The 110th Ronde van Vlaanderen on Sunday brings the deepest concentration of Monument-level talent the race has seen in years. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) are all on the provisional start list for Sunday's 278-kilometre race from Antwerp to Oudenaarde.
It's the first time that all four of Pogačar, Van der Poel, Van Aert and Evenepoel, have been in the same race since the Tour de France in 2024, and the first one day race since the World Road Championships in 2023.
Flanders is a unique stage for them to compete on. As a festival of Flandrien cycling and Flemish national pride, the meeting of Wout van Aert alongside the unexpected arrival of Remco Evenepoel marks an exceptionally exciting moment in Belgian cycling.
Personally, Ronde van Vlaanderen is second only to Paris-Roubaix as my favourite race of the year.
The route architecture is unchanged in principle: 16 climbs, six flat cobbled sectors, and the decisive late sequence of Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg that has decided the race for years. A small tweak sees Marlboroughstraat replace Steenbeekdries because of roadworks, but the underlying test remains the same. Flanders rewards the rider who can repeat near-maximal efforts deep into the finale, not the one who produces a single explosive move. This year, the field's vulnerabilities are all about durability under accumulated stress.
The route and cobbled sectors
The 2026 Ronde van Vlaanderen runs 278.2 km from Antwerp to Oudenaarde, with a neutral start at 10:00, official racing from km 0 at 10:20, and a projected finish around 16:31. One route change from previous editions: Marlboroughstraat replaces Steenbeekdries in the Brakel section due to roadworks.
The opening 110 km head north through Sint-Niklaas, loop back through Hamme, then track south-west through Erpe-Mere, Haaltert, and Herzele. It is flat, processional, and tactically irrelevant – but it burns hours in the saddle before the cobbles arrive.
The race begins to show its teeth at Velzeke-Ruddershove, where the Lippenhovestraat and Paddestraat cobbled sectors land in quick succession around km 109–111. From there, the route enters a relentless midsection through the Flemish Ardennes: the first passage of the Oude Kwaremont (km 142), then Eikenberg, Holleweg cobbles, Wolvenberg, Kerkgate and Jagerij cobbles, before Molenberg, the new Marlboroughstraat climb, Berendries, Valkenberg, and Berg Ten Houte. None of these sectors alone is decisive, but collectively they drain the energy that riders will desperately need later.
The real contest starts at roughly 55 km to go. From here, the race enters the chain that defines Flanders: Nieuwe Kruisberg/Hotond, then the second Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, then the Koppenberg at 45.3 km to go, Mariaborrestraat cobbles, and Taaienberg. The final phase delivers the decisive blows: a second Oude Kruisberg/Hotond, then the final Oude Kwaremont at 16.7 km to go and the last Paterberg at 13.2 km.
The Koppenberg – steep, narrow, cobbled – forces both physical and positional failures, but it comes too early to be the launchpad for most winning moves. The penultimate Kwaremont, longer and more sustained, is where the race is most often decided. The Paterberg then acts as a confirmation ramp: steep enough to shed anyone clinging on, short enough that the gap must already be significant to survive 13 km of flat roads into Oudenaarde.
Cobbled Sectors and Climbs in Race Order
22 key cobbled sectors and climbs from Antwerp to Oudenaarde with projected race times (CEST)
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Tour of Flanders favourites
Pogačar is the rider best equipped to exploit that sequence. His ability to attack repeatedly on cobbled climbs and then sustain a hard solo pace afterwards makes the second Kwaremont his ideal launch point..
Van der Poel is the most obvious obstacle to that logic, but his hand injury complicates the picture. He crashed at Milan-San Remo and described hand pain following the race. He has remained competitive while managing the discomfort, but 278km of repeated braking and out-of-saddle torquing on cobbles could test that resilience. Against an in-form Pogačar, his substantially narrows his historic cobbled favourite status.
Van Aert's trajectory points upward. He fractured his ankle in January but by late March was the only rider able to follow Van der Poel on the Kemmelberg at In Flanders Fields. Losing domestique Timo Kielich, who broke his collarbone in that same race, weakens his support train. But Visma still have Christophe Laporte as a second tactical option, and Van Aert himself looks close enough to shape the finale. If the race becomes more about timing and positioning than raw destruction, his versatility makes him dangerous.
Pedersen is the most interesting puzzle among the leading contenders. His recent run of fourth at Milan-San Remo, ninth at E3 and 10th at Dwars door Vlaanderen shows his endurance is intact despite months out of the saddle at the start of the season. But the sprint is not. "If you’re missing 5–10%, then it’s really damn hard to make the difference," he said ahead of the race. On a course this long and this hard, reaching the finale is only half the job. If four riders arrive together in Oudenaarde, Pedersen's blunted finish changes his odds considerably.
Evenepoel's inclusion is the wildcard, whose arrival has set cycling fandom alight. Earlier reporting suggested he would not make a 2026 Flanders debut, but the provisional start list (below)published this week has him in Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's lineup alongside Gianni Vermeersch, Jan Tratnik and Laurence Pithie. His exact race-specific form is less documented than the others, but his sustained-power engine, if he survives to the second Kwaremont, could alter the calculus of who can ride away and who cannot.
Tour of Flanders 2026 Start List (175 riders)
Beyond the headline five, the field contains credible alternatives if the favourites neutralise one another. Jasper Stuyven (Soudal-Quickstep) has Monument experience and the tactical patience for a long, destructive race. Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) has the power for a reduced-group sprint. Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious) can exploit chaos with unorthodox long-range attacks. Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost) has proven Flanders pedigree in pure attritional conditions. Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team) has the fastest finish of anyone in the field if he survives deep enough into the cobbled hills.
Weather and predictions
Weather forecasts for Oudenaarde suggest around 13-15°C, a moderate westerly breeze and the possibility of light rain. Conditions that are hard enough to matter on cobbles but not chaotic enough to override form and team strength. A modest tailwind in the finale would encourage longer attacks and make it harder for a chasing group to close gaps on the flat run to the finish.
The most likely winning scenario remains Pogačar attacking on the second Oude Kwaremont, using the Paterberg to confirm the gap, and riding solo into Oudenaarde. Van der Poel is the clearest threat to that plan if his hand holds up through 278km. Van Aert is the best alternative if the race becomes more tactical than destructive.
Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
