Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Pogacar wins. Van der Poel third

Impressive. After the 80 km of the winning breakaway at Strade Bianche, here is the 34.7 km of solitary attack at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the fourth Monument of the season, which closes the period of the spring classics. Tadej Pogacar phenomenal in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège edition number 110: triumphant for the second time after 2021, when he won in the sprint ahead of world champion Alaphilippe, the first of his great successes in his third season as a professional. The Slovenian from UAE Emirates, who is 25 years old and earns seven million euros a year (no one like him in the world), does it differently, with a long-range action which is his trademark, and adds a another feat to his already phenomenal career. He is 1’38” ahead of the Frenchman Romain Bardet (team Dsm) and 2’01” ahead of Van der Poel, protagonist of a great finish in the last ten kilometres: the world champion loses the tug-of-war with Pogacar but wins with strength and pride the sprint of the small group. Tenth race day of 2024 for Pogacar and seventh victory after the Strade Bianche, four stages and the classification of the Tour of Catalonia, and today Liège. In total it is number 70 in his career. And at Milan-Sanremo he came third.

Legend And so are six classic Monuments for Pogacar: 2021 Liège, 2021 Giro di Lombardia, 2022 Giro di Lombardia, 2023 Tour of Flanders, 2023 Giro di Lombardia and 2024 Liège again. Six like those of Mathieu Van der Poel, the world champion who was crashed by Pogacar on the Redoute, the symbolic climb of the Doyenne, as the Poggio is for the Sanremo and the Ghisallo for the Giro di Lombardia. It is a 1.6 km climb at 9.4%, with peaks of 19%, which Pogacar makes suffocating first with Novak’s pace and then with his decisive acceleration 893 meters from the top, when the hardest stretch begins. For a classics rider, the length and pace imposed by Pogacar transform the climb into a grand tour ascent, with an intensity and acceleration impossible to sustain for those with a natural explosiveness on much drier and shorter climbs. Pogacar goes at 22 km per hour in those situations: too much for everyone. And to think that the Slovenian was returning to the race after almost a month (Catalonia ended on March 24), having spent time training at altitude in Sierra Nevada in Spain (with Ganna as his cycling companion).

Apotheosis With 30 km to go, Pogacar has 53″ on Healy and Lutsenko, and 1’10” on Van der Poel. These are the situations favored by Pogacar, who can then manage the final like a time trial. At 24km, on the Cote de Forges, he is 1′ ahead of four pursuers: Bardet, Gregoire, Cosnefroy and Healy, at 1’26” the group with Tiberi and Van der Poel. At 21 km I’m 1’17” on the quartet, when it starts to rain heavily, while at the finish line it’s sunny. At 20 km, Pogacar has 1’21”, equal to 1400 metres; VdP at 1’40”. On the last climb, the Roche aux Faucons, 13 km from the finish, he has 1’29” on Bardet, 1’40” on Bernal and Carapaz, 1’56” on Van der Poel. At 10 km, Pogacar has 1 ’38” on Bardet, 1’47” on Bernal and Van Gils, 2’13” on Van der Poel, who recovers in the last 10 km and rejoins the group of Bernal and Carapaz. At 4 km, Bardet is at 1’49”, Van der Poel’s group at 2’10”.

More yellow pink And in 14 days the Slovenian from UAE Emirates will debut at the Giro d’Italia, which starts from Venaria Reale on Saturday 4 May in front of the Royal Palace of Savoy. Conclusion in Rome on Sunday 26 May at the Colosseum in Rome. Pogacar’s mission is simple in his greatness: to equal Marco Pantani 1998, that is, to achieve the Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double that has been missing for 26 years. After all, every race that Pogacar does transforms it into a triumph, into a feat.

The end In the last 70 kilometers it is always Pogacar’s Uae that sets the pace. Meanwhile the weather improves, the sun comes out, it’s ten degrees after the cold of the first part, with a perceived temperature around zero in the stretch towards Bastogne and the Ardene hills. We arrive at the cult climb of the Redoute (1.6 km at 9.4, peaks at 19%) 34 km from the finish: Pogacar is in fourth position, while Van der Poel is a little behind. It’s Novak who sets the pace, then Healy, Pogacar, Skjelmose. Pogacar starts 893 meters from the summit, 34.7 km from the finish. Carapaz goes to get Pogacar, Van der Poel doesn’t respond. No, VdP can’t make it, he’s in the fourth group. Still forcing from Pogacar, Carapaz can’t do it either, the Ecuadorian gives in 416 meters from the summit of Redoute. Then Bernal and Lutsenko. At the top of the Redoute, Pogacar is impressive, he makes the difference: he passes with 12 ”over Carapaz, Bernal and Van Gils.

The race A double fall at 120 km, in the central and rear part of the group, causes Mathieu Van der Poel to live an hour and a half of fear. The world champion was queuing to bring his overshoes to the flagship, when the road, already narrow, created a rift in the group. VdP, Pidcock, Buitrago and Simon Yates immediately found themselves more than 1′ behind Pogacar’s followers. Luckily for the world champion the situation is reshuffled before the long grind of Rosier 70 km from the end. In any case, the strongest team is Pogacar’s UAE Emirates, first with Ulissi then with Novak, and the Slovenian captain still has Almeida and Hirschi left to manage the final. Van der Poel, for his part, never put his head out of the group and the evolution of the race brought him back to the center of Liège when it seemed that all was lost. Italians Scaroni did well in the breakaway, debutant De Pretto did well. But we still remain at 12 victories, the last in 2007 with Di Luca: the longest fast in a Monumento classic.