Can Anyone Stop Pogačar? | Tour of Flanders Preview | THEMOVE+

Summary

THEMOVE+ Podcast: “Can Anyone Stop Pogačar? | Tour of Flanders Preview”
Host: Spencer Martin with guest Johan Bruyneel
Release Date: April 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this lively preview episode, cycling insiders Spencer Martin and Johan Bruyneel break down the key takeaways from the recent Dwarves Door Vlaanderen race and dive deep into an analytical, candid, and sometimes speculative preview of the upcoming Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen). The central question: Can anyone challenge Tadej Pogačar’s dominance, or are we destined for another solo masterclass? With detailed talk of tactics, team strengths, form checks, and race history, the discussion gives both hardcore and casual fans an inside lane to the cobbled Classics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recap: Dwarves Door Vlaanderen ("DDV")

Timestamps: 01:35 - 19:33

• Filippo Ganna’s Breakthrough Victory

  • Ganna’s win in DDV was “dramatic,” especially given his mechanicals and two bike changes, yet he “rode the last kilometer faster than the sprinting peloton.”
  • “Ganna was probably the strongest guy in the race after everything that happened.”
    —Johan, 07:48
  • This was Ganna’s first WorldTour one-day win outside of a time trial (07:20).

• Wout van Aert’s Form and Misfortune

  • Van Aert attacked solo from 40km out, “was the most attractive rider,” but was outsprinted just 50 meters from the finish. Despite this, his form is top-shelf, and “his popularity in Belgium is through the roof” (04:28).
  • “He was on the front a lot, basically setting up his own moves.”
    —Spencer, 16:35

• Tactical Talk: Team Decisions, Mechanicals, and Marking Moves

  • Ganna’s bike change could have been managed better by his team, according to Johan (08:28).
    “If Ghana is your leader and he changes bikes because of a front flat, that bike needs to get back up there ready to race.”
  • Visma’s Per Strand Hagenes was “the Forrest Gump” of the Spring, marking all the big moves (11:17).
  • Team dynamics in the closing kilometers, especially with Laporte’s conservative tactics, were dissected.

• High Speed Racing

  • The race average speed: 48.5 km/h—2 km/h faster than the previous record (17:06). “That is unbelievable…on those roads, those climbs, that’s crazy.” —Johan, 17:07
  • Spencer contextualizes for U.S. listeners: That’s roughly 30 mph, faster than most high-level crits but over four hours instead of 90 minutes (17:34).

• Honorable Mention: Biniam Girmay’s 4th Place

  • “It's a really good place almost on the podium. It's a hard race…if you can be there as a sprinter after such a hard race…you're obviously in good shape.” —Johan, 19:04

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2. Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen) — Preview & Predictions

Timestamps: 23:55 - 49:20

• Race Overview & Context

  • The Tour of Flanders is “the biggest sporting event of the year in Belgium” (24:34), steeped in tradition and massive public attention.
  • This year’s edition: 278 km, starting in Antwerp, featuring legendary cobbled climbs (25:14).

• Weather as a Wildcard

  • Forecast predicts strong winds (26–50 km/h gusts), cool temps (11–13°C). This can add early-race stress and magnify the importance of strong teams (28:00).

• Favorites and Bookmaker Odds

  • Pogačar is an overwhelming favorite (-280), followed by Van der Poel (+275), Remco Evenepoel (+600), Wout van Aert (+900), and Mads Pedersen (+2200), with outsiders like Florian Vermeersch and Filippo Ganna listed.

• Main Question: Can Anyone Stop Pogačar?

  • Johan: “Logically if there's no special specific incidents, I think Pogacar wins solo. It's a hard race... there's only one guy who could potentially stay with Pogacar and it's Mathieu [van der Poel].” — 29:05
  • Van der Poel’s form is very strong—“might be the best Flanders rider of all time”—with three wins and a 44% win rate in starts (31:29).

• Tactics & Dynamics

  • Van der Poel’s mission: “Just don’t let the Pogačar wheel go,” but “that's quite the task” (31:29).
  • UAE might not be quite as dominant as last year due to injuries (Tim Wellens, Narváez), but team depth remains high (35:47, 36:05).
  • “It's 278 kilometers...[in] those last 30, 40k, man, that's—everybody's just dragging themselves over those climbs.” —Johan, 35:02

• Remco Evenepoel’s Surprise Last-Minute Start

  • Speculation on Quick-Step’s PR games and last-minute decision: “I am surprised, however, that he's third favorite. You know, he's never done this race. He knows the course, but he's never raced the course. It's completely different.” —Johan, 37:26
  • Concerns: lack of cobbled classic experience, even high top-end power vs. the specific demands of Flanders, and expected difficulties with positioning against aggressive teams (43:01, 41:09).
  • “Remco will need to have—I personally think at the beginning he's going to struggle for positioning...it's war.” —Johan, 41:09

• Challenging Traditions

  • Recent history shows that debutants can perform: “If he's up front, it's going to be one of those other...traditions that say you need to do the race [multiple times]—if he's up front in his first participation, it's going to be one of those, you know, traditional laws that...can be forgotten.” —Johan, 44:00

• Other Wild Cards

  • Conversation about Jonas Vingegaard ("It’s just not in his mindset. … He’s got nothing to win here, focus on what you’re best at." —Johan, 45:40) and the practical risks of other GC stars doing Flanders.
  • Mads Pedersen and Filippo Ganna get wild-card mentions as top-5 threats if things go sideways for the big two (47:40).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It's a hard race... there's only one guy who could potentially stay with Pogacar and it's Mathieu.”
  —Johan, 29:05

• “I think he's the best cobbled rider of all time. I think he might be the best Flanders rider of all time because he’s tied for the record of most wins.”
  —Spencer on Van der Poel, 31:29

• “That is unbelievable…on those roads, those climbs, that’s crazy.”
  —Johan on the 48.5 km/h DDV average speed, 17:07

• “Remco will need to have—I personally think at the beginning he's going to struggle for positioning...it's war. It's nothing that Remco has done already in other races…Dura Flanders, it’s a different sport.”
  —Johan, 41:09

