Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) won his second Tour of Flanders title leaving his rivals behind on the Oude Kwaremont 19 km from the end to race home solo in Oudenaarde.
The world champion made his decisive move on the penultimate climb of the 269km race amongst a prestigious group of favourites, including Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike), and the Lidl-Trek duo of Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven to take his eighth Monument win.
Pogačar, who throughout the race tore the peloton apart with van der Poel ever since the first ascent of the Oude Kwaremont with 55km to go, established a 30-second lead over the final hill of the day (the Paterberg), and never looked back to finish the race by a 1:01 min. gap to the chasing group.
Pedersen proved superior in the four-man chase group when he jumped from the rear of the quartet to beat Van der Poel to the line, who managed to claim a spot on the podium for the sixth time in seven starts.
Thanks to taking his eighth victory in one of cycling's five monuments, Pogacar prevented Van der Poel from becoming the sole record winner with his fourth success in Flanders.
The duel between the two superstars will continue next Sunday at Paris-Roubaix but unlike Van der Poel, Pogacar has never been able to win the Pavé classic.
Pogacar´s sports director Fabrizio Guidi has expressed concern that the Slovenian will take part in the race out of fear that a potential crash could spoil Pogacars's preparation for the Tour de France, but Pogacar has claimed that winning the Paris-Roubaix is one of his biggest goals of the season.