Pogačar - Van Aert: the stars light the early fireworks in the UCI WorldTour

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) claimed a stellar triumph in the Strade Bianche a week after Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) opened his season with his own solo victory, in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite.

Great riders just want to have fun – and they find extraordinary ways to do so. Think of Pogačar. The two-time winner of the Tour de France has long established his dominance on stage races. But he also loves one day events, and the dirt roads of Strade Bianche have inspired him since he first participated in the Italian race in 2019. Last Saturday, the Slovenian prodigy went for a glorious move, a 50km solo attack to take his 34th professional victory in a spectacular fashion.

Think of Van Aert as well. The Belgian all-rounder had his traditional winter fun with a handful of cyclo-cross races (six victories from seven starts) before shifting his focus to the road season. He aims for his best classics campaign ever – which means a lot, when talking about a rider who’s won Milano-Sanremo, Amstel Gold Race, Strade Bianche and Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields in the past two years. His first race of the season saw him claim a maiden success in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite.

Paris-Nice is set to bring more delights for Van Aert, already third at the first stage dominated by his Jumbo-Visma team (1st Christophe Laporte, 2nd Primož Roglič). Meanwhile, Tadej Pogačar defends his 2021 overall victory in Tirreno-Adriatico. The two stars are unleashed.

Pogi's habits and new horizons

“I didn’t really plan my attack,” Pogačar said after he flew to victory in the gravel sector of the Monte Santa Maria, 50km away from Siena. The Slovenian climber saw an opening – in a downhill section! – he took it, end of the story?

“I expected riders to come along but nobody did so I had no choice other than to commit 100% to reaching the finishing line solo,” Pogačar went on to explain. “I suffered a lot in the last 40 to 50 kilometres. There were moments in which I was thinking that my legs would explode and I’d walk to the finish.”

Pogačar’s legs can hurt too, but they carry him further and faster. As for the head, the wonderkid is still as cool as he was when he showed the first glimpses of his unique talent: “I won because I had no pressure from my team for this race and I don’t really care about the pressure from the outside world.”

Already a winner of the UAE Tour (for the second year in a row, and with two stage wins), Pogačar now carries his form and serenity into Tirreno-Adriatico, another race he dominated in 2021. His many rivals for the Race between Two Seas (Richard Carapaz, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Enric Mas…) are aware: the young Slovenian is racking up successes at an even more impressive rate this year.

In his fourth season as a pro, the 23-year-old already has habits. He’s gearing up to defend his 2021 victories in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tour of Slovenia, Tour de France and Il Lombardia. We’ll see him fight for success in La Flèche Wallonne and La Vuelta Ciclista a España as well.

Pogačar is also ready to explore new terrains, with two UCI WorldTour cobbled classics on his schedule: Dwars door Vlaanderen – A Travers la Flandre and the Ronde van Vlaanderen – Tour des Flandres. Naturally, it will be a good preparation for the Tour de France, which features a cobbled stage in July. But nobody wants to put limits on Pogačar’s possibilities after everything he’s already achieved.

Van Aert's Green and cobbled dreams

Van Aert may very well be today’s best example of how much a champion can widen his range, as illustrated with his performances in last year’s Tour de France, with three stage wins: over the Ventoux; in the final time trial; and sprinting on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

The Belgian star will return to the Tour de France next summer, and he’s already revealed his dreams of the points classification’s green jersey, while supporting Roglič in his battles against Pogačar for yellow.

Meanwhile, Van Aert and Roglič have brought their talents to Paris-Nice, a first for the Belgian. “Wout is here for his final preparation towards the classics and obviously we want to take the chances we can see,” his Sports Director Merijn Zeeman announced ahead of eight days of racing that could all suit Van Aert in one way or another.

“He won’t go on the limit every day,” Zeeman tempers. “Wout is mainly here to help Primož and see if he gets an opportunity.” On day one, that already meant a collective masterclass with Roglič and Christophe Laporte. The two leaders gifted the win to the Frenchman and dealt a blow to the opposition.

From Nice, Van Aert will head to Milano-Sanremo before he takes on the Belgian cobbles (E3 Saxo Bank, Gent-Wevelgem In Flanders Fields and the Ronde van Vlaanderen), defends last year’s victory in the Amstel Gold Race and tackles Paris-Roubaix. Then, there will be no gift.