• “I like that these big races, I think are turning to like a big cozy hot tub. It's like everybody get in, like there's no more. Are you a good rider? Come do it.” —Spencer, 45:00

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Key Timestamps for Main Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------|---------------| | Dwarves Door Vlaanderen recap | 01:35–19:33 | | Ganna’s mechanicals and win | 04:28–13:12 | | Race speed and context | 16:35–18:17 | | Girmay’s resurgence | 19:00–19:33 | | Flanders preview begins | 23:55 | | Race context and history | 23:55–25:42 | | Weather and tactics | 28:00–30:19 | | Favorites and predictions | 29:05–32:24 | | Remco Evenepoel’s late entry, strengths, risks| 37:26–44:00 | | Bold outsider picks and closing remarks | 47:10–49:20 |

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Flow & Tone

The conversation is equal parts technical and anecdotal, with both hosts blending inside knowledge, statistical comparison, and humor. There’s sharp, critical analysis (“Is Van Aert’s best ever enough for Pogačar? Will Laporte ever mark a move?”) and warm appreciation for the magnitude of the race and its legends.

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For Listeners Who Missed It:

This episode is a thorough primer for the 2026 Tour of Flanders. Expect insightful breakdowns of the latest race, a clear-eyed look at which riders actually have a chance against Pogačar, subtle commentary on classic strategy and cycling myth, and informed predictions—all delivered with candid, sometimes playful discussion. If you want to sound like an insider at your next group ride, this is a must-listen.

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Can anyone stop Pogačar? Johan and Spencer think only Van der Poel stands a real chance. Tune in and see if Belgium’s greatest sporting event delivers another classic upset or a new legend.

Transcript

[Spencer Martin]

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[Johan Bernal]

Sometimes AT&T business Wireless connecting changes everything. But anyways, I think logically if there's no special specific incidents, I think Pogacar wins solo. It's a hard race, as you said, 278 kilometers. So there's only one guy who could potentially stay with Pogaar and it's Mathieu. I don't think anybody. And you know, we don't know if Mathieu is at the same level as he was in Tirreno. You know, he said that in Milan, San Remo, he, he, he was a little bit less than he was than he thought he was going to be. Whether that's because of the crash or not, we don't know.

[Spencer Martin]

Everybody, welcome back to the Move Plus. I'm Spencer Martin. I'm here with Johan Bernal. We are previewing the Tour of Flanders which comes up this Sunday featuring a showdown between, you'd say, the sport's biggest stars. Matthew Vanderpo, Wout van Art Remcoven, a Pole, Tate Pagotcha. Everybody's here, basically, except for Jonas Finnegard. Well, get Johan's take on how that race is going to play out and who's going to win it. Before we do that though, Johan, I would like to talk about Wednesday's Dwarves Dwarf Lander and it's the last Flemish warm up race before we get to the the king of the Flemish races Tour Flanders on Sunday won by Philippe Ogana who mowed down W V Aart in dramatic fashion inside the final kilometer. V. Who who had been solo and I think since 40k to go after impressively riding off the front, then dropping the breakaway with the peloton on the same time as them, but really about a second behind. What, what were your thoughts from this race? This. This was incredible. It was Van Aert's second consecutive second place. Both better Than his crashing out the year before that, where he missed half the season from a terrible crash at this race. But what, what'd you think about this race before we get into Flanders?

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, I mean, Harlebeke, sorry, Watergam, we always call it Waterham. You know, it's called Dvar dor Flanderen, but you know, E3 in Belgium we say Harlebeke and Waterloof Londren is Watigen. Right. It's been ever always been like this. It is the last test before Tour of Flanders. You know, some of the big favorites were not there. Mainly Van der Poel was not there and Tade Pogaccia was not there. But still it's a hard race and it was really nice to see the confirmation of Van Aert's really, really good condition. I think, you know, I think since Milan San Remo, basically he's been up there, you know, and shown. Shown definitely better form than in the past few springs. Whether that was because things didn't work out or there was crashes or illness involved. But third place at Milan San Remo, he was one of the biggest big players in Ghent Bevelgem, together with Matthieu van der Poel, until they got caught just before the finish. And now with those guys not there, he was definitely the big star of the race and he fulfilled that expectation. Also his. His attack on The Eikenberg with 40k to go was. Was quite impressive. Nobody could follow him at that moment. We have to say that the other big name in the race and strongman in the race, Filippo Ghana, had a mechanical issue. He was completely in the front at the Eikenberg. And then all of a sudden he was at the back and needed to change bikes. Broke his handlebars. Strange. Strangely strange.

[Spencer Martin]

Right. Kind of upsetting too, if you think about what could happen.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, I mean, yeah, listen, things can break, you know, so who knows what happened to that bike. If there was a crash before. This was his spare bike, right, because he had had a mechanical before at the front flat, I think. And then this was a spare bike. So, you know, I don't know if there was a crash before with his spare bike already in another race, you never know. So. But anyways, Van Aert was impressive, I think, you know, he caught the guys who were in front one by one and then finally dropped the last rider, Larson. Really impressive ride by that guy from Rose Rockets. Multiple world champion on the track, I seem to remember. So really big engine. But yeah, when Walt was, I think, the most attractive rider, definitely he made the race and it was hard to see him lose this with 50 meters to go. But yeah, he fought for it and I mean it's not a win, of course that's what Van Aert wants. But man, I can tell you his popularity in Belgium is through the roof. It is crazy how popular World Van Art is and how everybody wants him to win one of those big races, you know. Unfortunately it didn't happen that it would have been a nice revenge, right? I mean nice revenge for last year's mess up with the three Vismas against Nelson Paulus and then also revenge on the crash, the huge crash that a few years ago basically almost ended his career, I think, because that crash was really, really bad. So listen, he's back, he's back at really, really good form. The question is, is this form of the best fanart we've seen in the last few years, in the spring at least good enough to be with the best guys? And then I'm talking about V Po and Bogachar in Dura Flounders. But we'll talk about that later in the show.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah, we'll get to that. I, I, I thought he had it actually with, I don't know, let's say 20k to go. I was like, man, this guy's riding away. He looks great, he's got strong riders with him. But I wanted him to win. He needed to win, quote unquote. But do you know who else needed to win this race? Johan Felipe, Ghana. You know the last time Filippo Ghana won a one day race. I have a World Tour one day race probably five years ago, had never happened before. It's his first and his last time he won a World Tour race that was not a time trial. Was, was the 2000-20s year to tell you. So six years ago. So massive a stage. Yeah, just any, any rate, like, but this was his first one day race that he had ever won.

