Tadej Pogačar and Paul Seixas crest the climb of La Redoute together, the rest of the field trailing. Their teams had chased down a big breakaway and this climb was going to be the strategic point of the day as it has been in recent years. Unlike the last two editions, Pogačar this time found his match here as Seixas dared to follow and then matched him. But for the 19 year old Frenchman can do, he can’t bluff and hide the pain, it cost him to match the world champion and 20km later Pogačar would go solo for the win.
A maxi-breakaway of over 50 riders including Remco Evenepoel and 23 of the 27 teams present went clear at the start amid bright sunshine. Yesterday’s preview mused on the necessity to fire riders forward in order to exist and get an option on a long-shot result and this was a form of revolt against the UAE Team. Was it the plan with Evenepoel up front on the startline while Pogačar was hanging around at the back as they rolled out? Maybe not but he was present and gaining time. The gap flew up to four minutes with UAE only putting two riders to chase and nobody else joined them for a long time until Decathlon-CMA CGM deployed Stan Dewulf.
But the uprising began to crumble, 50 up the road and only a small number committed to the rebellion. For all the numbers up front, few other contenders were present beyond Egan Bernal and Quinten Hermans. Riders were even attacking the group with 200km to go, tactically ruinous and a sign of their frustration. UAE’s Domen Novak was also among the fugitives and according to RTBF moto commentator Axel Merckx he was “doing a grand job” sabotaging the group’s cohesion and sapping Evenepoel’s attempts to encourage others to continue.
The race was well ahead of schedule, a tailwind helped but things looked frenetic, riders bobbing on their bikes like there was 40km to go and not 180km. Tom Pidcock had a bike change but just the chasing peloton split under pressure from a long pull by UAE’s Tim Wellens. This meant the Brit had to wait for a bike change from his team car that was blocked behind and once he got a new bike could only rejoin this rear group to watch the others ahead ride away.
Visual cues were upended, seeing the Doyard lake and Vielsam usually means the racing is about to go up a notch with 100km to go on the approach to the Côte de Wanne and the “trilogy” of climbs but things had been frantic for a long time. But the gap was falling and Evenepoel’s advantage now began to look like a problem. Still up the road, but how much energy had he used up, and facing the psychological blow of being reeled in.
Host broadcaster RTBF began live coverage on a secondary channel before switching to La Une (“Channel 1”) at 1.35pm. The audience tuning in here would see Liège-Bastogne-Liège as expected with only a small breakaway of Houle, Kamp, Leemreize, Eenkhorn and Vestroffer away with a slender lead and UAE leading the peloton. Ignore the warm sunshine and it was now looking a lot like 2024’s icy day when UAE bludgeoned the peloton, catching the early breakaway with 90km to go. After Wellens finished a monster job, Pavel Sivakov took over to do much of the same. Gossip says he’ll be joining Decathlon-CMA CGM next year to do the same job for a different rider.
Tadej Pogačar attacked on the early slopes of La Redoute and Paul Seixas went with him. Until Seixas’s experience of racing this climb did not go beyond halfway up as this is where the finish of the junior race is held. Now he had the audacity to follow the world champion. Richard Carapaz tried in 2024 and paid directly. Seixas though wasn’t here to learn, he wanted to match Pogačar. He was visibly on the limit, at times losing half a metre and having to stamp on the pedals to claw his way back but matching Pogačar all the same as they pulverised the climbing time on La Redoute by 13 seconds. But the rest? The helicopter camera had to pan a long way to find the next riders led by Mattias Skjelmose.
Seixas soon started to share the work and the pair quickly had a minute on the rest. Could Seixas have sat on? Sure but like Van der Poel in the Ronde, a victory in the moment is important but what counts for years to come for them is to be able to look each other in the eyes and not blink.
Pogačar hit the Roche-aux-Faucons hard from the start and again Seixas looked on the limit. The Frenchman can do plenty but can’t yet hide his pain and suddenly Pogačar was away. Seixas imploded, losing 30 seconds by the top of the climb, but not cramping and able to ride on with a minute and a half on the rest.
Behind Skjelmose counter-attacked on the Roche-aux-Faucons, an attempt to reach the third step of the podium: too far behind to reach the lead pair and too underpowered for the sprint. He was caught on the descent to Liège.
Pogačar cruised along the banks of the Meuse and pointed skywards in tribute to Milan Bral, a 21 year old rider who died after a car driver hit him. Seixas came in next with a small gesture to the crowd to mark his second place. Then a minute later the sprint led home by Evenepoel.
The Verdict
A brilliant edition with action from start to finish. Host broadcaster RTBF does the best it can with limited means and it’s facing hefty budget cuts too so covering the start isn’t on the table. Besides little happens in the opening hours. This time the big breakaway added a lot of suspense to the race and sapped plenty too, the race was ridden at 44.426km/h, beating the record average of 41.983km/h of last year. Was Evenepoel in an armchair? Were UAE in trouble?
But the major suspense came later. Pogačar for once had a rival, someone audacious enough to accompany him on La Redoute and beyond. The dream script for the day might have had the two sprinting for the win in Liège but for the sport it might be better if the hierarchy isn’t overturned today, but feels like it could be challenged directly soon.
As Pierre Carrey wrote in Le Temps earlier this week, there’s a lot to look forward to if Pogačar has a rival. The Slovenian will probably be the first beneficiary as he stands to gain plenty with an opponent capable of supplying the challenge in a race that he craves (as good as the field in the upcoming Tour de Romandie there’s no direct challenger to him, he’ll be interesting to observe). Seixas is also an alibi for the Slovenian given the bout of suspicion every July among some, including a proportion in France, who now root for a new rider capable of bettering the Slovenian in the coming years and with not a reputational cloud on the horizon.
