fields offered something of an amuse-bouche ahead of the big prize at Vlaanderens Mooiste.
Friday’s E3 Saxo Bank Classic offered our first big window into the form of Tour of Flanders contenders, with Mathieu van der Poel victorious for a third consecutive time, despite the concerted efforts of a four-man group in pursuit, including UAE rider Florian Vermeersch.
At the newly-renamed In Flanders Fields, Gent-Wevelgem to you and me, the men’s race saw a rejuvenated Wout van Aert just about match Van der Poel’s speed over the Kemmelberg, only for the pair to be reeled in under the flamme rouge. That left the sprinters to contest the win, with Van der Poel’s Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate Jasper Philipsen victorious ahead of Tobias Lund Andresen and Christophe Laporte. In the women’s race, Lorena Wiebes became the first rider, man or woman, to win three editions on the trot after outsprinting a select group, with Lidl-Trek’s Fleur Moors just a wheel away from a breakthrough victory at just 20 years old.
We had our eager eyes on proceedings over the weekend in Belgium. With a week to go until the Tour of Flanders, here’s what we can take away from these pre-Ronde litmus tests.
Mathieu van der Poel overstretched
This weekend showed a rare sign of vulnerability for Mathieu van der Poel on the cobbles.
This was most apparent at the E3 Saxo Classic, in which the Dutchman’s move from 40km almost ended in embarrassing defeat. If it weren’t for a tactical cock-up by the pursuers in the final kilometre, Van der Poel would have been reeled in and smacked with a confidence-crushing loss.
‘At five kilometres from the finish, I ran out of steam,” Van der Poel explained at the finish. ‘At first, I still had a reasonably good feeling about it [the solo effort], but I know how difficult that course is to ride alone. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to hold on, I was done. In the end, I made it, but it cost blood, sweat, and tears. It is one of the victories that hurt the most.’
Intriguingly, Van der Poel’s Strava data from the race shows that he scored a best 90-minute power effort during the race’s final phase, averaging 446 watts. This is explained perhaps by a strong headwind, but it may also show that the gap to the challengers is closing. That should come as good news for the likes of Decathlon, Red Bull and Visma.
While the wattage might be at a career best, this isn’t the Van der Poel of the past two seasons. During those years, Van der Poel’s E3 attacks were clearly unmatched by the chasers, leading to winning margins of well over a minute in both editions. This, compounded with his Milan-San Remo disappointment, should raise some questions ahead of the Tour of Flanders on Sunday.
Per Strand Hagenes confirms his Classics promise
Per Strand Hagenes has been on the radar of many for a few years now. A Norwegian Classics prodigy, he won the junior World Championships Road Race in Belgium in 2021 and made a big splash at the Renewi Tour in 2024 when he finished on the final GC podium.
On Friday, he managed to pick up his first podium in a WorldTour one-day race at the E3 Saxo Classic. He looked one of the strongest pursuers on the cobbled bergs, bettering his teammates Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte on the day. He’d co-operate in the chasing group that almost made the junction, but he’d ultimately win the sprint for second after failing to contribute one final pull.
This result has been a long-time coming for the 22-year-old from Norway. He was strong earlier in the month at Le Samyn and GP Denain, but tactical immaturity would cost him the victory at the latter. To some extent, that lack of experience was highlighted at E3. However it’s clear that he has the talent to play a key role in future Classics.
After an off-season spent shedding bucket loads of Classics specialists, Strand Hagenes’s breakthrough should be a welcome sign for Visma-Lease a Bike. He can start to fill the spot left behind by Tiesj Benoot as a key helper in the Classics. When you’re up against a full-flight UAE Team Emirates XRG, teammates like him will be greatly appreciated.
Wout van Aert is back
While Strand Hagenes stole Visma’s limelight at E3, Wout van Aert rolled back the years on Sunday to deliver a 2020-like performance at In Flanders Fields. This comes after a month of refinding his feet, with a podium finish at Milan-San Remo the clear highlight.
On Sunday, Van Aert looked great on the cobbled hills, matching Van der Poel’s moves, even after a mechanical issue over one of the key bumps. On the final ascent of the Kemmelberg, Van Aert was glued to the Dutchman, which was impressive given his lack of spark during the past two Classics campaigns. The two were later reeled in, but it shows that Van Aert can’t be discounted just yet. He’s still got that attacking spirit of old, and he’s clearly got the fitness to follow the usually unmatchable Van der Poel moves.
Knowing that, he may end up being a bigger player in the Tour of Flanders than we thought. Van der Poel will need to find some extra wattage if he’s looking to drop Van Aert and block his rival from claiming a first title in Oudenaarde. Given his current shape, I don’t think Van der Poel can afford to tow his Belgian enemy to a sprint.