[Johan Bernal]

Oh wow.

[Spencer Martin]

And the first he had not won even a like a stage of a stage race that wasn't a time trial of a, let's say World Tour race since 2020. So he needed this win. This is big for him. I don't know if you noticed this. He rode the last kilometer faster than the sprinting peloton because they were basically on his wheel at the start of the last K and he finished the race much further ahead of them than they were at the K K to Go banner.

[Johan Bernal]

I mean if you look at the way things developed, Spencer, you know, I mean, and I know in Belgium everybody was and you know, not, not only in Belgium, almost everybody was oh, you know, so, so bad that Wild didn't win. I'm in that camp also. You know, I, I wanted W to win. But if you look at, at the race, how it developed, I mean, Ghana was probably the strongest guy in the race after everything that happened. You know, first that mechanical have to change the bike with 47k to go, he gets back with 43km to go. Then with 40k to go, he has this. I mean, and that's the crucial point. That's where Van blew everything up.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah.

[Johan Bernal]

And he is back changing bikes. His bike was not ready, by the way. So that's, that's another thing I noticed. So if, if I think a little, little mistake from the mechanic or the team manager in the car, you know, if you, if Ghana is your leader and he changes bikes because of a front flat, that bike needs to get back up there ready to race. You can, because I don't know if you saw, but they had to take the bike off. The front wheel was not in and they had to put the front a new front wheel in. That should have been fixed already. Okay. It was obviously listen in their favor. It was very close to two incidents. And you know, I know how hectic it is and you have to fight for position even with the cars because you know, riders fight for position, but the cars also fight for position, you know, be where they have to be in front of the crucial moments. Right. So but anyways, that bike should have had the wheel already ready, especially if Ghana is your leader. And it was clear that Ghana was the leader of the team. So he lost even more time there because his bike was not ready.

[Spencer Martin]

Where, where are you supposed to do that? I've always wondered about that because back in my day we did, we did wheel changes which are easier. Right. Because you just grab a new wheel. But where are you supposed to change?

[Johan Bernal]

That's, that's another thing. Yeah. I mean, I'm just thinking, I've, I've seen, I've seen. I mean the rules have changed, of course, but you know, when I was a ds, I've seen mechanics do it on the roof of the car while. While change the wheels. Yes. Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Well, I guess that kind of makes sense though because if you're saying you have to fight for position at Tech Tick, that is potentially the most sense.

[Johan Bernal]

It's not allowed. It's not allowed. So, you know.

[Spencer Martin]

Okay.

[Johan Bernal]

Okay. It's probably, I mean, I've maybe been a bit too, too quick to Draw conclusions. You know, there was basically no time because, you know, where Ghana had the first incident, it was already in the crucial moment. It's, you know, narrow, lots of turns, cobblestones. There was probably no time to do that. Yeah. I don't know, but I.

[Spencer Martin]

Definitely a downside of opting for the bike change every time, right?

[Johan Bernal]

Well, I mean, yeah, I mean, you. He had no other choice. No, he had to change the bike.

[Spencer Martin]

The second time he definitely had to change the bike. Yeah.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah. The first time he could have. He could have had a front wheel change. But since it was already so deep in the final of the race, I think they just took that decision, you know, assuming or hoping that there was not. There was not going to be another

[Spencer Martin]

incident, which makes sense just mathematically, if you think it was 47k to go. If you get a flat, just give him a new bike because what are the odds he's going to have a problem for the finish? It's a very small.

[Johan Bernal]

Oop.

[Spencer Martin]

Oops. They did. Yeah. Super impressive. He made it back on and he was doing quite a bit of work to pull and then he was. He was attacking. They were staying with him. I don't know if you notice this visma had per strand hogness. This guy's been everywhere. He's like the forest gun. He is strong.

[Johan Bernal]

That guy was so strong, so strong on Wednesday. That was crazy.

[Spencer Martin]

But he had to mark all the Ghana moves. Ghana eventually gets away from him. Christoph Laporte sitting in waiting for the sprint. Do you think Bisma should have had him marking as well?

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, I think Laporte didn't do the job he was supposed to do there. He. He was thinking about saving himself just in case it came back to get a first sprint. Would it have made a difference? Probably not. You know, I think Ghana was super strong to see where he comes back from, then did a lot of work, covered a lot of moves and then finally got away by himself. Yeah, I mean, I think Ghana was the strongest of the race, even if we have seen Vanart do an incredible performance. But what Ghana did was also impressive. To come back from. From so far and still win that race, that was impressive.

[Spencer Martin]

And I don't know if you noticed this, but at Gentlegum, Ghana was the one pulling like Alex Sejant attacked. Ghana was the one pulling him back. I didn't really like that decision. I. I want to see Ghana attacking like always. Always attack.

[Johan Bernal]

Was he. Was he. Was it for Sam Watson?

[Spencer Martin]

It was for Sam Watson, yeah. Which you. Could. We. Could we could debate all day.

[Johan Bernal]

I mean, he would not have won the sprint, Sam Watson, you know, not in that field.

[Spencer Martin]

So I would rather have gone attacking and then g. They changed the strategy. Right. In the three days between races, and then he's the one attacking. I think that's the right choice. He's rewarded with a win. I want to see more of this from Ghana. I mean, if he can ride, if he can just routinely ride the last kilometer of a race faster than the peloton, he can win a lot of races that way.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, it's something we don't see anymore. Not much in the last few seasons, but we've seen, we've seen this with Seaguard, for example. He almost made it a few times. So there's, there's not a lot of rider, Spencer, who are actually able to do this to go faster than the sprinting peloton. That's, that's very difficult.

