Latest news with #RondevanVlaanderen
Dubai Eye
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Dubai Eye
UAE Team Emirates-XRG‘s Pogačar wins Tour de Flanders title
UAE Team Emirates-XRG's rider Tadej Pogačar rode alone to the finish in Oudenaarde to win his second Ronde van Vlaanderen title on Sunday, whose final and decisive attack on the Oude Kwaremont dispatched of his rivals with 18km to go. Also known as De Ronde (The Tour), the Tour of Flanders is one of cycling's most challenging one-day races and was first held in 1913. This year's 268.9-kilometre (167-mile) route featured 16 short but punishing climbs and several cobblestone sections. The Slovenian was on the move time and time again throughout the race, with Lidl-Trek's Mads Pedersen and defending champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) appearing to be the only riders who could follow his wheel. However, with his stinging acceleration on the third and final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, Pogačar shook the dogged persistence of Van der Poel and forged his path alone. Despite Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) forming a four-man chasing group with Pedersen and Van der Poel, Pogačar wasn't going to be caught as the world champion dug deep in the final 10km and extended his advantage to the line. Accepting that their battle against Pogačar was futile, the chasers could only sprint for second place, with Pedersen taking second place ahead of Van der Poel in third. In winning his second Tour of Flanders title, following his victory in 2023, Pogačar moves up to eight Monument victories and takes UAE Team Emirates-XRG's 24th victory of the season.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Magnificent Pogacar solos to Tour of Flanders triumph
Another blistering attack from Tadej Pogacar has seen the peerless world champion win the Tour of Flanders cobbled classic for the second time. Pogacar had plenty of time to raise his arms above his head and soak up the applause of the crowd as he soloed to victory after taking off on the third and final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont on Sunday. The three-time Tour de France champion had launched his last and decisive attack on the penultimate climb – about 18km from the finish — and not even defending champion Mathieu van der Poel could stay on his wheel. .@TamauPogi on his way to his second Ronde! #RVV25 #FLCS — Ronde van Vlaanderen (@RondeVlaanderen) April 6, 2025 Pogacar finished one minute and one second ahead of Mads Pedersen, who edged out van der Poel in a four-man sprint for second, just ahead of Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven in a stellar chasing group. One of cycling's most challenging one-day races and first held in 1913, the one-day 'Monument' classic is run over a brutal 268.9km route featuring 16 short but punishing climbs and several cobblestone sections. It was a second victory for Pogacar after he won in 2023. The Slovenian didn't defend his title last year, when van der Poel claimed a record-equalling third win. It was expected to be another episode of the great rivalry between Pogacar and van der Poel, who had won the recent Milan-Sanremo classic, and so it proved. The duo played cat and mouse with each other in the final 50km with each matching the other's attacks before Pogacar left the Dutch cyclist and the other hopefuls in the distance. The leading Australian among the 113 finishers - another 62 didn't even make it to the end - was Jayco AlUla's evergreen star Michael Matthews, who came home 13th, but two minutes 19 seconds behind his pal Pogacar. The Tour of Flanders is one of the "Monuments" of cycling — the five most prestigious one-day events in the sport — along with Milan-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro di Lombardia. The two Pogacar has yet to win are Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix, which has even tougher cobbles than Flanders. Pogacar is going to attempt the gruelling French classic next Sunday.
