The wait is finally over as one of the most eagerly anticipated races of the year is here, the Tour of Flanders – all of its 269km of cobbled climbs and chaos will play out on Sunday. From Bruges to Oudenaarde, a race defined by its tortuous twists, turns and narrow hills, Flanders, or Ronde van Vlaanderen, is arguably the greatest of all the Classics and is a highlight of the WorldTour calendar.
This edition of De Ronde has had perhaps one of the most intriguing build-ups in recent memory due to the mouth-watering pending showdown between reigning champion Mathieu van der Poel, who seemed untouchable at last week’s E3 Saxo Classic and the one obstacle standing in his way of record-breaking fourth Flanders title, a certain Tadej Pogačar.
After the pair’s rip-roaring duel at Milan-Sanremo, Flanders represents the next battle between the two best Classics riders of the peloton. Van der Poel and Pogačar have not only shared the last two De Ronde and World Championship titles but also 13 of the last 18 Monuments. Therefore it’s not surprising that for many fans it seems like 2025 will be fought out between the two. However, there are a number of big names on the startlist worthy of contesting the biggest Belgian race of the year.
Contenders
Mathieu van der Poel
Defending champion Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has three wins from three one-day races so far in 2025, taking the Samyn Classic in early March before the Sanremo and E3 victories. With seven Monuments, a road World Championship, along with a hat full of Classics, the Dutchman is a one-day specialist with a knack of playing everything perfectly when it matters the most and when there are no second chances like in a stage race. It is unlikely that he will be able to drop Pogačar on the bergs so expect Van der Poel to be less aggressive than he was to secure his victory at E3 and last year’s Flanders win where he pushed on on the Koppenberg with 45km to go. As his final sprint at Sanremo confirmed, he can be confident that he has the beating of Pogačar if it comes down to a drag race.
Mathieu van der Poel after winning Milan-Sanremo 2025, his seventh career Monument (Photo: Eloise Mavian/Tornanti.cc)
Tadej Pogačar
After taking the title in 2023, Van der Poel’s main challenger, Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), is back at De Ronde following an absence last year and like Van der Poel he will be looking to add to his seven Monument wins and further cement his status as cycling’s G.O.A.T to be. More so than any other Monument, Flanders offers the prime terrain for an enthralling race between the pair as there is enough cross over to suit their individual strengths. While Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix on paper favour Van der Poel but Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia play into Pogačar’s hands, Flanders has the perfect blend of climbs of the right length to make the battle between the pair hard to predict, as their 2022 and 2023 showdowns proved. To beat Van der Poel, Pogačar will have to do what he failed to achieve at Sanremo — drop the Dutchman when the road goes uphill.
Tadej Pogačar on his way to winning Giro dell'Emilia 2024 (Photo: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Read more: The hardest climbs in the Tour of Flanders
Mads Pedersen
With a dominant long-range attack for victory at Gent-Wevelgem, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) has established himself as the third favourite for Flanders on Sunday. With third (2023) and second (2018) place finishes at Flanders on his palmarès, Pedersen will be hoping to upgrade to the top step of the podium. The former road world champion is the best Classics rider in the peloton without a Monument win to their name but despite this he will not be granted the same freedom to go up the road as an outsider may receive. Van der Poel, who has lost sprints to Pedersen in the past, and Pogačar will not want to go into the final kilometre with the Dane but after another strong performance at Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen, he will be hoping that he can withstand the attacks that are bound to come flying in.
Mads Pedersen won his third title at Gent Wevelgem in March (Photo: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Wout van Aert
Besides an enforced absence last year due to injury, there has not been an edition of Flanders this decade where Wout van Aert (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) has been outside the top three favourites for victory. Due to Van der Poel, Pogačar and Pedersen’s impressive wins so far this year and Van Aert’s relatively disappointing start to the season, however, that is the position the Belgian finds himself in. After a hugely disappointing Dwars door Vlaanderen, where Van Aert and two teammates Tiesj Benoot and Matteo Jorgenson lost out to the lone Neilson Powless, confidence in the Visma camp will be low. However, behind what was a discouraging result lay an impressive performance from the team, showing that collective attacks from one of the strongest squads could be the blueprint for victory. It worked against Pedersen, with the three Visma riders finishing ahead of the Dane in fifth, but will it work against Pogačar and Van der Poel?
Wout van Aert at the 2025 E3 Saxo Classic (Photo: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Neilson Powless
Neilson Powless’s stunning victory at the final dress rehearsal for Flanders, Dwars door Vlaanderen may have catapulted him into the contenders list for Sunday’s Monument and although Wednesday was the biggest win of the EF Education-EasyPost rider’s career, he does have history at Flanders, finishing fifth in 2023. The versatile American tends to hit purple patches of form, where he can compete with the world’s best for a few weeks. He did that and more on Wednesday, beating Van Aert in a sprint, a rider who has won on the Champs-Elysées of the Tour de France — possibly the most important sprint finish every year. The year Powless was fifth at Flanders, he preceded the result with seventh at Milano-Sanremo and third at Dwars door Vlaanderen. For the latter, he has upgraded his third to first, so what is stopping him upgrading his fifth at Flanders this Sunday?
Neilson Powless winning the 2025 Dwars Door Vlaanderen (Photo: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Other contenders
Stefan Küng of Groupama-FDJ is always there or thereabouts at the Classics and was showing signs of strength at Dwars Door. Pedersen’s Lidl-Trek team are one of the strongest on the startline and if their leader were to get into difficulty Jasper Stuyven or Toms Skujiņš will be able to fight for a top finish. Likewise, Van Aert’s teammate, Matteo Jorgenson, is a Classics winner and is proving himself to be one of the strongest riders in the peloton.
Ineos Grenadiers pair Magnus Sheffield and Joshua Tarling have been showing solid form and attacking intent and could make it far into the race by sneaking into earlier breaks. Whereas versatile punchy sprinters like Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), Michael Matthews (Team Jayco Alula), Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) will be hoping to survive the lung busting bergs and cobbles to be able to unleash a sprint in Oudenaarde.
Prediction
We think Tadej Pogačar will drop the rest of the contenders in the final 50km to take his second victory at the Tour of Flanders.