[Spencer Martin]

I mean, the power demands are unbelievable, especially if you think vanart was going so hard. He stayed in front of the sprinting peloton and got caught and passed by someone. That's not, nor. That's not usual. That's not going to happen very often. My son's critique was, why did, why did vanart drop Larson? Should he have kept Larson with him? No, I guess it was so close, though. He had. He kind of had to accelerate. Right. And get rid of everybody because they were right on his tail at that point.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, I mean, he had no, no choice. I mean, as, as, as. As a rider, if you're with three, and then with two, you feel how much your companion has left. So. And even. I'm going to even go further than that. I'm sure that Larson said in one of those relays to Vanart, hey, I'm done. You know, they, they say that to each other. They said. They do say that to each other. So he had to go. You know, there was no other choice. Although, I mean, the peloton was already quite close there.

[Spencer Martin]

The really nasty luck for Van Aert is if, If Ghana doesn't have that mechanical, he probably goes with Van Aert and then vanart beats him in the sprint for the win. So, yeah, it almost helped Ghana that he was held back from that.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah. I mean, if you look at it afterwards, maybe, but I'm sure that if he, if, if Ghana wouldn't have had the mechanical and he was able to go with, with Vanart, I'm not sure if he would have. Yeah, I think so.

[Spencer Martin]

I think So I mean, right, with

[Johan Bernal]

those ladies, if the power he had, you know, you Vermeers almost made it and then exploded. Johnny Vermeers, not Florian Vermeers. But yeah, I guess Ghana was probably one of the only ones who was going to be able to be with Vanart and then for sure they're gone, those two. And then.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah, I guess maybe, maybe like now we're into dangerous speculation territory. The thing is about. So flooring Vermeesh is getting a lot of crap because he was pulling all out to pull back Vanart. But he's doing that because he saw what happened when he, you know, he learned his lesson from E3. So he's like pulling all out. He's like, well, that wasn't a great outcome. Let me pull back.

[Johan Bernal]

Obviously he wanted to get away with Ghana and then catch Fanart and then be on the po. Be on the podium. That was probably the only card that UAE had left.

[Spencer Martin]

It's. Yeah, it's all they have. Yeah.

[Johan Bernal]

Right. So they had. So, you know, it was to get the best possible result and everybody's entitled to do that, right?

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah. Which I, I don't understand people giving him so much crap because it's like, well, he saw what. It didn't work out that well for him last time. So he kind of had to change his strategy inside the final few kilometers. Any other takeaways from this race? I mean, I, I think. Sad, right? Sad for Vanhart. I think it's a positive because he looked, I don't know if you saw like with 70k to go. He's attacking. He's attacking with 50k to go. Like he was on the front a lot, basically setting up his own moves.

[Johan Bernal]

One other thing, Spencer, it's actually, I mean, especially if you know that area, you know, those roads, you know, those climbs, how slow these roads are. 48.5 km average for the whole race on that terrain. That is unbelievable that it's 2km faster than the fastest ever dwarfs of London in the past. I mean, we don't know what the wind.

[Spencer Martin]

Fast, 2 kilometers an hour faster.

[Johan Bernal]

Yes.

[Spencer Martin]

Oh my God.

[Johan Bernal]

The former record was 46.5. But anyway, you know, they don't race for records. Right. So it's the circumstances, it's the way the race goes, the wind, we don't know what. But anyway, that's incredibly fast over though, over that course with those roads, those climbs. That's crazy. That, I mean, it's crazy. I mean it's. Any bike race at 48.5km is crazy. But on those, on that course, it's, it's unbelievable.

[Spencer Martin]

And I mean to put this into perspective for most of our listeners probably don't use kilometers. And this got me into a lot of trouble during the tour. George was trying to start some stuff with the crit guys. That's 30 miles an hour average. If you do a high level criterium in the United States, which is fast. If you've ever done one of these pro crits, they are fast, they're going to be a little bit slower than that and they're like 90 minutes long. It's a four hour long race that's faster than a criterium. Like on slow roads, as you're saying. I mean that is, it's mind boggling how hard that is and how hard it is to stay in front of that as well.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, I mean, and if you look 40, 48.5. So. But anyways, it's, it's not just fun art. It's, you know, it's 40 guys.

[Spencer Martin]

40 guys. Yeah. And I, I'm curious to see if these high speeds stick because it is going to be hard. It's hard to win solo when the race is that fast.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, you obviously can't win with a big gap. So it's, I mean we've seen the last few one day races except Strada Bianche. We're all super close, you know, super close.

[Spencer Martin]

I don't think. Well, let's, let's talk about if we think Flanders is going to be close or not after our ad break. Anything else on Dwarves? Dwarves. I know that's what you like to call the race before we leave. I would say Binyam Girmai is kind of his first.

[Johan Bernal]

That's, yeah, definitely. Good point.

[Spencer Martin]

Fourth place.

[Johan Bernal]

It's, you know, it's a really good place almost on the podium. It's a hard race. You know, there's been, you know, some, some doubts about Gimme's form and his level. But if you can be there as a sprinter after such a hard race and, and be, you know, contending the podium, then you're obviously in good shape.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah, I would say his first flash of like really good classics form this year.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

