LIÉGE, Belgium (April 26, 2026) – Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) proved again his current domination of professional road cycling by winning the 112th Liège-Bastogne-Liège, becoming the first rider in this century to get three straight victories in La Doyenne, and completing an outstanding spring in which he has won all Monuments at stake but Paris-Roubaix (2nd, behind Wout van Aert) while wearing the rainbow jersey and being the Tour de France reigning champion – a feat only achieved before by Eddy Merckx in 1975. This Liège, though, had a different factor at play compared to the two previous ones. His name is Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM). At 19 years and 7 months old, the young Frenchman managed to resist Pogačar’s devastating accelerations up La Redoute and only kneeled down before the world champion at La Roche aux Faucons, crossing the finish line in 2nd position to further build on his promise of one day challenging the Slovenian rider for his throne as best rider of the moment. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) rounded out the podium after a gutsy, courageous performance that saw him go on the offensive from the start and be chased for 165 kilometres by the peloton.
173 riders took the start in the 112th edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, held over a 259,5-kilometre course from Liège to Bastogne and back, at 10:00. There were two DNSs: James Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost) and Alexandre Delettre (TotalEnergies). The race was shaken from the very beginning by 54 riders who went clear as the flag dropped, establishing a breakaway that included the likes of Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) or Quinten Hermans (Pinarello-Q36.5). Despite the efforts by Tadej Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG, the front group managed to stay clear and went on to build a sizable advantage, as large as the 4’00” timed atop the Côte de Saint-Roch (km 83,7).
A frantic chase between two pelotons
From the axis of the course in Bastogne (km 96,6), Paul Seixas’ Decathlon-CMA CGM (which was the only team not represented at the head of the race) started contributing to the chase. The gap went quickly down to the 2’05” clocked at the summit of the Col de Haussire (km 132,4). It was on its ramps that Belgian national champion Tim Wellens started setting a fierce pace on behalf of UAE. He was later joined in this duty by Decathlon’s Antoine L’Hôte as Pinarello-Q36.5’s Tom Pidcock fell out of contention due to a mechanical issue. Together, Wellens and L’Hôte further reduced the advantage of the front group until finally catching up with the best part of it at kilometre 165. By that point, five men had jumped from the breakaway: Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché), Alexander Kamp (Uno-X), Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal-Quick Step), Gijs Leemreize (Picnic-PostNL) and Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech). They would be brought back, one by one, until no escapee was any longer in the lead before the summit of the Côte de Stockeu (km 177,7).
Seixas resists Pogačar’s attacks up La Redoute
The race entered a steady phase, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the helm and a remarkable fight for positioning in the peloton, which was decimated down to 60 riders. It was in the first slopes of the Côte de la Redoute (km 225,5), with 35 kilometres to go, that Tadej Pogačar launched a first trademark, violent attack – and then a second before the summit. Firm on his wheel, Paul Seixas managed to stay put as Lidl-Trek’s Mattias Skjelmose unsuccessfully tried to bridge back and found himself reeled back in by a chasing group. The young Frenchman was not shy of cooperating with the world champion, and this defined the race in their favor. Atop the Côte des Forges (km 236,2), the duo had already built a one-minute gap on their nearest chasers.
The rainbow jersey flies away in the Roche aux Faucons
As in every edition between 2018 and 2021, the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons (km 246,1) was set to be the deciding climb in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Pogačar hit the afterburners from its foot, and finally managed to drop Seixas 600 meters from the summit – that is, with 14 kilometres to go. The Slovenian quickly built a gap that enabled him to reach the finish with 45” on his challenger, pointing a finger to the sky in loving memory of his former teammate Cristian Camilo Muñoz, who passed away two days before this race. Behind the front duo, the fight for podium was hectic and, after many attacks, came down to a sprint in which Evenepoel managed to get a meagre reward for his gutsy performance by defeating Alpecin’s Emiel Vestrynge and Ineos’ Egan Bernal to the line.
Tadej Pogačar: “I am impressed and amazed by how good Paul Seixas is”
“A lot of things happened today. In the beginning, I was at the back, just following wheels, and from one moment to the next there was a split with Remco in it. I was a bit nervous at first, and we tried hard to close the gap down immediately. After 20 minutes, we realized it was not bad to let them go as in this kind of large breakaways the cooperation is never great, even if I was a bit scared that Remco Evenepoel could jump and go solo from that group. We kept the situation under control thanks to Vegard [Stake Laengen] and Rune [Herregodts], who did an amazing job. Decathlon came to help later, and the rest of the team then came in. You never let Remco go away, but today’s situation was different.”
“I wouldn’t know how to explain why La Redoute suits me so well. I find it is a good spot to attack because it is a hard climb and it comes after 5 hours of racing. Then, I decide where to launch my attack just on the feeling. It really depends on the year. As for today, Benoît [Cosnefroy] did a great lead-out into the climb and I could feel he was nearly empty. We had some momentum and this is why I felt it was the right moment to go.”
“I went really deep up La Redoute, and I could see Paul Seixas was struggling, but then he came near me across the summit. He pulled quite strong all the way and because of this we were able to open a big gap. In the back of my mind, I was getting ready to go head-to-head on a sprint with him. I gave it a try at the Roche aux Faucons anyway, and luckily managed to drop him.”
“I am impressed and amazed by how good Paul is. Chapeau to him. I have nothing but praise for the kid – for his incredible results at the start of this season, and for how mature he is. I don’t think there are many riders stronger than him right now. Having him at such a good level being just 19yo is a source of motivation for everybody to keep trying to improve. He is just 19yo and the best age for us riders usually is 26 or 28. We have to keep working hard if we want to keep fighting for victories, before he destroys everybody. I definitely know that every year it will become harder and harder for me to win. I’ve been doing this for a while now and I’m not getting any younger. It’s a matter of time before I decline.”
