Pogacar wins fierce duel with Seixas to claim wild Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) soloed to victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the fourth time in his career after a showdown with Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) that was decided on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons inside the final 15km.

The hype around this year’s edition of La Doyenne was ramped up with the debut of Seixas, and whether the teenage sensation was able to challenge Pogačar, who had gone clear alone on the Côte de la Redoute in the previous two editions to take the win with a commanding advantage

It was a blistering race, one that ultimately proved to be the fastest in history. The pace was on from the outset as a 52-rider group that included Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) built an advantage of nearly four minutes over the peloton that included Pogačar and Seixas. After plenty of committed work from UAE and Decathlon, the group was caught with 94km remaining, and the next phase of the race was about the build-up to La Redoute.

In the end, it was almost an identical outcome as Pogačar made his first major acceleration on the steep gradients of La Redoute, a kilometre from the summit. However, the major difference was that the world champion wasn’t alone.

Seixas underlined his talent by being able to match Pogačar pedal stroke for pedal stroke, and the duo smashed the record for the fastest time up the climb.

What followed was a mano a mano battle between the master and the apprentice, and it was on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons where Pogačar was finally able to snap the elastic and leave Seixas in his wake. 

Pogačar would power his way to victory in Liège in emphatic fashion, but Seixas dug deep to limit his losses, and the 19-year-old would take another significant step forward to finish second on debut at La Doyenne at 45 seconds behind Pogačar. Meanwhile, from a chasing pack behind, Evenepoel would win the sprint for third place, 1:42 behind Pogačar. 

In the process, Pogačar draws level with Alejandro Valverde and Moreno Argentin on four victories at Liège, and he has also now won three Monuments in consecutive seasons. His total Monument tally now stands at 13, as he closes in remorselessly on Eddy Merckx's record haul of 19.

It was a very interesting start to the race in Liège, with the action starting long before the television coverage kicked off. A crash in the opening kilometres, which involved riders including Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), while there was a major split in the peloton. 

A group of 52 riders, which included Evenepoel and his German teammate Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), opened an advantage over the rest of the peloton that reached around 4 minutes at its biggest. 

Crucially, Decathlon CMA CGM missed the split, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG had one rider, Domen Novak (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), out front, leaving the two teams to lead the chase behind. Decathlon and UAE managed to reduce the deficit to under 3 minutes with 140km of the race remaining.

The race dynamic continued to shift on the Col de Haussire with 130km remaining as Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) set a strong tempo in the chase, which whittled down the size of the group, and also saw the front group’s advantage continue to dwindle towards the two-minute mark. 

Additionally, some riders were distanced from the front group on the climb, including Denz, and there were a few signs that the cooperation wasn’t as strong as when the group first formed.

Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) suffered an untimely mechanical with 112km remaining, and found himself in a group 40 seconds behind the main chasing group.

With 103km remaining, the fractured cooperation in front saw a four-man group break clear. The quartet included Alexander Kamp (Uno-X Mobility), Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal Quick-Step), Gijs Leemreize (Picnic PostNL), and Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech). 

Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché) managed to impressively jump across to the front; meanwhile, the remnants of the leading group that included Evenepoel were caught by the chasing peloton with 94km remaining, just ahead of the Côte de Wanne, but the Pidcock group were still behind.

Kamp, Leemreize and Houle found themselves just 20 seconds in front of the peloton at the top of the climb and were caught a few kilometres later. The unfortunate Pidcock had to push on solo to try and rejoin, but the gap was ultimately too big to close. Maximilian Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step) also attacked off the front and was briefly clear before being reeled in.

UAE continued to set the pace over the next 40 kilometres, and the fight into the foot of the all-important Côte de la Redoute was a fierce one, but Pogačar and Seixas were positioned in the front three with Evenepoel also in the top 10. 

However, after Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finished his leadout for Pogačar, Evenepoel was starting to be distanced, as Pogačar launched his acceleration. Seixas was able to lock himself onto the wheel of the World Champion, and the duo pulled clear. 

Seixas dug deep as Pogačar attempted to dispatch the 19-year-old, but the elastic didn’t snap, and the duo were in a league of their own at the summit, over 20 seconds ahead of Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), who, after an excellent climb, found himself alone in third. Behind the Dane was a larger group of around 20 riders, which featured Evenepoel, a further 15 seconds behind.

Skjelmose was swept up by the group led by Evenepoel with 30km remaining, but with the front duo cooperating well, the gap was 40 seconds.

Onto the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons with 15km remaining, Pogačar increased the pace to the point where the elastic finally snapped despite a brave ride for Seixas. 

Behind, Skjelmose attacked on the climb and went clear again from the chase group and over the summit. Pogačar was over 30 seconds ahead of Seixas, while Skjelmose was over two minutes, and the Evenepoel-led chase group a further 15 seconds back.

In the end, Pogačar soloed his way to victory in Liège for the fourth time, while Seixas held on for second, and Evenepoel won the sprint for third.