FDJ United-Suez in flying form ahead of Vollering’s Flanders bid
One notable absence at the women’s In Flanders Fields was Demi Vollering, who decided to take a Pogačar-like approach to the Ronde despite a victory during the Classics’ opening weekend at Omloop Nieuwsblad. Regardless, FDJ United-Suez managed to pull some big positives from Sunday’s race.
Teammate Elise Chabbey made the key selection over the cobbled climbs, guiding her to a fourth place finish in Wevelgem. With that, I’m starting to believe that Chabbey could be the person to make the difference for Demi Vollering when she takes on the Tour of Flanders this weekend.
The Swiss rider has finished in the top ten of both Flanders and Roubaix in the past, so she’s got what it takes to be in the mix on these kinds of profiles. She has always been a good one-day rider, but this is the best we’ve ever seen her. Of course, her win at Strade Bianche earlier in the month shows this, particularly when pitted against the likes of Elisa Longo Borghini and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. However, a fourth place at In Flanders Fields further proves her current form.
While SD Worx-Protime and Lidl-Trek look stunted on a team front, FDJ United-Suez look in great shape – and that’s before we even start to praise winter signing Franziska Koch. Lotte Kopecky might be back to top speed, but the French team are firing on all cylinders, and now have Vollering back from a two-week altitude camp in Tenerife.
Fleur Moors: Lidl-Trek’s new talent
The Classics haven’t been great for Lidl-Trek’s teams. The men’s squad have been struggling as Mads Pedersen recovers from injury, and the women’s team have looked weak since the beginning of the one-day calendar. Elisa Balsamo has been off the boil, and the likes of Anna Henderson and Emma Norsgaard are MIA.
To change the team’s fortunes, enter Fleur Moors. At the age of just 20, Moors is a graduate of the cyclocross school of Classics racing. So by channelling her inner Van der Poel, she was able to turn it up a gear and hold onto the lead group over the Kemmelberg, dropping the likes of Balsamo, Millie Couzens, Sharie Bossuyt and Charlotte Kool.
Having made the final selection of five, Moors played a good tactical game. While many of her competitors attacked, she was fixed to the wheel of Lorena Wiebes. This placed her in a great position in the sprint, having sucked the Dutchwoman’s slipstream for the preceding 3km. Beating the three-time winner, on the other hand, is almost impossible, but Moors came damn close in second.
Lidl-Trek were in need of a big result this spring, and they finally have it. I don’t think it’s too early to declare that Moors is a real talent, so it’ll be interesting to see how the youngster fares at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix over the next fortnight. No pressure, she has plenty more years to come.
Tobias Lund Andresen can contest the Classics
In the absence of Olav Kooij this season, Denmark’s Tobias Lund Andresen has been holding down the fort at Decathlon-CMA CGM. Not only has he been filling his Dutch teammate’s shoes, he’s been delivering big result after big result. At this rate, Kooij shouldn’t bother getting back on the bike, because Lund has got the squad covered.
The 23-year-old Dane has finished a huge spread of Classics within the top ten this year, including Omloop Nieuwsblad, E3 Saxo Classic and a runner-up spot at In Flanders Fields. All in all, that makes him one of the most consistent Classics riders of the year, especially once we throw Mathieu van der Poel out of the equation.
The final results are perhaps swayed in Lund’s favour given his strong sprint, but it should be noted just how strong he’s been on the decisive climbs at these big races. At In Flanders Fields, for instance, he was within the top six or seven riders up the Kemmelberg, which is impressive for a man considered to be a pure sprinter.
Before this year, I saw Lund as just a sprinter. However, he’s constantly proving that he’s something more than that. He’s won hilly sprints and podiumed cobbled Classics this year. As part of Decathlon’s beefed-up Classics roster, I could really see him as a key player in the Classics to come over the next few years.
Tadej Pogačar’s Paris-Roubaix bid looks more promising
A faltering Mathieu van der Poel is great news for Tadej Pogačar. We’ve seen that he’s already got what it takes to crack Van der Poel at Flanders. But now it looks as though the gap is certainly closed between the two as far as Paris-Roubaix is concerned.
Before the Slovenian’s crash on the cobbles during last year’s edition, Pogačar looked on equal pegging to Van der Poel on the French pavé. Any let-up in form this time around, therefore, will be crucial.
Pogačar is in great form, as we saw at Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo. We don’t know if the crash at the Primavera has had any effect on his fitness, but his recent Instagram posts seem to suggest not. Van der Poel, on the other hand, is the one with question marks. In comparison to last year, he looks weaker, as displayed this weekend and at Milan-San Remo.
In that case, the pendulum swings in Pogačar’s favour.
Fostering this boost in confidence is also some training and tech insights. This week Pogačar posted an image on the Arenberg Trench aboard Colnago’s aero Y1Rs instead of the V4Rs used at last year’s edition. The tyres he was sporting there were very much on the chunky side. On close inspection, it looks as though he’s specced the bike with 34mm or 35mm tyres, which is almost the maximum width possible on the Y1Rs.
Pogačar is dialled in. Beware.