Tour of Flanders 2026

The road

At the start

Four champions, one start line

Antwerp on Easter Sunday: 278 kilometres and sixteen hellingen to Oudenaarde, the longest Ronde in decades. Tadej Pogačar defends with San Remo already won, one victory from equalling the record of three. Mathieu van der Poel comes off a solo at E3, chasing a fourth. Wout van Aert has been caught in the final kilometre twice this spring. And Remco Evenepoel, kept secret for three months, starts his first Ronde.

How it was won

1. 1200 km to go

   Level-crossing chaos

   With roughly 200km still to race the barriers drop unexpectedly and half the peloton is trapped at the crossing. The thirteen leaders, waved through under the rules, stretch their advantage past five minutes as UAE hit the front to chase.

2. 2103 km to go

   UAE strikes

   UAE leads into the Molenberg where the group of favourites emerges. Van der Poel, Evenepoel, Pogačar, Van Aert are there.

3. 378 km to go

   The favourites converge

   Seventy-eight kilometres out the seventeen-strong chase swallows the last of the break to form a group of twenty-eight. Even Evenepoel, a Ronde novice, takes his turns on the front — a statement of Belgian ambition on hallowed ground.

4. 457 km to go

   Kwaremont probing

   On the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, 57km out, Pogačar tests the water. A second dig near the top gaps Van Aert on the smooth tarmac beyond, while after a few kilometers Evenepoel gets gapped by just a few seconds. Only Van der Poel can match the world champion into the final fifty.

5. 517 km to go

   Oude Kwaremont — the decisive blow

   Third time up the Kwaremont, and even before the cobbles begin Pogačar is gone. He rips six seconds clear at the summit with Van der Poel visibly buckling behind — the race is decided on the climb he owns.

6. 6At the line

   Three in Flanders

   On the long run to Oudenaarde the gap becomes a rout. Pogačar's arm is already punching the air with a kilometre left, sealing a third Ronde on the longest edition since 1988 — cycling's spring belongs to him again.

The result