At the start of the 2026 Tour of Flanders there will be winners of 26 of the 30 Monument Classics raced from 2020 to today. Eleven of these were conquered by Tadej Pogacar, eight by Mathieu Van der Poel, two by Remco Evenepoel, one each by Wout Van Aert, Jasper Stuyven, Kasper Asgreen, Matej Mohoric and Dylan Van Baarle.

Among the 175 riders present four have already won the Flanders at least once, including Italian Alberto Bettiol, author in 2019 of the last of the 11 Italian triumphs in the history of this wonderful race. Italy is third in the nations ranking behind Belgium, the leader with 69 victories, but has been empty since 2017 (the year Philippe Gilbert won) and is facing the longest drought ever.

Pogacar and Van der Poel in case of success would make their own numbers even more extraordinary. Here are the most relevant ones. The Slovenian would be the eighth to win the Flanders 3 times, the second to sign the San Remo-Flanders pairing in the same year (achieved only by Merckx in 1969 and 1975), the first to win the Ronde twice in the rainbow jersey and to win four Monument Classics in a row. Van der Poel would become the best interpreter in the history of the race with 4 victories.

Source www.ciclopico.it - full article and other statistical curiosities at the link https://ciclopico.it/classiche-monumento/favoriti-giro-delle-fiandre-2026/