San Francisco Frontiers - Pogacar wins joint-record third Tour of Flanders

Van der Poel was himself aiming for a new record fourth victory in the second Monument of the season, but instead, Pogacar made it two from two in the prestigious one-day classics having won Milan-San Remo last month.

Pogacar, 27, now has 12 Monument victories, putting him clear in second in the all-time list behind only the great Eddy Merckx with 19.

Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel held on for third place ahead of fellow Belgian Wout van Aert after 278km and more than six hours riding around Flanders, with its punchy climbs and numerous cobbled sections.

In what was billed as a battle between four of the biggest stars in cycling, Pogacar once again proved he is a cut above the others, although Van der Poel -- one of the greatest cobbled classics specialists of all time -- pushed him all the way.

Pogacar had dropped all his rivals bar Van der Poel and Evenepoel with an acceleration on the second of three ascents up the Oude Kwaremont climb with 57km to race.

Evenepoel was dropped on the very next climb, the Paterberg, and although he kept within a handful of seconds at first, he would gradually drift backwards, finishing more than a minute after Pogacar.

Pogacar and Van der Poel rode together for the better part of 40km, before the Slovenian put in his race-winning move on the final ride up the Oude Kwaremont.

He crested that with a six-second advantage, but Van der Poel's resistance was broken and he would only lose more time before the finish.

Y.Gomez--SFF