Tadej Pogačar and Demi Vollering Secure Historic Victories at 2026 Tour of Flanders

Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG won the 110th edition of the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, soloing to victory over 278 kilometres from Antwerp to Oudenaarde to claim his third title at the Belgian classic. Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Premier Tech finished second, 34 seconds behind the Slovenian. Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe took third place on his Tour of Flanders debut, finishing over one minute down. The result extended Pogačar's perfect 2026 season: he has now won all three races he entered this year, following victories at Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo. He becomes the first rider since Eddy Merckx in 1975 to win both Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders in the same season.

The Tour of Flanders was first held in 1913 and has grown into one of cycling's most celebrated one-day events, featuring short but punishing climbs and cobblestone sections through the Flemish countryside. The race is one of five Monument classics on the professional calendar. The rivalry between Pogačar and van der Poel has defined the spring classics in recent years, with the pair trading victories across multiple editions of the race.

The decisive moment came on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, with approximately 18 kilometres remaining, where Pogačar accelerated away from van der Poel just as he had done in the previous year's edition. Van der Poel, a three-time winner of the race, had managed to stay in contact through the earlier passages of the climb but could not match the world champion's pace on the final ascent. The gap stood at just 12 seconds at the foot of the Paterberg but had grown to 18 by the summit, enough for Pogačar to control the run-in to Oudenaarde. Van der Poel acknowledged the margin between the two riders after the finish.

„I have nothing to reproach myself for, I did everything I had to do. Tadej was quite simply much stronger. Period. Today again, he was unbeatable. I pedaled at 650 watts on the Oude Kwaremont and I could not stay in his wheel.” — Mathieu van der Poel via La Libre.be

Pogačar himself reflected on the difficulty of the race. „That was a crazy race today. I don't even know what to say. It was super hard, but it turned out well for me.” — Tadej Pogačar via Frankfurter Allgemeine

The victory is Pogačar's 12th Monument win overall, moving him clear of Roger De Vlaeminck in the all-time rankings. With three Tour of Flanders titles — won in 2023, 2025, and 2026 — he now equals van der Poel's record for the most victories at the race. Next Sunday's Paris-Roubaix offers Pogačar the opportunity to hold the title of reigning champion in all five Monuments simultaneously, a prospect described by The New York Times as "astonishing numbers for an extraordinary rider."

12 (Monument victories) — Pogačar's total Monument wins after Tour of Flanders

Vollering attacks on Kwaremont to claim first Flanders title

In the women's race, Demi Vollering of FDJ-Suez won the Tour of Flanders for the first time, launching a solo attack on the Oude Kwaremont with 18 kilometres to go and holding off her rivals to the finish in Oudenaarde over a distance of 164.1 kilometres. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of France, the reigning Tour de France winner, finished second, while Dutch rider Puck Pieterse took third. The attack was initiated with the help of German teammate Franziska Koch, who drove into the Oude Kwaremont at high speed to set up Vollering's decisive move. Ferrand-Prévot briefly held Vollering's wheel but quickly had to concede, and neither she nor Pieterse managed to close the gap on the run to the line.

„It was really painful at the end. But of course, I tried to enjoy it a bit as well. The team did a really good job; that wasn't easy with the headwind.” — Demi Vollering via Der Tagesspiegel

The 29-year-old Vollering, who had previously finished second at the race in 2023, becomes the first Dutch winner of the women's Tour of Flanders since Annemiek van Vleuten in 2021. The victory is her fifth of the 2026 season, following two stage wins and the overall classification at the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana and a win at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. According to The New York Times, Vollering also becomes the third rider to win both Omloop and Flanders in the same season. Koch, who played a key role in setting up the winning move, finished tenth.

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