When Remco Evenepoel hits the cobbles of the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, he will be making the same route behind enemy lines trodden by a number of high-profile riders in recent years.
In an age of increasing all-rounderism, there is less of a shock factor at seeing riders stray from their usual lanes, and that’s especially so in the case of Evenepoel, who is a Grand Tour champion but has achieved most of his success through one-day exploits.
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The pre-race favourite, Tadej Pogačar, is a prime example. Alejandro Valverde and Vincenzo Nibali are two more Grand Tour winners who made solitary but memorable appearances at De Ronde. And Julian Alaphilippe and Bob Jungels are two more all-rounders whose lightning first forays onto the cobbles could inspire Evenepoel.
Tadej Pogačar makes his mistakes
Where else to start other than with Tadej Pogačar, the heavy favourite to lift the Tour of Flanders trophy for a third time on Sunday afternoon?
Pogačar made his Flanders debut in 2022, and he arguably should have won it, but more on that shortly. Pogačar was at this point 23 years old and already a double Tour de France winner and a double Monument winner, taking his first titles at Liège and Lombardia the previous year. His visit to the cobbles of Flanders, which included a prelude at Dwars door Vlaanderen was spoken about in the context of the cobbles that would be on the menu at the 2022 Tour de France, but it soon became clear this was a rider who wanted to win every type of Classic conceivable.
His ride at Dwars was a bit of a wake-up call. Out of position when the decisive move formed on Berg Ten Houte with 70km remaining, he missed the chance to play any real…
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