“It means a lot to win one of the biggest races in cycling again. I don’t do many races anymore, and thus don’t have many opportunities to win. That means I’m under a lot of pressure on days like today. I’m really happy that we succeeded. I couldn’t be more proud of my team, today and all season long. I hope we can keep going like this into the summer, after Romandie. We are in a good place right now. I feel good on the bike and during training, and I appreciate the time I spend with my teammates more and more every year.”
Paul Seixas: “I have to take one step at a time”
“I always race to win, but we know that [Tadej] Pogacar has been utterly dominant these last few years, so just being able to follow him is already something. You have to take things one step at a time, without rushing. At Strade Bianche, I couldn’t follow his first attack; today I managed to do it, so I’m quite happy with my performance. There’s also the team’s work to consider, because at Strade Bianche I found myself isolated and couldn’t get on his wheel when he attacked. Here, I was perfectly positioned on his wheel all day. I think that’s what allowed me to hang on at La Redoute, because I had to give it all there. The extra edge of being well-placed on his wheel throughout the race is definitely something.”
“I was completely exhausted at La Redoute. The speed we were climbing at, I was blown away! It was an insane pace. It didn’t take much more for me to crack; I was at my limit. I hung on as best as I could, and afterwards it felt good to catch my breath and take turns at the front with him. We built up the necessary lead to go all the way to the finish, and then it came down to the final climb up the Roche aux Faucons. It was a battle of brute force there. Experience always helps, but it didn’t really matter here because the race wasn’t particularly complicated: I just had to stay in his slipstream, be there at the right moment, and find myself alone with him. There’s not much I could have done better. I simply lacked the power to stay with him a bit longer.”
“Just keeping up with Pogacar is extremely difficult. He’s one of the greatest riders of all time, so being able to hang on to him, to fight with him all the way to Roche-aux-Faucons… He was so close to the finish. There’s still work to be done, and that’s normal; we mustn’t rush things, but be satisfied with what we got today.”
“I was in uncharted territory racing such a long race as a Monument is. I did well in Il Lombardia last year, but there were some question marks anyway. I think I’ve made a step forward in terms of endurance. How hard the race was almost works to my advantage because I can repeat efforts and recover quite well from them, as we saw at the Tour of the Basque Country. It’s very satisfying for the future. Since I finished second, my next ambition will be to win a Monument. There are no certainties in life regarding the future: until you’ve done it, you haven’t done it. I’m just going to work towards it.”
Remco Evenepoel: “My breakaway was a very, very strange situation”
“It’s difficult to explain what happened in the early stages of the race. I always try to be up there at the start of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, because I know it can be pretty hard, and this is why I was in the front group when the split happened. We were gone, but it was not our goal – just an accident. We quickly built a gap, and then it was too late to drop back so I just tried not to spend too much energy. The collaboration was not great, so I think the move didn’t make a great difference in my favor. The situation could have been more beneficial if the group had worked alright together, or if I had had one more teammate to ride at the front. All in all, it was a very, very strange situation. I don’t think it took a toll on me towards the finish, but we still have to check my numbers with the coaches.”
“I was in a good position coming into La Redoute, between sixth and tenth wheel at the front. I nearly crashed on a roundabout, though, after touching wheels with the guy in front of me. We started the climb at a very strong pace, and I knew I was going to be on my limit pretty soon if I followed the other riders’ pace, so I chose to focus on myself. I realized pretty quickly that my legs were not great into the final, so I focused on not letting any big group go, and then on doing a great sprint so I could make it to the podium. With the legs I had today, this was the best possible outcome.”
“It seems Paul [Seixas] was more than ready for a 6-hour race. It was not surprising that he was able to follow Tadej [Pogacar] up La Redoute, because we know his results and his performances from the previous months. He showed again today that he already is one of the best climbers in the world, and on top of this has a great punch in him. The whole world can only say ‘chapeau’ to him. It’s great that he can already fight for the win in big races like Liège-Bastogne-Liège.”
| RANK | RIDER | RIDER NO. | TEAM | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | TADEJ POGACAR | 1 | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 05H 50′ 28” | – |
| 2 | PAUL SEIXAS | 21 | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 05H 51′ 13” | + 00H 00′ 45” |
| 3 | REMCO EVENEPOEL | 11 | RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE | 05H 52′ 10” | + 00H 01′ 42” |
| 4 | EMIEL VERSTRYNGE | 211 | ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH | 05H 52′ 10” | + 00H 01′ 42” |
| 5 | EGAN BERNAL | 112 | INEOS GRENADIERS | 05H 52′ 10” | + 00H 01′ 42” |
| 6 | PELLO BILBAO | 92 | BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | 05H 52′ 10” | + 00H 01′ 42” |
| 7 | ROMAIN GREGOIRE | 101 | GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED | 05H 52′ 10” | + 00H 01′ 42” |
| 8 | CHRISTIAN SCARONI | 124 | XDS ASTANA TEAM | 05H 52′ 10” | + 00H 01′ 42” |
| 9 | TOBIAS JOHANNESSEN | 131 | UNO-X MOBILITY | 05H 52′ 10” | + 00H 01′ 42” |
| 10 | FILIPPO ZANA | 167 | SOUDAL QUICK-STEP | 05H 52′ 10” | + 00H 01′ 42” |
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