The eagerly awaited clash of the giants of 2026 sees
Slovenia’s world road race champion Tadej Pogacar take on Holland’s Mathieu Van
Der Poel in Saturday’s Strada Bianchi at Siena in Tuscany in Northern Italy.
(March 7).
We know little of Pogacar’s preparation. But we know
heaps about Van der Poel, who ran amok in the winter cyclo-cross season and
again in last Saturday’s opening Flemish classic, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad,
Did you see it?
One month – 28 days to be precise – after Mathieu
Van Der Poel destroyed the field to take a record 8th world
cyclo-cross title in his native Holland,
notching up, on the way, a record 50 UCI
world cyclo-cross victories in his career, the flying Dutchman broke away to
win the opening Flemish classic of 2026, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with the
same stunning show of force!
It was his first victory of Omloop, and he rode 174
top roadmen off his wheel to carry it off.
Whether it is an hour-long ‘cross in clinging mud, sand
and obstacles or a five hour road race featuring a dozen short cobbled climbs
it makes no difference. Van Der Poel avoids the many spills in the peloton and
when he puts the power down he’s gone.
Safe to say he’s on song. We can expect a showdown between him and
Pogacar as VDP attempts a fourth victory in Milan – San Remo later this month and
a fourth consecutive win in Paris – Roubaix in April. The latter would equal a
record shared only by Roger DeVlaeminck and Tom Boonen.
Pog, a winner of all the other “monuments”, has yet to
win either Milan San Remo (he was third last year) or Paris Roubaix (second
in his debut last year, after a
puncture).
Van Der Poel’s exhibition in Belgium last Saturday
was a sublime performance by an athlete at the top of his game. I caught the
last hour or so live on the box so I’m not even going to attempt a coherent
summary of the whole race.
There was the day long break.
Two hours to go and the chase was well underway with
the field strung out and shedding riders from the back.
The action unfolded on the Molenberg climb when Florian Vermeersch led the field, with Van der Poel sat on his wheel.
There was a brief frightener when Rick Pluimers slid out right in front of Van
der Poel whose acrobatic cyclo-cross skills kicked in. He appeared to
momentarily stall before skipping neatly sideways to carry on – all in the
blink of an eye.
So it was he closed
a gap to Vermeersch almost instantly and took control over the summit. Up to them swept Tim van Dijke and this trio
soon swept up to and rode straight by the leading break, who hitched a lift.
Six men on front.
It was all Van der Poel now, a locomotive with five trucks hooked up to him,
with only Vermeersch offering to contribute.
On the wicked cobbled climb of the Muur van Geraardsbergen – the wall of Flanders with the
church at the summit - VDP accelerated clear of his companions. There was no
attack, as such. He didn’t even get out of the saddle. Van Der Poel simply rode
away from them but it took a massive effort, for he was lunging at the pedals
in a huge gear on the wickedly steep cobbled climb. He was round the corner and
gone, lost to sight by the chasers with less than 20km to go.
His late companions looked spent. It was over for
them. As for the peloton at one minute they would not pull him back as a group.
It would take a small break of two or three men.
But they had better be quick about it. There was an
8km tailwind section coming up, before a left turn and final seven kilometres
run for home. Any counter attack would need to get away before that tailwind
section otherwise even a tired peloton could more easily pull them back. No one
got clear.
Nothing to be done.
Only a mechanical could stop the Dutchman superstar.
He was poetry in motion.
Behind him, Tim van
Dijke outsprinted Florian Vermeersch for the runner-up spot.
So VDP nailed his
colours to the mast and his task now is replicating this form for Milan – San
Remo in a few weeks’ time.
And in the meantime
there’s Strada Bianchi on Saturday, when VDP and Pogacar will meet for the first time this season, on the white
stoney dusty hilly roads of Tuscany.
Pogacar as defending champion
will be bidding for his fourth title here while VDP will be a chasing a second
victory.
