Pogačar learns his Tour of Flanders teammates: Vermeersch there, but so are UAE’s 2024 surprises

Pogačar made his debut in Flanders’ Finest in 2022 and immediately showed what might be possible for him on the cobbles. On the climbs, the Slovenian looked outrageously strong, and only Mathieu van der Poel could stay with him. He came up short in the sprint that day, but he put that right a year later with a solo win. He repeated the feat in 2025, this time in the rainbow jersey.

Three starts, two victories for the all-conquering Slovenian. Now he is chasing a third. “I’m very pleased to be going back to Flanders to defend the title,” Pogačar said on his team's website. “The way the whole team rode in Milano-Sanremo was so impressive, and if we can carry that into the next few weeks, I think we can achieve some great results.”

It will be his first race since Milan-Sanremo two weeks ago. “Flanders is one of the biggest heartlands of cycling and the energy around this race is something special and a pleasure to be a part of. Since my last race, I’ve been training while also keeping an eye on the racing and cheering on the teammates from home, so I’m excited to be getting stuck into the action again.”

Pogačar is far from the only big name in the squad. UAE Team Emirates-XRG are also bringing Florian Vermeersch, one of the team’s form riders this spring. The Belgian finished third at both Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the E3 Saxo Classic, and has shown himself at the front in every major cobbled race. Nils Politt, Mikkel Bjerg and António Morgado are also included, and they finished third, fourth and fifth respectively in the 2024 edition of the Tour of Flanders.

The world champion will also be supported by Benoît Cosnefroy, who was 16th in his only previous appearance in 2023, and Rui Oliveira, who has raced Flanders four times with 55th as his best result. Tim Wellens misses out because of the collarbone fracture he sustained in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.