After kind of struggling a little bit. But we'll be right back. Johan for the breakdown of Tour Flanders, everybody. This episode is brought to you by gusto. With tax season upon us, I can still feel the anxiety I used to feel while running my small business, the beyond the Peloton newsletter without gusto. But now payroll runs are Automatic taxes are handled and there are no out of the blue surprise payments. Just unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price. And all the stuff that used to be annoying offer letters, onboarding, direct deposit withholdings. It's just baked right in. I know that it's handled. And what is Gusto exactly? Well, it's an online payroll and benefit software built for small businesses. It's all in one remote, friendly, and incredibly easy to use, so you can pay, hire, onboard and support your team from anywhere. The other big thing? Peace of mind. When you're running a small business, the last thing you want to wonder is, have I messed something up? Did I forget to make a tax payment? Well, with Gusto, it is just done. You do not have to worry about it. But all that, all that bandwidth that you need to worry about, that, it frees it up so you can actually focus on the business that you're trying to run. So if admin work is creeping into your nights and weekends and you're sick of it, Gusto is honestly one of the easiest upgrades to your life and work that you can make. Try gusto [e-mail] the move and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free [e-mail] to move. That's G U S T O dot com the move hey everybody. This episode is brought to you by Quince. Spring is here, and this time of year always makes me rethink what's in my closet. I'm trying to keep fewer things, but keep the better ones. Pieces that are well made and easy to wear all the time. That's why I keep coming back to Quince. The fabrics feel elevated, the fits are thoughtful, and the pricing actually makes sense. Quince makes high quality everyday essentials using premium materials like 100 European linen and their insanely soft flow knit activewear fabric. The men's linen pants and shirts are lightweight, breathable and comfortable, basically the perfect layer for spring. The pants strike the right balance between laid back and refined, so you look put together without trying too hard. The best part is their prices are 50 to 60% less than similar brands. How is this possible, you ask? Well, Quint works directly with ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen, so you're paying for quality, not brand markup. Everything is designed to last and make getting dressed, well, easy. It's been unseasonably warm in Boulder this spring, but Quince has me covered with their Flow Knit Breeze Performance Polos. They're breathable, comfortable, and look more Polished than I expected and the price is unbeatable. I'm also wearing Quint's T shirt right now while I'm doing this ad read. It's incredibly comfortable. Would not be able to recommend something more than this. So refresh your wardrobe with quint. Go to quince.com themove for free shipping and 365 day returns. And now available in Canada too. Go to quint.com that's Q U I N C E.com the move for free shipping and 365 day returns quint.com the move everybody. This episode is brought to you by Caldera Lab. Caldera Lab makes high performance skincare designed specifically for men's skin. This is important since men's skin is 25% thicker, oilier and ages differently from women's. Which means men need clean formulas engineered for their biology. They're easy to follow. Three step regimen is powered by clean clinically tested ingredients and breakthrough patent pending technology delivering visible results. The three steps very easy to follow. The first one that uses the clean slate, their cleanser. It cleans off dirt, oil, sweat and build up. It will not dry your skin out and it leaves your face feeling fresh, clean and ready for the day. The second step is the serum. It's called the great the hero product uses advanced renewal technology clinically proven to reduce wrinkles, firm skin and improve elasticity. The final step, my favorite, the hydrolayer. The moisturizer lightweight, non greasy locks in moisture all day. Gives a healthier, more energized look. And that's what pushed me to try Caldera Lab. I'm terrible with with routines, but this one's so easy, so defined that I can follow it. So this is a small habit with big results. Go to calderalab.com the move and use code the move for 20% off your first order. That's calderalab.com okay Johan, we're back. The Tour Flanders this Sunday. Rhonda von Vlanderen, I believe is how you say it in Belgium.

[Johan Bernal]

You know this is, this is one of the things Spencer. Like in, in Belgium for example, if you say okay, Tour de France, like everybody says the Tour. Yeah, everybody who in in French. In France it's the Tour de France. Le Tour. So Tour of Flanders is, you know, historically it's a super, super, you know, old race monument. I mean the biggest event. Sport event in. In Belgium of the year. And the ronda. The Ronda is Tour of Flanders. There you can actually say okay, it's the Ronda. But that's Anyway, it's a.

[Spencer Martin]

It's a huge deal in Belgium. I'm a. I'm a soccer guy. I listen to a lot of soccer podcasts and one of the correspondents is from Belgium and he was saying, not this year because it's international break. But normally he's like, yeah, that gets quiet on the soccer front because everyone's so into the cycling, just in general sports world, which is unusual even in Europe. So this is a. Probably one of the. This has got to be the biggest event of the year in Belgium across anything. Right? Not just cycling.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, yeah, I think so.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah. And it's long. 278km. This thing is a long, difficult race. Starts at Antwerp, finishes in Odenord. The. The start usually flip flops between Bruges.

[Johan Bernal]

I think they do two years and two years. If it's other year, every other year, I don't know. But it's either. It's Bruges or Antwerp. So, yeah, I've seen both. I've seen Bruges and I've seen Antwerp. They're both really nice. I mean, it's two big cities. Really incredible atmosphere at the start. I mean, you'll see on the square of Antwerp. It's crazy, the atmosphere when the teams are presented. Yeah, it's. It's quite something.

[Spencer Martin]

And Belgium, these Belgian towns have these beautiful. Like, beautiful squares. So it looks great on tv. It's a long, Like a long run. Long, flat, ish run from Antwerp to. It goes to a circuit, basically a cobbled. It's a circuit with really tough cobble climbs. They start hitting. You know, it's like we. We know all of these. The Claremont, the Paterberg, there's the Valkenberg, there's other ones. I don't know all. I don't know them as well as you, obviously, the Koppenberg, but they start doing the circuit multiple times with about, I'm gonna say, like. Let's just say 100k to go. And the race gets incredibly hard from there the last few years. The winner last year was Teddy Pagacha. He went solo on the Claremont, which is. With 18k to go. That's not the last climb. The last climb is the Patterberg with about. I'm gonna say about 14k to go. And then it descends and it's a flat run to the finish. The year before that, Matthew Vanderpoel went solo on the Koppenberg, which is unusual. 45k to go. Year before that, Tata Picacho one on the Claremont again, about 17k to go and then I go back because it's kind of interesting and I wonder if we'll see this again the year before that. 2022 Matthew Vanderpoel wins a sprint of four after him and Pagachar were caught by Dylan van Barro and Valentin Madwas. Pretty thrilling finish. 2021 Vanderpoel loses a two up sprint to Casper Askren after they both got away and then yeah, that was an interesting one. 2020 Matthew Vanderpoel wins by millimeters. A two up sprint over well Bernard Peloton about eight seconds behind. So it's about 50, 50 if this is a solo breakaway. It's been solo recently but if you go back in the recent past it's not been solo. Small select groups. The favorites are. This is on draftkings. This is shocking by the way, for a one day race. Tada Pagacha's such a favorite. He is minus 280, meaning you have to bet $280 to win $100 on him. Matthew Vanderpoel plus 275. Rimco Evole shockingly late entrant to the race already never done this race before. Plus 600 wild Vanart plus 900 Mads Pederson plus 2200 Florian Vermeesh plus 4000 Kristoff Laporte plus 5000 and maybe my one wild card. I would highlight Jonas Abrahamson plus 8000. Johan, how do you think this race is going to play out and who do you think is going to win?

