Tadej Pogacar 'anger' after Tour of Flanders collapse only further proves his quality – Bradley Wiggins

Tadej Pogacar’s flash of anger after blowing his Tour of Flanders debut only serves to underline how good he is, insists Discovery cycling expert Bradley Wiggins. After a devastating flurry of attacks left him in a two-up showdown with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), an unwise game of cat and mouse at a pedestrian tempo somehow saw Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)contrive to finish fourth. Ad/> Pogacar slapped his handlebars in frustration as Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) swept past to accept the unscheduled podium invitations, with the Slovenian remonstrating with the former at the finish.

Ronde van VlaanderenVan der Poel wins in Flanders as Pogacar finishes fourth in two-horse race4 HOURS AGO Despite his rookie mistake, Wiggins believes it only served to highlight what the 23-year-old can achieve in the sport. “The one who really lost out was Pogacar. What could have been had he chanced it 50 metres earlier and gone for it?” said Wiggins.

“I think it showed the quality of rider he is, when he was arguing with Van Baarle… it was a demonstration of his talents. “To come here on his first Tour of Flanders and perform like that. He wanted to win, there’s no doubt about that.

He’s a winner. “His anger at the finish demonstrated he was here to win. It wasn’t about making a demonstration and finishing fourth in his first Tour of Flanders, he wanted to win.” 'Can’t help himself' – Pogacar lights up Flanders with attack on Oude Kwaremont Wiggins: I think I'd have struggled against Pogacar Van der Poel also diced with disaster after refusing to chuck down the gauntlet until Van Baarle and Madouas were alongside him, but he displayed superior finishing power to claim his second title in