In the past few seasons it has become normal for Tadej Pogacar to simply ride away from the peloton at the pivotal moment of a race on his way to victory. But at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, Pogacar looked behind him after riding the quickest-ever ascent of Côte de La Redoute and saw 19-year-old Paul Seixas still on his wheel.
After the climb, there was a 30-second gap to the rest. Remco Evenepoel, the two-times winner of this race, was left behind and Pogacar knew then that he had a new rival to contend with. Seixas, the precocious Lyonnais, was every bit the racer he was said to be and he had arrived way ahead of time.
“On La Redoute I was really going deep,” Pogacar said after his third consecutive victory in this race. “I could see that he was a little on the elastic but on the top he came next to me and I was like, ‘OK, I’m really impressed.’ ”
Pogacar takes the acclaim of the crowd in Belgium after pulling clear in the closing stagesOLIVIER MATTHYS/EPA
Pogacar and Seixas worked together, extending their gap ahead of Côte des Forges to 40 seconds. It was a smart play, there was no way Seixas would want Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe back at the front. He had to work with Pogacar to stand any chance of becoming the first Frenchman to win the race since Bernard Hinault in 1980.
But it wasn’t to be. On Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, the final classified climb, with about 14km to go, Pogacar attacked among the roaring fans who crowded the narrow and steep road. Again Seixas fought on but he could do no more. Pogacar’s greatest strength is his ability to attack and recover and attack again. Seixas kept up for as long as he could but those brutal seated accelerations from the UAE Team Emirates rider were too much for the young man in only his second Monument.
“I wasn’t too far away from winning,” Seixas, of Decathlon CMA CGM, said. “It was my first Liège, I gave it absolutely everything but Tadej was stronger than me. On La Redoute I was already in difficulty … behind Tadej I could just hold on to his wheel. I did a few turns with him after that but on the Roche-aux-Faucons he went again and I just couldn’t go with him. I tried and I tried to stay with him but in the end I only had enough for second.”
Pogacar said: “I was in my head preparing to do a sprint because he was so strong.”
Behind, the group tried to chase and yet the gap continued to grow to more than two minutes. Evenepoel salvaged third, sprinting for the line against the likes of Egan Bernal of Ineos Grenadiers, 1min 42sec behind Pogacar.
The peloton climbs the Côte de Saint-Roch in the ArdennesDario Belingheri/Getty Images
The world champion, meanwhile, showed why he is still the greatest rider around. An early split in the peloton, after a crash at the beginning involving Ion Izagirre of Cofidis, put him 3min 40sec behind a group of 52 riders which included Evenepoel.
But while it seems the fierce pace at the front — an attempt to leave Pogacar behind — emptied the Belgian’s tank, Pogacar did not panic. UAE, with help from Decathlon, narrowed the gap slowly but surely and the Slovenian was kept fresh the whole time, before his remaining three team-mates laid an ominous pace at the front into the climbs that defined the race.
Once Pogacar had finally shaken off Seixas, there was no chance he would be caught again. The gap increased and the 27-year-old crossed the line 45 seconds ahead, pointing to the sky after winning the fastest edition of the race.
It was a symbol that he was dedicating the win to his Colombian ex-team-mate Cristian Camilo Muñoz, who had died on Friday from an infection after injuring a knee in a crash at Tour du Jura. Pogacar wore a black armband on his white world champion jersey in memory of the 30-year-old.
“It means a lot to win one of the biggest races of the year,” Pogacar said. “I don’t do many races, I don’t have a lot of opportunities to win because I don’t race a lot, so it’s a lot of pressure on me to deliver on days like today and I’m really happy we succeeded. I couldn’t be more proud of the team.”
Pogacar congratulates Seixas on his performance after the pair cross the finish lineShutterstock
At the line, Pogacar found Seixas and gave him a hug of recognition — the student to the master, Seixas the pretender to the crown. It is clear that the teenager is already one of the best riders in the world, a true rival for Pogacar in the years to come.
In July, the Frenchman will surely ride the Tour de France. He has exactly what it takes and if we didn’t know already, now we do.