Over the course of the Spring Classics, I’ve certainly not been alone in asking the question: how do you beat Tadej Pogačar? The opening stages of yesterday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège looked to me like several teams were searching for that answer, as a large breakaway went clear and built up an advantage that exceeded three minutes for a while.
Compared to the likes of Paris-Roubaix, forming a breakaway in La Doyenne is easier, given the route’s elevation and the smaller selection of riders actually capable of getting up the road. I must admit that I was rather surprised to see so many riders, including Remco Evenepoel, in the breakaway by the time the TV coverage came around, though.
This breakaway action did force UAE Team Emirates-XRG to burn their matches sooner than they’d have maybe liked, with Pavel Sivakov and Tim Wellens putting in some crazy efforts at the front to sew the race back together. But ultimately, it was never going to change Pogačar’s plan. It was a mad, energy-sapping pace heading into La Redoute that made positioning vital. So when Benoît Cosnefroy delivered Pogačar into La Redoute at the front of the strung-out bunch, well, he made everyone else pay. The manner in which he hit that climb at such speed, my God, it’s just mindblowing the way he can do it.
After his Liège exploits, is Seixas Tour de France ready?
Of course, one rider who could handle his La Redoute acceleration was Paul Seixas, but fast forward to the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, and Pogačar didn’t even come out of his saddle as he rode away from him. The UAE man had another gear there. Either he didn’t have to make a huge effort, or perhaps Seixas just frankly ran out of power there.
Regardless, it was the first Monument where the Frenchman came into the race as a main favourite, especially after…
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