For Seixas this was a noble defeat, second place but clearly ahead of the rest. He’ll start holidays now knowing he can already challenge Pogačar in ways the rest cannot. He may only have followed Pogačar for 20km longer than others before folding but this was a demonstration of force coming after he beat the field by metres in the Flèche Wallonne. Just a few watts more blended with some experience and he can go from daydreaming about duelling with Pogačar to visualising sprint tactics against the world champ soon.
Evenepoel won the sprint for third, further demonstration of his improved finishing power. As a double winner but only when Pogačar wasn’t in the race this was as a good as a realistic result could be, more to his credit since he must have used up extra energy in the first hours of the race and so much better than fourth. But like winning Amstel last week we know this is all in his range but he’s a self-proclaimed Tour de France contender and must have looked across the podium at the lanky Frenchman to wonder what is coming. This marks the end of the classics season but Seixas’s ascendency this week encourages us to look forward already.
The Tour de France for Seixas? A decision will be announced in the coming days, it seems likely he’ll ride. Listen carefully and he uses the first person: “I will decide“. He’s becoming famous – his Flèche win was a top story on France2’s evening TV news bulletin – but July will be like nothing can imagine with every outlet and fan wanting a moment with him; it’ll be more demanding than wearing the yellow jersey each day.
Nice write up. Thanks. What a great race that was. Up too early for my own good on the Pacific coast of Canada shocked to see the time gap. I thought: they finally have collaborated against UAE. I guess not.
Those few minutes on the Redoute climb were something. And at moments when Pogacar was on the pedals Seixas was still seated.
A small thought: I kept wondering: if Seixas hadn’t ridden the Flèche Wallone, would he have had more energy?
I think there was time to recover since Wednesday, the win would also have been affirming for him and the team too. But that’s it for him now, he started at Strade, aimed to peak for the Basque Country and Ardennes. He hasn’t been to altitude this time but seems convinced by it so that’s probably the next destination after his short vacation.
how an earth did you write this so quickly?
the race only just finished?
maybe you predicted most of what happened!
Punching the keyboard is quick. Slowest part is waiting for the photos to accompany the piece to go online.
Too quick, even, when your brain says “wrote” and your fingers write “route”.
Classic bilingual issues, not just switching a letter on the keyboard but a whole phonetic block across linguistic boundaries.
😉
I wasn’t following the action at the time… how and (more importantly) why did Remco get in the big break?
Just seen his own answer.
“I don’t actually know what happened, to be honest. I was 30th and suddenly discovered that there was a gap. I didn’t work with anyone to be in a break so it was really an accident. I didn’t really give very much to be honest, it was just an accident.”
Oh well…
I was really hoping and crossed everything I could, but alas…
But what an impact and impression this young man has made the last months. I can totally see the point about giving him a break and easing the pressure by keeping him out of the Tour this year, but wow, what a breath of fresh air.
He embodies in so many ways exactly what cycling needs right now.
I agree with everything. Such a pity, but Seixas will have his chance.
Tobias Halland told Danish TV that it seems like Seixas is gaining about 10 watts of power with each race, so we can guess where this is going, even seen from the riders…. 😉
Seixas did what pretty much nobody has been able to do for 3 years and match a Pogacar attack up a short steep hill in the finale of a bike race. The moment got him as excited as everyone else, it was immediately obvious over the top he was pulling too often, too long and too hard. Van Aert showed what to do in Roubaix, whether it would have made any difference on Roche aux Faucons I suppose we’ll never know. All excusable for a 19 year old of course, and you have to presume his time will come. He’s going to be under a lot of expectation at the Tour now when realistically any position in the top 10 would be a success, and anything outside it perfectly acceptable for someone his age.
Seixas made Pogacar doubt. A refreshing change on his favoured terrain.
Good writeup man. Didnt know your site until today. Will be checking in from now on. Greetings from Spain.
you’re in for a treat this is the best cycling website online in this language at least.
+1
I had the impression Pogi eased a little exactly when Seixas was about to crack on the Redoute, but maybe he had also finished gas and simply didn’t want to take any risk. But couldn’t listen to interviews, this time, assuming anybody would say the truth, so really dunno.
I don’t think I’ve ever cheered for a French cyclist—or any French athlete—as much as I did for Seixas today. What a rider, and what an impact he might have…
Was amazing, but I’m definitely looking forward to seven years in the future when those in love now are bored by Seixas winning!
I’m very hopeful we get a battle for the ages between Seixas and Pog for the coming few years before then though. It’s very exciting.
LOL, well at least I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we don’t end up like we did with Pog.
In an ideal world, a few more riders from the big nations—Lipowitz, Pellizzari, Ayuso, Riccitello, and others—would keep improving to the point where they could mount a genuine GC challenge alongside Pog, Vingo, Remco, and Seixas.
So I can dream, but in reality yes, I know…
If Seixas rides the TdF his team will surely provide seven as direct support. That can’t include Kooij who moved from Visma partly to get a Tour start with a dedicated lead out. He’ll be disappointed.
Decathlon has made use of the new option to skip a WT race and is one of four teams that have decided to sit out Romandy.
It might be part of the puzzle they’re trying to solve regarding who, what, and how for the Giro and Tour.
Interesting – I hadn’t even caught on that was an option. Must be a pretty new UCI rule?
that’s a good point