Telegraph
06-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Tour of Flanders: Latest race updates as Pogacar and Van der Poel do battle in Belgium
The second Monument one-day race of the year is here, the Tour of Flanders. It is set to be a duel between defending champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates). What happens when an immoveable object comes up against an unstoppable force? We will know in about six hours' time. Van der Poel is the defending champion and looked in fearsome form as he rode everyone off his wheel to win the E3 Saxo Classic midweek. He is punchy, durable and fast in a sprint, as he also showed when he beat Pogacar at Milan-Sanremo a few weeks ago in the latest juicy battle between these stars. Pogacar is the dominant force in professional cycling at the moment, able to challenge in any race, flat, hilly or mountainous. It will favour the reigning world champion to have his team-mates make the race as fast and hard as possible; the harder, the better for him. If he can get rid of three-time winner Van der Poel and company, as he has done so often in previous seasons, he will probably win this. Easier said than done. There are in-form outsiders like Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike). British hopes rest on Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious), who has finished in the top-ten twice before her,e and young Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers). They'll do very well to contend; it looks like a two-man tussle. Anyone who says Belgium is flat has never ridden the Tour of Flanders. Over 269 kilometres, the Ronde van Vlaanderen (to use its local name) heads south-east from the start in Brugge into the Flemish Ardennes and its proliferation of punchy, cobbled climbs (known as bergs), finishing in Oudenaarde. There are 16 of those blighters on the route, but the race will likely be decided in the last 50km, with the wickedly-steep Koppenberg whittling the lead pack down befere the repetition of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, with sections at 20 percent gradient, to finish off the race and its competitors. This is like Grand National day meets Glastonbury in Belgium, a sporting event, a riotous party and cultural mainstay in one, with approximately a million Belgians cheering on the riders roadside. Many of them no doubt combining two of Belgium's favourite national pasttimes: cycling and beer.
The Independent
05-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar resume hostilities in Spring Classics duel for supremacy
Mathieu van der Poel is one-third of his way to making history. Only 269km of cobbles, circuitous, narrow streets, and leg-sapping climbs, at one of cycling's most brutal races, stand in the way of him and an outright record of four Tour of Flanders titles. Victory in Oudenaarde on Sunday would put him two-thirds of the way to an unprecedented achievement: winning all of the year's first three Monuments in a row. There's only the small matter of one man: Tadej Pogacar. Between them Van der Poel and Pogacar have won 13 of the last 18 Monuments, and four of the last five editions of the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Van der Poel is yet to finish off the podium so far this decade. The pair have a stranglehold on the sport's toughest, most gruelling one-day races, and the tactical nous, physical strength, and killer instinct required to win them. In 2023 and 2024 they equally split four of the five; you have to go back to 2019 – when Pogacar was in his first year out of the under-23 ranks – to find a season without a Monument trophy for either of them. Now both are tied on seven apiece, and hostilities resume this weekend in Bruges. There will be 173 other riders on the start line but, beside the Belgian pair of Wout van Aert and last week's winner in Gent-Wevelgem, Mads Pedersen, it's hard to see anyone able to disrupt this from being an all-out duel. Both are in something approaching the form of their life: Van der Poel swept the field in the winter cyclo-cross season to win his seventh world title in the discipline, and carried that into the spring road races, winning Milan-San Remo – the year's first Monument – for the second time. After Pogacar's glorious 2024 season, it seems he's always in the form of his life, but for good measure, so far this year he's lifted the UAE Tour and Strade Bianche trophies, the latter despite coming back from a bruising crash. For both it's something worth fighting for: for Van der Poel, the outright Tour of Flanders record, and to move ever-closer to the historic straight hat-trick of Monuments in the same season. The 30-year-old has come the closest to achieving it, along with Sean Kelly and Eddy Merckx. Kelly, by a strange twist of fate, was runner-up to Van der Poel's father Adrie in Flanders in 1986. The junior van der Poel won Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix – the third in the trilogy – in 2023, and finished runner-up in the Tour of Flanders that year. The winner? Pogacar, of course. For Pogacar, it would be a second Ronde title, but crucially it would edge him ahead of his rival on eight Monuments to seven, levelling the series for 2025. And it would be revenge for his Milan-San Remo defeat; for a man unaccustomed to losing, and now twice a bridesmaid at the Italian race, that must sting. The bear has been poked. The Slovenian's racecraft and ability on the sharp, steep climbs – 2,300m of climbing in total – of the Flemish Ardennes makes him the marginal favourite on Sunday. But Van der Poel proved he was more than his match on the climbs of Milan-San Remo, as he glued himself to the 26-year-old's wheel and even launched an uphill dig of his own on the infamous Poggio. If the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider can do the same tomorrow, he would once again have the beating of