Pogačar solos to third Tour of Flanders win, tying record

Tadej Pogačar Solos to Third Tour of Flanders Victory, Equaling All-Time Record

Tadej Pogačar cemented his dominance over cycling’s cobbled classics on Sunday, powering to a solo victory at the 2026 Tour of Flanders to claim his third title in four years and equal the all-time record for wins in the race. Mathieu van der Poel finished second, with Remco Evenepoel taking third on his Flanders debut, as Wout van Aert was left to settle for fourth after being dropped on the decisive climbs.teamvismaleaseabike

A Trademark Attack on the Oude Kwaremont

The 278-kilometer race from Antwerp to Oudenaarde exploded into life well before the finale. Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad shattered the peloton with more than 100 kilometers remaining, reeling in a 13-rider breakaway and setting the stage for the favorites to duel on the storied climbs of Flanders.idlprocycling

On the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, with 55 kilometers to go, Pogačar launched his first serious attack. Van Aert cracked and watched Van der Poel and Evenepoel ride away from him. On the third and final passage of the Kwaremont, Pogačar struck again in a carbon copy of his 2025 winning move, this time riding Van der Poel off his wheel for good. The Dutchman fought valiantly but could not close the gap on the Paterberg or the flat roads to Oudenaarde, finishing roughly 40 seconds behind the world champion.cyclingnews

Records and Rivalries

The victory gives Pogačar his third Flanders title, putting him alongside legends Achiel Buysse, Fiorenzo Magni, Eric Leman, Johan Museeuw, Tom Boonen, and Fabian Cancellara in a select group of riders who have won the Monument three times. It also marks his second Monument victory of 2026, following his maiden Milan-San Remo triumph, keeping alive the unprecedented possibility of winning all five Monuments in a single season.olympics

Van Aert, who had been among the pre-race favorites, was candid about the gap to the leaders. “We could only have come back if they had started looking at each other,” he told Cyclingnews after finishing fourth alongside Mads Pedersen. Van der Poel, who named Pogačar as the clear favorite before the race, acknowledged the Slovenian’s supremacy: “He’s one level above all the rest”.cyclingnews