For the third year in a row, Tadej Pogačar celebrated the victory in Liège with his hand raised and looking at the sky. He dedicated the past two victories to the late mother of his fiancee Urška, and this year to his former teammate. Photo: AP
Tadej Pogačar does not bow under pressure
The best cyclist in the world staged a new masterpiece at the conclusion of the spring one-day classics and won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege monument for the third time in a row and the fourth time in his career. It was the 13th victory in the five biggest one-day races for the captain of the UAE Emirates-XRG team.
The Liege-Bastogne-Liege Ardennes monument in its 112th performance was the most interesting since the period since the Slovenian cycling ace Tadej Pogačar dominated it. After an extremely exciting start to the race, the best team in the world nevertheless brought things calmly to the traditional denouement of the race, and Pogi once again proved who is the number one cyclist in the world.
Seixas will still be a very tough nut to crack
When the cyclists came together on the decisive climb of La Redoute (1.6 km and 9.3 percent), there followed a typical Pogi attack, where in the past two editions of the race he easily decided the winner. This time, the 27-year-old from Klanac pri Komenda got a shock. When the rivals usually nod their heads and let the Slovenian ace drive himself towards the goal, Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) decided on the impossible mission and survived. “I went really hard into the red, and when Paul came at the top of the slope next to me, I was a little surprised,” the resistance of the barely 19-year-old French rider also surprised Tadej Pogačar.
Fortunately for the Slovenian, the route of the LBL race is not flat even in the last kilometers and he just shook off his new big rival on the last categorized slope. “In my head, I was already ready for the finish sprint, but I knew the final slope well and went at my own pace. I managed to shake him off,” the first Tadej Pogačar relived the way to his thirteenth victory in the biggest one-day races, this time racing with a black mourning ribbon on his left arm in memory of former teammate Cristian Camilo Munoz. He died two days before the race as a result of a knee injury he sustained during the Tour du Jura race in France. There has been a severe infection of the injury. Even the young Frenchman was not disappointed by the final second place. “First time in this race and immediately second place. It’s not bad, isn’t it,” said Paul Seixas with a smile and touched on the duel with the best rider of the current era. “Now I know that I can mix and match everything. This is an important step to continue his career,” the not-yet-20-year-old French savior of cycling is aware that he will still be a very tough nut to crack. Remco Evenepoel finished the race in third place, but even though he was on the run and predicted a tough fight for the win before the race, he was no match for the top two.
This is also one more proof that the favorite of Belgian cycling fans, even in the race in France, where the best will soon focus all their thoughts, will not be able to compete with the Slovenian. That is why Seixas and his team are under increasing pressure to start a big clash with Pogačar in the race of all races this year, where the Dane Jonas Vingegaard will also look for his opportunities again. The captain of Visme-Lease a Bike is waiting for an appearance at the Italian Giro before that, but in the course of the season so far he has proven that he is very dangerous in stage races. It should be emphasized that he took part in most of the races where he was a clear favorite and actually had no real competition (Paris–Nice and Catalonia).
The first clash between Roglič and Pogačar this season in a stage race
It is a very special spring for Tadej Pogačar. Since he has matured as a cyclist, he no longer has to compete in every race, chasing victory after victory. He became the world’s number one rider in the true sense of the word, competing in just five of the biggest one-day races of the season and cementing his reputation in them with four wins and one second place. “I don’t race much, so the pressure of results before races is even greater. I am very proud of everything I have achieved so far this season,” Pogi himself acknowledged the burden. Although he has a small number of races in his legs, this does not mean that he is more rested than his rivals. “Anyone familiar with competitive cycling knows that five such difficult one-day races are no mean feat. Above all, Tadej has done a lot of work in the interim period, maybe even more than he would have done if he had been at the races,” remarked the sports director of the UAE Emirates-XRG team Andrej Hauptman.
Already on Tuesday, the season starts anew for Pogi, as he is at the start of the Romandie race, which will be his first stage race this season. The second Slovenian ace Primož Roglič will also race on it. Zasavski orel has a winless season behind it for now. Above all, his fans are worried about his role in the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe team, where it is more than obvious that he is not getting the support he deserves. This was finally proven in the race in the Basque Country, where Florian Lipowitz joined the race at the last moment (he will also race in Romandie). The German and the Slovenian showed that they have strong legs, but without real team chemistry, they helped Paul Seixas to a prestigious joint victory. That’s why it will be interesting to watch the organization of the team in Switzerland, but it is lucky that Jan Tratnik will also be present this time, who is in excellent form as an assistant and knows how to organize the team perfectly, as well as hit the table when necessary.
Of the remaining Slovenians, Gal Glivar (Alpecin-Premier Tech) has often tried to attack during the course of the season, but unfortunately for him, escapes in modern cycling rarely end successfully. But the very fact that he finds himself in it is an indicator of strong legs. With persistent effort, the stars will align correctly for him too. Domen Novak proved especially on Sunday that he really is an indispensable assistant of the UAE Emirates team. The Slovenians have a little more problems in the Bahrain-Victorious team. At the age of 20, Jakob Omrzel proves that he can compete with the best, but he still needs a bit of natural strength. Matej Mohorič has the most problems. As a winner of the cycling monument in his career, he always flirts with the highest results. But for the master of tactical surprises, it seems that the races have simply become too fast and there are no more chances for his tricks. Matevž Govekar and Žak Eržen persistently look for their opportunities in the fast finishes of the stages and dutifully perform other tasks in the team.
