Tadej Pogacar claims fourth Liege-Bastogne-Liege title ahead of Paul Seixas
Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar has secured his fourth Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory by dropping French teenager Paul Seixas in the closing stages to take his 13th career Monument title.
Emotional tribute
Pogacar wore a black armband during the race to honour his former teammate Cristian Camilo Munoz.
The Colombian rider died on Friday from an infection linked to a knee injury sustained in a recent crash.
The world champion pointed to the sky in a touching tribute as he crossed the finish line.
An electric battle
Sunday’s race was highly anticipated as the first major clash between the sport’s dominant force and highly-rated teenager Seixas.
The 19-year-old initially matched a blistering attack over the brutal La Redoute climb with 35 kilometres remaining.
However, the French wunderkind was finally distanced on the steep 10 per cent gradients of the Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons.
A seated acceleration with 14km to go proved decisive, allowing the race leader to finish 45 seconds clear.
Chasing pack dynamics
Lidl-Trek’s Mattias Skjelmose was the best-placed of the remaining favourites following the initial surge on La Redoute.
The Danish rider was eventually caught by the chase group after struggling alone for several kilometres.
Former Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley attempted a late breakaway inside the final 30km, but the group quickly reformed to contest the final podium spot.
Evenepoel secures podium
Two-time winner Remco Evenepoel sprinted away from a large chasing pack to secure third place.
The Belgian finished one minute and 42 seconds adrift of the victorious Slovenian.
Closing in on Merckx
This triumph marks the third Monument victory of the season for the 27-year-old.
Having already conquered Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, he now sits on 13 career Monument titles.
He is just six victories behind cycling legend Eddy Merckx’s all-time record of 19 wins.
A victory at Il Lombardia later this year would make him the first rider in history to claim four Monuments in a single season.