[Johan Bernal]

I think it's really difficult to look past P are Spencer. You know, as we said already multiple times in other podcasts, you know, the, the special conditions of, of Tour of Flanders and Paro B are that there are other circumstances. There's bad luck. There's, you know, there are, there are more potential race circumstances than any other race. I just checked the weather in Aard so it's going to be windy on Sunday. Quite windy actually. You know, 24 kilometers per hour, 26 kilometers per hour. That's with gusts until 50 kilometers per hour. So windy, not hot. So 1113 degrees maximum. So real Flemish spring weather, which is going to make the race a lot more nervous, especially in the beginning. Now if it's windy and it's crosswind in that first 100km, it's already going to be stressful. So having a good team is definitely going to be crucial. These guys all have good teams. I think the fact that there's a lot of wind could probably be one Little thing in the advantage of even a pool because he has such a strong team. But then also, you know, it costs a lot of energy to stay always in front, stressful with the, with the wind if it's crosswind before you get to the hilly zone. So, but anyways, I think, I think logically if there's no special specific incidents, I think Pogachar wins solo. It's a hard race, as you said, 278km. So there's only one guy who could potentially stay with Pogachar and it's, it's, it's Mathieu. I don't think anybody. And you know, we don't know if Mathieu is at the same level as he was in Tirreno. You know, he, he said that in, in Milan, San Remo. He, he, he was a little bit less than he was, than he thought he was going to be. Whether that's because of the crash or not, we don't know. He won, he did set a record,

[Spencer Martin]

a personal record on the tra. So we should take that with a grain of salt a little bit.

[Johan Bernal]

He, he won E3 barely, but he, he won it. That was an amazing performance. Independently it was with one second though, with, with 30 seconds and he was up. He was, you know, very dominant also in, in Gant. So we have to assume that he's ready. Right. I don't think that anybody else can follow Pogachar and if Matthieu can follow him, that's, you know, then of course I think Mathieu wins if it's the two of them to the finish. But I mean, yeah, I mean you don't know, you know, I mean, let's see. Van der Poel, he has lost sprints, you know, he has lost to Ask Green, as you just said, he has lost to Petersen and Bevelogam. Two man sprint. Now Pugachar is definitely not as fast as, as Matthew. And the thing is also Vanderpool does not need to attack. He needs to just his main mission is don't let that wheel of Pugacha go. But that's quite, that's, that's quite the task.

[Spencer Martin]

I, I, I, I, I, that's a lot to unpack, I think just to get it on, to get it on record. I think Tada Pagacha is going to win this race. That would be my pick for this race. He's not, he's not started it and not won it since 2022. That's unbelievable. He has a career 50% win rate at this. That is crazy. Having said that, Matthew Vanderpoel probably is. We were talking before the pre record. I think he's the best cobbled rider of all time. I think he might be the best Flanders rider of all time because he's tied for the record of most wins. He has three wins, which is tied for the record. If he wins on Sunday, that's. He has the most. He's the record holder. He's won 44% of the times he started this race. The last time he finished off the podium was before COVID 2019, which was the first time he did this race. And he ran off, he rode off the road. If you remember, he was on the sidewalk and he flipped over his bike and had a chase back on.

[Johan Bernal]

Well, he had a flat tire. It was the downhill of the new Coromont in the approach towards the old Quaromont. And so he had a flat front tire, looked back, raised his hand with a flat front tire and this just flipped over and crashed. Yeah, I've heard stories. I've heard stories of that race, Spencer, of people who were in the cars and saw him come back on the Quaromont and then. Yeah, it must have been unbelievable. It was impressive that fourth place. That was the first. I mean, it was one of his first years that he was really dedicating himself 100% to road racing also.

[Spencer Martin]

He was so explosive that year too. I almost think he was more explosive then than now because he didn't have like a diesel engine. It was all like top in Formula one. Like, that was the Amstel Gold year. Remember that? Where he mowed down the front group at Amstel Gold after being like. He was like. Unbelievably. That was the same year 2019. And then.

[Johan Bernal]

Really?

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah. And then. And then he got bad. Right then 2020 rolls around, he's not the same rider anymore. I'm kidding. Obviously. He just. He started. You start doing grand tours and your. Your body changes, but like pure top end. I think 2019 Vanderpoel was to do what he did at Flanders and catch back on was crazy. But here's my question for you. I mean, normally I would agree with you that the only rider that can stay with Bogacher is Vanderpoel. Are you. I don't think he's going to stay with him, but do you think that. Is he significantly fitter than Wout Van Art on a course like Flanders right now or even Felipe Ghana? Oh, no, no. Vanderpoel.

[Johan Bernal]

Not really. Not really. I mean, he Definitely tried to drop Vanart on the Camelberg in Gandel again the last time up to Camelberg. He couldn't do that, was a little gap. But, so, but listen, Flanders is different. You know, it's. It's 278 kilometers. It's, it's different game. You know, none of what we have seen until now, even Milan San remo with his 300 kilometers, you know, these extra, these last 50 kilometers in Flanders over that terrain. It is, it is, it's. There's only five guys who can basically perform properly in, in that situation. There's a lot of guys who can do it until 200k, 210k. But that, you know, those last 30, 40k, man, that's. Everybody's just, you know, dragging themselves over those climbs and trying to get to

[Spencer Martin]

the finish in the way UAE rides this. I was rewatching last year's race. They ride it so hard from so far out with 50, 60k to go. It's like seven guys in that front group. You know, it's, it's just to clear the bar to even be eligible to win is very tough.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, I think probably, you know, the only thing that I can see different, Spencer. I mean, I would have to look to the composition of the teams of UAE in the, in the years that Bogacha won, but I think their team, and it's because of crashes and injuries is, Is not as strong as the teams they had before. You know, Tim Wellens is out with an injury. Narweis is out with an injury from down under. Those, those two guys were super important.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah.