Pogacar in a sprint, as he did in San Remo. Out of all of the Monuments, this is the most finely balanced between the pair. For both men it would nudge them ahead of Gino Bartali, Tom Boonen, and Fabian Cancellara, those Classics legends who also hold seven Monument titles each. It would cement a legacy, and a rivalry, between two of the best of all time. That we're witnessing an all-time contest between two stage racing greats, in Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, at the same time as the never-ending battle for supremacy between the Slovenian and van der Poel, is something to behold. Should Pogacar draw level at the finish line in Oudenaarde, we'll get the climax to the trilogy at Paris-Roubaix next Sunday. Should Van der Poel edge out his great rival tomorrow, the 'Hell of the North' will not just be a personal duel: history will be on the line. Whatever happens, there will be fireworks in Flanders.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Qlik and Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Continue Partnership to Drive Data-Driven Performance
Qlik powers team strategy as Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team aims for top 5 global ranking PHILADELPHIA, April 02, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Qlik®, a global leader in data integration, data quality, analytics, and artificial intelligence, today announced the renewal of its partnership with the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team for the third year. The collaboration cements Qlik's role as the team's "26th rider," providing advanced analytics that support pre-race planning, real-time race decisions, and post-race performance analysis. With Qlik, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team has transformed how it leverages data. Previously reliant on multiple devices and fragmented information, the team now operates with a single source of truth with a new app developed in collaboration with Qlik partner, Differentia Consulting, streamlining decision-making and sharpening its competitive edge. Through real-time insights, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is able to refine its race strategy, optimize performance based on race conditions and help to identify top talent. "Qlik's technology has been a game-changer for us," said Doug Ryder, Team Principal of Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. "Our vision is to rise up the world rankings and win big races, and data is an integral part of that journey. Having access to real-time insight allows us to adapt our strategy dynamically, ensuring our riders are in the best position to succeed. As we continue our journey towards the top, our partnership with Qlik will be instrumental in making data work for us." "The continued partnership between Qlik and Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team exemplifies the transformative power of data," said Chris Powell, Chief Marketing Officer at Qlik. "We've worked closely with the team, listening to their needs and delivering insights that make a real difference on race day. This collaboration is about more than just data, it's about helping Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team think differently – making the right decisions at the right moments to achieve their goals. We're excited to keep pushing the boundaries together." The renewed partnership comes ahead of Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team taking on the many prestigious Spring classics races in April, including the Ronde van Vlaanderen on April 6 and the queen of the one-day classics, the Paris-Roubaix on April 13 and the Giro d'Italia starting on May 9. These events will serve as key opportunities for the team to put Qlik's data-powered insights into action and showcase their evolving strategy. A major step forward in this journey is the addition of Tom Pidcock as the team's lead rider. A powerhouse in professional cycling and Team GB gold medallist, Pidcock's arrival signals a new era of performance and potential for the team. Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team will also be at Qlik Connect 2025, Qlik's flagship global customer and partner event, taking place from May 13-15 in Orlando, Florida. Attendees will have the opportunity to see how Qlik is working with the team to transform its sporting performance and how data-driven decision-making is shaping the future of elite competition. Attendees will also have the chance to raise funds for Special Olympics, donated by Participants will have a chance to compete against their peers, track real-time race metrics, and see their performance come to life on a dynamic Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team dashboard—all powered Qlik. To secure your spot at Qlik Connect 2025, visit About Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is a professional cycling team committed to innovation, performance, and sustainability. With a focus on integrating advanced technology and data analytics, the team aims to redefine competitive cycling and achieve top global rankings. For more, visit: About Qlik Qlik converts complex data landscapes into actionable insights, driving strategic business outcomes. Serving over 40,000 global customers, our portfolio provides advanced, enterprise-grade AI/ML, data integration, and analytics. Our AI/ML tools, both practical and scalable, lead to better decisions, faster. We excel in data integration and governance, offering comprehensive solutions that work with diverse data sources. Intuitive analytics from Qlik uncover hidden patterns, empowering teams to address complex challenges and seize new opportunities. As strategic partners, our platform-agnostic technology and expertise make our customers more competitive. View source version on Contacts Media Contact Craig +44(0)7795 662 888 Sign in to access your portfolio
