Since Paul Seixas’ victory in La Flèche Wallonne, the hype around the 19-year-old French phenom is growing to a fever pitch. However, in Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, Seixas will face off against World Champion and one of the greatest pro cyclists of all time, Tadej Pogačar, along with other top contenders.
As the oldest and most prestigious Monument Classic, Liège-Bastogne-Liège has brought together one of the most scintillating lineups of the season. At 259.5km, it is one of the longer one-day races on the calendar, and is much tougher than Milan-San Remo in terms of elevation gain.
Starting and ending in Liège, the race has hardly a kilometre of flat riding, with numerous unnamed ascents preceding the first steep climb, the Côte de Saint-Roch – a kilometre-long early climb that averages 10.2%.
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Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
In just four days of racing so far in 2026, Tadej Pogačar has three wins – Strade Bianche with a signature 81km attack, an incredible victory in Milan-San Remo, and another equally impressive win in the Tour of Flanders. He appeared to be on track toward winning all five Monuments in the same season when he made the winning move in Paris-Roubaix, but lost in a two-man sprint to Wout van Aert.
In that race, Pogačar suffered three different punctures and three bike changes, including taking a neutral service bike after a flat on the Quérénaing à Maing sector and a furious chase to get back on before the Arenberg forest.
“I still had a hope in the sprint, but when I started the sprint, my legs were like spaghetti,” Pogačar said after the race, noting that the setbacks had sapped his strength.
Fortunately for him, Liège-Bastogne-Liège has none of the cobbled chaos of Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders.
Pogačar has won the last two editions of La Doyenne – both times attacking on the Côte de la Redoute with around 34km to go and winning solo by a minute….
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