[Johan Bernal]

But then, you know, now they have an incredible form. So, yeah, if they can save him until, you know, the, the, that last lap. Yeah, then, then that's going to be enough, I think.

[Spencer Martin]

Well, I mean, let me read this team. So Picacho, he's pretty good. Then Rui Oliviero, that guy's a big engine. Miko Burke, huge engine. Benoit Cosnafra, he's a good rider. Niels Paulett, absolute unit. Antonio Morgato, who, who got top five at this race, I believe as a teenager. And then Florian Vermeesh.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, strong team.

[Spencer Martin]

That's a strong team. That's a pretty good team right there.

[Johan Bernal]

They have to have an incredible team because, you know, everything that happens in the race is going to be on their shoulders.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah, so that's true.

[Johan Bernal]

You can't hide. You know, others can say, okay, you know what, UAE just, okay, figure it out, solve the situation. You know, we don't care.

[Spencer Martin]

So before we go, I'm going to have you pick a wild card. But before we do that, we got to talk about Remco Evanopol, the third favorite in this race. He entered it, I believe, on Wednesday, announced he was doing this race, rankled some of the press because his team has basically been openly mocking journalists who say, I've heard rumors that Remco might do Flanders and they make fun of them and say, of course not. The strategy behind that, very weird. I don't know why you would do that, why you would want to make an enemy of the press like that. Makes me think that it's. They claimed it was coordinated. This was a secret. That does not sound like a coordinated strategy to me. But why do you think he's entering it and how do you think he's going to do it? Do you think he's should be third favorite?

[Johan Bernal]

Well, I mean, I think there's been a lot of demand in Belgium. The media has, you know, said, why is Remko not doing Flanders? There's a lot of pressure. Personally, I don't know. I think, I think the plan, the plan was probably their plan B, whatever it was. But as you say, you know, they would, they would have, they would have hinted at it or announced it or something. You know, I think it's a last minute decision. Last minute meaning maybe the last week or the last 10 days. Not, not, you know, they didn't decide it on, on Tuesday and announced it on Wednesday. Right. It's maybe if it was, if it was during Catalonia or before Catalonia. I don't know. I am surprised, however, that he's third favorite. You know, he's never done this race. He knows the course, but he's never raced the course. It's completely different. Completely different. As I said, you know, they do have a really strong team, probably the strongest team or the, the best functioning team in all the, you know, Flemish Spring races we've seen until now. So that's obviously a huge benefit. But Man, Quaramond and Patersberg at the end, that, that really explosion of pure power. Remco does have a lot of power. Listen. I mean, that's the, you know, he, he rode away from everybody in the Olympics in Paris over there was also cobbled climbs. Right. But it's not the same thing.

[Spencer Martin]

Different.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, it's not the same thing. I think, I think he can play a role, but it's going to depend on the circumstances. You know, I would think that, you know, he, he can go in between, in between climbs where, you know, I'm just going to give one example where he could go. Just off the top of my mind, you know, they have this, this climb coming out of Ronse. It's called the Aude Kreuzberg. It's cobbled. And then you have. They turn right and they have the Hot Ont Berg. It's like a drag, you know, and then they turn left and it's. He could go there, for example. Now the question is, who's going to let that guy go? You know, the favorite is going to be on them, on him. So I don't think he can play the surprise, surprise card. But let's say I'm curious. I'm curious. I'm skeptical. Honestly, I'm skeptical. You know, it's obviously, if. If he's in front, I'm going to be happy, but I'm also going to be surprised.

[Spencer Martin]

Well, if he goes too, it's the same problem he had at Catalunya. Picacho is not gonna let him go. And him going makes the race harder, which is better for Picachar than it is for him. I do think UAE blowing the race up so early probably helps him because it's less. I feel like Flanders. The secret of Flanders is it's gotten less chaotic inside the last 100k because the groups are so small. Because it's such a hard race now.

[Johan Bernal]

It's not. It's not excluded. You know, I've seen riders win Tour of Flanders who were some of the. But they were so strong. It's been a while ago, but, you know, they were so strong, and they were really, really not good. Some of the worst in the bunch. I'm gonna tell you. Give you one example. I mean, we've talked already about Johnny Buno in the 90s. You know, he, He. He was really not good for positioning and he was so strong. He was in front, won a sprint of four. But a rider who was on my team, he never won the. The race the Flounders when he was on my team. But he was on my team quite a few years. Staying the older. He won the Tour of Flanders twice,

[Spencer Martin]

two years in a row.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, the guy was. You could not know anybody who was worse in positioning. I've seen that guy. I mean, I was in the race when he won. Turning up the. What's it called? The Muhlenberg, which is always crucial. You know, the Muhlenberg, it's like, it's. It's where. Where van der Poel and Van dyke went in E3, you know, that's, that's like, you know, you come to the bottom of the kind of the whole peloton is stopped, there's 30 guys go up and everybody else is crude. You know, I've seen the Voldemort in last position turning up the Molenberg and then later on he goes and win the race. So, you know, it is possible. The thing is, in my opinion for Remco, he's going to struggle in the first few critical points, in my opinion, because whether you have a good team or not, you need to be able to fight for position. You need, I mean it's, it's war. It's war. It's nothing, nothing that Remco has done already. In other races, you know, Amstel, Flech, Liege, all the other one day races. The fighting for position is also super important. But it's, it's, it's a different sport. Dura Flanders. It's a different sport. So, you know, Remco will need to have, I personally think at the beginning he's going to struggle for positioning and then if he's fortunate enough that the race slows down and everything comes back and it does tend to happen, you know, because you can't go from the first time up the quarant, you know, it's way, way too far. So then it, if it comes back together, he's going to get back into the game and he could eventually get away anticipating, you know, the, the, the big fight on the quarant and the PG the last time.

[Spencer Martin]

I mean, couple concerns I have. I'm looking at a list of every top 10 he's ever gotten in a one day race. I don't see a single cobbled classic. That's concern.

[Johan Bernal]

No. And he's never done one.

