Evenepoel ignites early chaos with bold move at Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Liège-Bastogne-Liège exploded into action far earlier than expected on Sunday morning as Remco Evenepoel forced his way into a large breakaway during the opening phase of the race, immediately disrupting the anticipated script.
The Belgian Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider moved into a front group that quickly grew to around fifty riders following a nervous and fragmented opening, with the split triggered in part by an early incident in the bunch. Heading south out of Liège towards Bastogne, the exact moment of the split remains somewhat unclear, but a reported early crash involving Ion Izagirre and Andrea Vendrame may have contributed to the break forming.
As Liège-Bastogne-Liège is not shown in full on television, the early developments unfolded before live images were available.
Notably absent from the move were key contenders Tadej Pogačar and Paul Seixas, leaving their teams with work to do behind.
Without riders in the break, UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Decathlon CMA CGM were forced to begin the chase early in the peloton as the gap started to build.
The group at the front is packed with quality. Egan Bernal, Laurens de Plus (Ineos Grenadiers), Magnus Cort, Alexander Kamp, Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility), Alan Hatherly (Jayco AlUla), Dylan van Baarle (Soudal Quick-Step) and Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana Team) are among those present, helping the break establish a lead of more than three minutes within the first hour with an average of 45 km/h on rolling terrain.
His actions do not entirely align with what he said yesterday after the team presentation, where he outlined only one likely scenario: “Everybody knows that La Redoute is always the climb where this race is usually decided. I don't see any other scenario this year. It will just be up to me to be there with the legs and to race smart as well, and try to go for it.”
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