Pogačar Shatters KOM Marks in Fastest Tour of Flanders Ever

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OUDENAARDE, Belgium (Velo) – Sunday’s Tour of Flanders turned into another Tadej Pogačar playground, who was a one-man wrecking crew across one of cycling’s most iconic races.

The world champion set more record-breaking performances up the fabled cobbled climbs in front of a frenzied crowd of 50,000 on the Oude Kwaremont alone.

A string of Strava King of the Mountains marks also fell as he climbed up the all-time monument ranking in another Sunday romp for the Slovenian superhero.

Pogačar’s winning ride was the fastest in race history, stopping the clock in 5 hours, 58 minutes and 41 seconds. At an eye-watering 44.99 kph, that’s 0.5 km/h faster than Mathieu Van der Poel’s previous record set last year.

“The goal was to win, and in the end, it is hard to make it happen. We did it,” Pogacar said. “I could not be more proud of the team and how we raced today, even though we had some bad luck. I am just so happy to win this race in this jersey.”

Also read: Pogačar blows up Van der Poel to win Flanders

The race was so fast that the next three riders — Mads Pedersen (2nd), Van der Poel (3rd) and Wout van Aert (4th) — all averaged 44.87km/h, a speed that would have won every other edition of the race in history, except Sunday.

Even more extraordinary is that Pogačar rode the final 18km alone, and after he topped over the Paterberg with a 30-second lead, pedaled all the way home against a biting headwind.

And he even coasted across the line to savor the victory. Pure Pogi power.

Koppenberg mark crushed in KOM rampage

But the Slovenian superstar wasn’t done.

Pogacar also smashed a string of marks, and set new solo records on the Koppenberg, Taaienberg-Hotond, and Oude Kruisberg.

His effort on the Koppenberg was especially jaw-dropping. At 1 minute and 38 seconds on the 550m wall, he’s the first pro to dip under 1:40 on one of the De Ronde’s most feared cobbled ramps that peak out at 22 percent.

Tadej Pogacar or Mathieu van der Poel finished on the podium of last 10 Monuments and World Champs: 50% of all podium-spots.

RVV’25: +
MSR’25: +
LOM’24:
WC’24: +
LBL’24: +
PR’24:
RVV’24:
MSR’24:
LOM’23:
WC’23: +

— Cycling Statistics (@StatsOnCycling) April 6, 2025

On the legendary Oude Kwaremont, Pogačar set a new Strava KOM along with Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson, who held Pogačar’s wheel on the second ascent, smashing the previous mark with a scorching ascent of 2:49 on the 1.48 km timed sector.

That was 10 seconds faster than Kasper Asgreen’s benchmark set in 2022.

Also read: Koppenberg, the 600 meters that divide the Tour of Flanders

Even before his dominant display on Sunday, Pogačar added another recon session last week to his Paris-Roubaix preparation, tackling more of the course ahead of his debut in the “Hell of the North” on Sunday.

During a Wednesday training ride, Pogačar set eye-catching speeds across several of the race’s most infamous sectors, including Mons-en-Pévèle, Auchy-lez-Orchies and Bersée, and Gruson at 48.8 kph, all at new record speeds, according to his Strava numbers.

On the storied Carrefour de l’Arbre, he nearly matched Wout van Aert’s race-day best, averaging just under 41 kph, missing the mark by only 1 second.

With those blazing recon efforts and his blistering win Sunday, Pogačar is making it clear he’s more than ready for Roubaix.

750,000 fans line the roads

Pogačar might have been off the front, but he was never alone.

With spring-like temperatures, an estimated 750,000 fans lined the 268.9km route from Brugge to Oudenaarde.

Many of them were packed in and around Oude Kwaremont. One estimate pegged the crowd to be 50,000, with many of those jammed inside the VIP tents lining the famed climb.

Another 15,000 filled Oudenaarde’s market square and finish area to cheer the arrival of the men’s and women’s races.

No big deal, just the absolute MONSTERS of cycling in the lead group with 20k to go. WvA, MvdP, Pogostick (hat tip to @mowoodier) Mads and Jesper. #TourOfFlanders pic.twitter.com/WJW1WddAY5

— Todd Lemmon (@toddlemmon) April 6, 2025

Aside from two minor incidents — with one fan arrested after a brawl in a local café and a climate protester detained near the finish — the day ran relatively smoothly, media reports said.

The race started with a minute’s silence at the start in Bruges to honor the two amateur cyclists who died tragically on Saturday during the “gran fondo” event.

Moving up the monument ranking

With his win Sunday, Pogačar also moves up the monument ranking with eight career victories in the storied one-days.

He started tied with Van der Poel with seven, but with his second Flanders crown, moves into a tie with Rik Van Loy, who is one of only three elite men racers to win all five monuments.

Going into Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix, Pogačar is only one win off joining
Sean Kelly, Costante Girardengo, and Fausto Coppi with nine monuments.

Above them, only Roger De Vlaeminck and Eddy Merckx have more.

Also read: Who is cycling’s best one-day rider?

The eighth win also makes Pogačar the most successful monument rider of the modern era, putting him ahead of riders like Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen and Van der Poel, who each have seven.

The Slovenian will start as a main favorite Sunday for “Hell of the North,” even though he’s never raced the punishing French monument before.

With Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia still on his calendar for 2025, he could go into double-digits if he wins two more.

Most top-10 results in Monuments, without a victory (active pros):
9 | Pedersen, Matthews
8 | Woods, Bardet
7 | Benoot
5 | Yates A., Turgis, Teuns, Politt, Küng, Lampaert
4 | Gaudu, Hirschi, Powless, Naesen, Costa

— Cycling Statistics (@StatsOnCycling) April 5, 2025

And if winning the Tour of Flanders isn’t hard enough, doing it in the rainbow jersey is also reserved for the icons.

Pogačar became the seventh male rider to win while racing in the stripes as world champion.

Louison Bobet was the first in 1955, followed by Van Looy in 1962. Eddy Merckx was next in 1975, and after a long wait, Tom Boonen added his name to the club in 2006. Peter Sagan won in 2016, and Van der Poel became the sixth elite male to do so in 2024.

All and all, it was a banner Pogačar day.

All-time monument wins

Legend:
MSR = Milan–San Remo | FLA = Tour of Flanders |
PR = Paris–Roubaix | LBL = Liège–Bastogne–Liège |
LOM = Il Lombardia

* winners of all five monuments