Tour of Flanders: Pogacar stops Van der Poel’s bid while Kopecky earns third women’s title

• Slovenian takes title in style after 19km solo attack
• Lotte Kopecky makes history and adds to previous wins

Tadej Pogacar denied Mathieu van der Poel a record fourth Tour of Flanders title when the Slovenian won the second Monument of the season in Belgium for the second time in his career on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Pogacar, who skipped the 2024 edition to focus on a Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double, had won the Tour of Flanders in 2023. Second in the 268.9-km race, which started in Markt in Bruges and concluded in Minderbroedersstraat in Oudenaarde, was the Dane, Mads Pedersen with Belgium-born Van der Poel coming third to complete the podium. Home heros Wout Van Aert and Jasper Stuyven rounded up the top five.