The China Mail - What we learned from cycling's Spring Classics

- Indomitable -

Anyone hoping that Tadej Pogacar might lose form or motivation and open the door to someone else winning once in a while, has had that pipe dream shattered.

If anything, the 27-year-old world champion is still getting better.

He has had five races this year and won four of them -- finishing second in the only one he did not claim, Paris-Roubaix.

The Slovenian opted for a relatively light workload in the early part of the year, but he seems even more unbeatable than ever.

He finally chalked off Milan-San Remo at the sixth attempt, and there now remains only one major single day classic missing from his trophy cabinet: Paris-Roubaix.

The very fact that a four-time Tour de France winner is competing for success at Paris-Roubaix is remarkable in itself, but Pogacar has come genuinely close to winning it in his two participations.

The rest will have to wait for some time yet for the king to abdicate.

- A new star is born -

Cycling fans have got used to Pogacar's domination, but it may be coming to an end sooner than expected.

French 19-year-old Paul Seixas has long been hyped as the great hope for a home Tour de France winner, and this year he has proved that he is already the real deal.

Dominant victories at the Tour of the Basque Country and Fleche Wallonne one-day classic showed that he is already one of the best in the world.

But his willingness and ability to go toe-to-toe with Pogacar in a thrilling battle at Liege-Bastogne-Liege at the weekend suggested that it will not be long before he is able to beat the incomparable Slovenian.

France waits with baited breath to see if he will start the Tour in July, and if he does, Pogacar and Jonas Vingegard will have a genuine contender to battle against.

- Back to his best

Some people wondered whether Wout van Aert's best days as a one-day classics specialist were behind him at the age of 31.

But this spring, he proved he remains a force to be reckoned with.

His Paris-Roubaix victory, beating Pogacar in a sprint finish to win only his second Monument, rounded off an impressive campaign.

He had been getting close to such a major victory.

He had not finished lower than fourth at nine Monuments since the 2022 Milan-San Remo.

He was third at the Primavera in March, fourth at the Tour of Flanders and took part in two impressive long range efforts for victory at In Flanders Fields and Dwars door Vlaanderen -- coming up a kilometre short in the first and being caught just 100 metres from the line in the second.

It all served to prepare his engine for his successful Paris-Roubaix tilt.

Expect Van Aert to be competing at the front end again in 2027.

- The best on cobbles -

Mathieu van der Poel's spring campaign may have ended ultimately in disappointment as he failed to win any of the three Monuments he took part in, but he nonetheless proved he is still the man to beat on the cobbles.

His Milan-San Remo bid was hampered by a crucial late crash but he was still one of only two riders able to follow Pogacar's inital acceleration on the Cipressa climb, the penultimate ascent before the finish.

He eventually finished eighth and was fourth at Paris-Roubaix after producing a stunning ride in which he fought back into contention despite losing two minutes to his rivals due to two punctures through the tough Arenberg forest cobbled sector.

He was second at the Tour of Flanders to Pogacar but won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and E3 Saxo Classic.

He will still be the man to beat on the cobbles next year and with Pogacar unlikely to return to Milan-San Remo, Van der Poel will likely be the favourite there too.

X.Gu--ThChM