untouchable, Tadej Pogacar wins his second Liège-Bastogne-Liège – Libération

2024-04-21 16:59:12

After a solo raid, the Slovenian ogre won his second oldest of the classics this Sunday, April 21, ahead of Frenchman Romain Bardet.

Who else ? Favorite in a race with a route cut out for him, the Slovenian held his place on Sunday April 21 in the Ardennes. The changeover took place, as planned, on the famous Côte de la Redoute (1.6 km at 9.4%) at the same place where the Belgian Remco Evenepoel, absent due to injury this year, had forged his victories in the last two editions. A sharp attack from “Pogi” left the competition in place.

The double winner of the Tour de France then widened his advantage in the last thirty kilometers, swallowing at full speed the last difficulty, the climb of Roche-aux-Faucons, to cross the line in the lead, and ahead with 1:39 of The Frenchman Romain Bardet advances and 2:02 over the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, another big contender for victory after his two recent successes in quick succession at Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders.

The seventh victory for the 25-year-old Slovenian in ten days of racing this season, after his triumph at the Strade Bianche, already after a fantastic ride of 81 km, and his raid on the Tour of Catalonia (4 stages + the general).

Van der Poel trop juste

Behind Pogacar, a group of pursuers broke free at the top of the Redoute with the Irishman Ben Healy and three Frenchmen, Romain Bardet, Benoît Cosnefroy and Romain Grégoire. The first city, already third in Liège in 2018, broke away in the terrible percentages of La Roche-aux-Faucons to then resist alone the return of a small reformed group in the last kilometers.

Van der Poel, winner of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix this year, did not really weigh on the race but held on to catch up with a small group, around thirty seconds behind Bardet, and settle it at sprint to get on his first podium in Liège. The Dutchman had lost much of his illusions more than 80 kilometers from the finish when he was delayed, along with several other favorites, in a fall which cut the peloton in two in a narrowing approaching the coast of Mont-le-Soie.

At the same time, he sees Pogacar, now with a sixth victory in a Monument, joining him in the list of greatest classics. Already winner in 2021, the Slovenian took his revenge in the Doyenne which he had missed in 2022 after the death of his partner’s mother, to whom he dedicated his victory by raising his arm to the sky at the finish line , and its heavy fall last year.

Pogacar will now turn his attention to conquering the Tour of Italy in May and his aim of becoming the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro and Tour de France in the same year, a feat which would further add to his legend.