[Spencer Martin]

He's never, that's, that's concerning.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

Number two, Pagacha Vanderpoel, Wout Van Aert, Felipe Ghana, Mads Pedersen. These are some of the most talented writers to ever do it. And their entire springs have been focused around this event. And he's entering at the last second. Like, has he been preparing like they have. Probably not, right?

[Johan Bernal]

No, for sure.

[Spencer Martin]

No, no, right there. That's two things I'm concerned about. Number three, a lot of his, A lot of his results in one day races, I'm looking have longer climbs. Does he have the power, the raw power necessary for these, let's say one to two minute climbs against guys that are, to begin. They're doing not. We're, they're like the up to Claremont, the average power is going to be 700 watts for a couple minutes. Does he have the average, does he have the raw power to do that?

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah, I mean, the power to weight, obviously. Yes, but, but, you know, I mean, heavier riders can be good in Flanders, so they have more power. You know, riding on cobbles is different. You know, the traction of a heavier rider is usually very different than a lighter rider on the cobbles. So we'll see. We'll see. Listen, I think it's amazing, it's amazing that he starts Dura. Flanders, Belgium is super happy. I think all the fans should be happy. And let's see. You know, I mean, I'm curious to see. I would love to see. I mean, it isn't. If he's up front, man, it's, it's going to be one of those other. And there's been many already, one of those, you know, old fashioned traditions that say you need to do the race, you need to know the race, you need to learn, learn the race. If he's in front in his first participation, it's going to be one of those, you know, traditional loss that, you know, is, is, you know, can be forgotten. So why not?

[Spencer Martin]

You know, I, I do tend to agree with that. I mean, Picacho's first participation, he got fourth. His first participation at Roubaix, he got second. Sonny Cabrelli, I believe, was a debutante at Roubaix when he won. So a lot of those old rules, I do like people challenging them. I, I like that these big races, I think are turning to like a big cozy hot tub. It's like everybody get in, like there's no more. It's like, are you good rider? Come do it. Like, I think Jonas should get out here. Come on, Jonas, I want to see you out there.

[Johan Bernal]

That Jonas is different. That's not for Jonas. It's, it's just, it's. I mean, it's funny to think that, right, because he does have the power.

[Spencer Martin]

He's got a lot of power. Good position, good rider.

[Johan Bernal]

It's not, it's not in his mindset. You know, you have to have the physical capabilities, but you have to have the mindset also. And I don't think there's any time Jonas is going to do that race. It's too crazy for him. And you know what? I don't blame him, man. I mean, if he's good at what he's doing, let's try to stay good at what I'm doing and not go into the unknown with you know, there's the risk. There's the risk. Obviously the same for Pogachar, but there's the risk of crashes. You know, in those races, crashes are almost guaranteed.

[Spencer Martin]

Um, you know, well, you're gonna. You're gonna lose the Tour de France Bagatra anyway, so no one but to except Bagat has any risk. Like, they've got nothing to lose, and you're not gonna win the Tour, so might as well try to win Flanders.

[Johan Bernal]

Who?

[Spencer Martin]

Anyone that's not named Tadi Picachar.

[Johan Bernal]

Well, I mean, Jonas will probably win the Giro.

[Spencer Martin]

True, true. I mean, yeah, obviously there's practical concerns about Jonas. I was kidding. He should not do this race. Dude, go win the zero, Jonas. We want to see you do it. I think Remco's maybe missed his chance, though. I think he should have done San Ramo.

[Johan Bernal]

Do you think he.

[Spencer Martin]

I don't think he gets dropped by Pidcock and Pagacha, do you? On those two climbs.

[Johan Bernal]

On those climbs, I. I think. I think Remco is able to stay with them.

[Spencer Martin]

Me too. I still can't believe he didn't do that race. But before we leave, you think Pagacha is going to win if you had to pick, oh, second, not a second favorite. So, like, Vanderpool doesn't count, but anybody below Vanderpoel, who would you pick to win this race if things go sideways?

[Johan Bernal]

I don't know, man. Then things would have to go sideways with Van der Poel also and with Von Aert and with, you know, Peterson and. Because I think we, you know, we have to say the four proven guys for Flanders is. It's Bogachar, Van der Poel, Von Aert and Petersen. Those are the four proven guys. Now Remco is added to that list. I don't know. I don't see anybody else. I don't see anybody.

[Spencer Martin]

Pedersen's priced like a wild card plus 2200. So. Yeah, yeah, I. I think for him to win for, let's say, if we're even. Be honest, for Wild Bernard to win, there has to be a stalling at the front like I described from 2022 to 2020. Some sort of stall. Sorry. 2022 and 2021. A stalling someone gets away or it's a messy four or five rider sprint. That's where Wild Bernard Mets Pedersen. The thing. I'm surprised. Filippo. Ghana is plus 15,004th here last year. Right? Yeah.

[Johan Bernal]

Eighth.

[Spencer Martin]

Sorry. Eighth.

[Johan Bernal]

Yeah.

[Spencer Martin]

It's a bit pretty.

[Johan Bernal]

It's a bit hard for Ghana. It's a bit hard. You know, it has to come back

[Spencer Martin]

with some sort of stuff. Right? Yeah.

[Johan Bernal]

I mean, listen, he's definitely one. Yeah. Okay. Ghana wild card. Ghana. That's a good one.

[Spencer Martin]

I, I actually don't even, I don't know if I'm going to bet that before this episode goes live, because that's weird. He's priced at that, especially with the form we just saw from him. I. I'm gonna go my wild card. Not really a wild card wild Bernard, but we'll see what happens. I think, I think Pagatra is going to win this, but anything else, Johan, before we take off?

[Johan Bernal]

No, I'm excited to watch it on Sunday. And then right after the show, we'll be, we'll be here to, to analyze it.

[Spencer Martin]

Yeah. And if you live outside the US you probably get this on HBO Max. Congratulations. Even in the uk. The UK has HBO Max Max. Now, if you live in the United States, it's on Flow Bikes. So probably about 1% of our listeners have Flow Bikes. Many, many, many apologies that the best race of the year is not really on a service that anybody has. But if you really want to watch it, sign up for Flow Bikes. It's a great, great race.

[Johan Bernal]

You'll enjoy. Yeah. Okay, bye. Thanks, Spencer.

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