'Mathieu is going to be very hard to beat' – Tadej Pogačar sizes up main rival Van der Poel ahead of Monument rematch in Tour of Flanders

Slovenian Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates pictured during a press conference of the UAE Team Emirates cycling team ahead of the Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres / Tour of Flanders cycling race, Thursday 03 April 2025 in Waregem. The 109th edition of the cycling race will take place on Sunday 06 April. BELGA PHOTO DAVID PINTENS (Photo by DAVID PINTENS / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP)
Tadej Pogacar

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has insisted there are no feelings of wanting "revenge" against Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday after losing to him at a Milan-San Remo for the ages almost two weeks ago.

The world champion arrived in Belgium on Tuesday evening, before completing a rapid recon of Paris-Roubaix on Wednesday, and speaking ahead to the press including Cyclingnews today ahead of his Monument rematch with the Dutchman in three days' time.

James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.

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