Pogačar joins Valverde and Argentin on four Liège-Bastogne-Liège titles

Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the fourth Monument of 2026, went expectedly to world champion Tadej Pogačar, who dedicated the win to recently departed Colombian ex-teammate Cristian Camilo Muñoz Lancheros. With his fourth La Doyenne, Pogačar joins Alejandro Valverde and Moreno Argentin on the second most wins after Eddy Merckx. Canadians Hugo Houle and Michael Leonard were part of a big, surprise breakaway containing Remco Evenepoel early in the race. Leonard finished top Canadian in 54th.

Preliminaries

Last year Pogačar took a hat trick of La Doyenne titles. Giulio Ciccone and Ben Healy made up the podium. The world champion was back Sunday, with Strade Bianche, Milan-Sanremo and Ronde van Vlaanderen in his pocket. Amstel Gold Race victor Remco Evenepoel and La Fleche Wallonne winner Paul Seixas provided the resistance.

Hugo Houle started his 32nd Monument but only his fifth La Doyenne. His 47th place in the 2020 L-B-L is his second greatest Monument result.

The Course

Eleven climbs were spread over a relentless 259.5-km course, the first two in the first half and the final three sure to elicit attacks. The Côte de La Redoute, 1.6 km of 8.8 percent, crested at the 225.5-km mark. Next came Côte des Forges, 1.3 km of 7.6 percent. The last ascent was Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, a nasty challenge at 1.3 km of 10 percent, peaking 13 km from the finish line in Liège.

There was a lot of early-race mayhem. A huge early breakaway with Evenepoel, Houle and Leonard flashed clear, Pogačar and Paul Seixas chasing. But the hills chipped away at the group. Once the big escape was brought back, Houle went again with a couple of others, but the fourth climb, Cote Stockeu with 83 km to go, killed that move. Tom Pidcock’s mechanical put him in arrears.

UAE-Emirates was the locomotive of the peloton train that took on the middle climbs like Côte de la Haute-Levée, Col du Rosier, Col du Maquisard.

Côte de La Redoute

First Evenepoel was dropped. Then the world champion made a surge which only Paul Seixas could match. Mattias Skjelmose was the closest chaser, soon joined by 30 reinforcments, including Evenepoel.

Côte des Forges

By the penultimate climb, the chase was in pieces, and the Slovenian and French alliance was 49 seconds clear. The chase coalesced.

Côte de la…