Battle of the Giants - Van Der Poel versus Pogacar in Strada Bianchi Saturday

 

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 8^th world cyclo-cross title in his native HollandollH, 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.