Pogacar

2022 - 4 - 3

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Van der Poel wins Tour of Flanders as sprint finish leaves Pogacar ... (The Guardian)

Mathieu van der Poel kept his cool in a tense battle with Tadej Pogacar, who was visibly frustrated by his failure to close out the win.

“At first it wasn’t even sure if I would get to the Classics, [so] to win is incredible,” Van der Poel said afterwards. Van der Poel waited until that moment to start his sprint and Pogacar was boxed in, somehow missing out on what would have been a deserved podium finish. On the next hill, the Koppenberg, Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) attacked again with only Van der Poel and Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) managing to follow him.

Tadej Pogačar previews Paris-Roubaix cobblestone sectors to be ... (VeloNews)

Tadej Pogačar takes a closer look at the treacherous sectors of French cobblestones that loom on stage 5 in this summer's Tour de France.

141km: Bousignies to Millonfosse (1,400m) 111.5km: Monchécourt to Émerchicourt (1,500m) 108.5km: Émerchicourt to Monchécourt (1,300m) “Thanks to all my UAE Emirates teammates once again, each rider gave more than 100 percent. 81km: Villers-au-Tertre to Fressain (1,400m) “But you never know.

Tadej Pogacar: I was frustrated with myself but I love the Tour of ... (Cyclingnews.com)

Slovenian explains finish line gestures and reveals he ripped up the Ronde on feel after losing power data.

"[Van der Poel] came next to me and I tried to accelerate but there wasn’t enough in my legs to drop him," he added. "It's a difficult climb, one of the longest, and so it was good for me. "I was not really mad about it to anyone. Boxed in and forced to settle for fourth-place in the four-man sprint, he was clearly unhappy as his gesticulations continued beyond the finish line. "All in all, it was a great experience. Not just that, but there was barely a flicker of regret - nevermind anger - as he smilingly fielded questions from the steps of his team bus.

3 things Pogačar could have done differently in the Tour of Flanders ... (Canadian Cycling Magazine)

Mathieu van der Poel broke away with the Tour de France champ, and managed to stay on his wheel as they crested the impossibly difficult Koppenberg climb. From ...

Question: Is Tadej Pogačar Roubaix trolling us? (CyclingTips)

Tadej Pogačar. Winner of Liège, Lombardia, the Tour de France (twice…so far), expert troll? Maybe. Following his barnstorming start to 2022, Strade, UAE, ...

Plus, Paris-Roubaix is just nine weeks from the Grand Départ in Copenhagen, and the possibility of injury during the cobbled Classic poses too great a risk to his attempt for a third-straight yellow jersey. Now that would really make the trolling complete. The next day, Pogačar posted a photo, he was back on the bike and smiling. “Whoa! Who can remember a Roubaix winner under 70kg.” “Not much,” was how Pogačar described the chances of him racing Roubaix. Not much chance, but a little one. “Tadej Pogačar the day after riding the 270km in the Tour of Flanders is doing a reconnaissance of Paris-Roubaix,” said one person on Twitter, breathlessly.

'I was boxed in': Tadej Pogačar bemoans finishing sprint at Tour of ... (Cycling Weekly)

The UAE-Team Emirates rider was an active presence in the race in the final hour, helping to form a select group of five and then jumping clear with Mathieu van ...

It doesn't matter that I didn't have mine." He was really good. "I was boxed in.

Tour of Flanders Debrief: Tadej Pogačar one hundred metres from ... (Rouleur)

Tour de France winner comes up just short as Mathieu van der Poel wins his second Ronde van Vlaanderen title in three years.

The Tour of Flanders is always a question of strength and experience. Van der Poel, so often the aggressor in the Classics, realised he merely had to follow Pogačar. By the last cobbled ascent, the Paterberg, only he and Pogačar were left; a titanic effort kept the Slovenian’s back wheel in sight and gave the pair a clear run to the line. Fred Wright and Dylan van Baarle were able to skip up the road to take their positions in the lead group with two climbs to go. The result was a cagey race, with no one team willing to grab things by the scruff of the neck. Maybe on another day a fit and firing Quick-Step-Alpha Vinyl and Jumbo-Visma would have made life too difficult for him to thrive on the bergs and cobbles, but as it was the Belgian mafia were missing in action this year. The men’s race at the 2022 Tour of Flanders was the longest in over 20 years.