Tadej Pogačar added another line to his record at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, winning the race for the fourth time after a late attack ended Paul Seixas’ challenge in Belgium.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider claimed his third Monument victory of the season on Sunday, finishing 45 seconds clear of Seixas, the young Decathlon CMA CGM rider who was the only man able to follow him on La Redoute.
Remco Evenepoel, of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, finished third, 1 minute and 42 seconds behind Pogačar.
The result moves Pogačar level with Alejandro Valverde and Moreno Argentin on four Liège-Bastogne-Liège wins. Eddy Merckx remains the race’s most successful rider with five.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the team.”
Pogačar has now won the race in 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026. His Monument tally stands at 13.
The race, known as La Doyenne, did not begin cleanly for Pogačar or his team. A crash split the peloton after just three kilometres, allowing a 52-rider breakaway to form. Evenepoel and Egan Bernal were among those who made it into the front group.
At one stage the gap grew beyond four minutes, leaving UAE Team Emirates-XRG to control the chase. Rune Herregodts and Vegard Stake Laengen worked at the front before Tim Wellens helped bring the race back within reach.
Pavel Sivakov then took over across a series of climbs, including the Côte de Wanne, Côte de Stockeau, Col du Rosier and Col de Maquisard. His work thinned the field before the race reached the decisive section.
Domen Novak continued the pace before Benoît Cosnefroy led Pogačar onto the lower slopes of La Redoute, the climb where the Slovenian has made decisive moves in recent editions.
With one kilometre of the climb left, Pogačar attacked. Seixas followed, while Evenepoel and others lost contact.
The pair opened a gap and briefly looked set to contest the finish together. Pogačar then attacked again on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons with 13.9 kilometres left. Seixas could not respond.
Pogačar rode clear to the line in Liège. As he crossed, he pointed to the sky in tribute to former UAE Team Emirates rider Cristian Camilo Muñoz, who died on Friday after a recent crash. Pogačar had worn a black armband during the race.
“Today, a lot happened,” Pogačar said after the finish.
“At the beginning, I was at the back. It is always hard at the start so I just followed the wheels, I looked down and I saw we were going fast. In one moment, I looked up and the group was split.”
“But after 20 minutes, we realised it was not so bad to let them go.”
Pogačar said UAE Team Emirates-XRG had to stay alert with Evenepoel in the breakaway.
“Remco can go from far away from that group, so we kept it under control,” he said.
“Vegard and Rune did an amazing job, and later also Decathlon came to help, and the rest of my team did a super job. It was all under control but you never let Remco go away.”
He also praised Seixas for staying with him after the first major attack.
“On La Redoute, I was really going deep and I could see that Paul Seixas was a little bit on the elastic, but on the top he came next to me,” Pogačar said.
“I was really impressed, and then also he was pulling quite strong all the way. We opened up a big gap which was really good for us, and then in my head I was already preparing to do a dual sprint, because he was so strong.”
“I tried on Roche aux Faucons, I did my pace and I know the climb super well. It suits me well, and luckily he dropped. But I was prepared to go head to head in a sprint with him.”
Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026 results:
- Tadej Pogačar, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 5:50:28
- Paul Seixas, Decathlon CMA CGM, +45”
- Remco Evenepoel, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, +1:42
There was also a strong result for UAE Team Emirates-XRG in Spain, where Adrià Pericas finished second overall at the Vuelta Asturias.
The 19-year-old also finished second on stage four between Lugones and Oviedo, 17 seconds behind Edgar David Cadena of Team Storck-MRW Bau.
Nairo Quintana won the general classification, with Pericas finishing 25 seconds behind the Movistar rider. Samuel Fernández of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA was third.
“I’m really happy with the result, and to finish off the week like this is a boost of confidence for the next races,” Pericas said.
Vuelta Asturias stage four results:
- Edgar David Cadena, Team Storck-MRW Bau, 3:37:59
- Adrià Pericas, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +17”
- José Manuel Díaz, Burgos Burpellet BH, same time
Vuelta Asturias final general classification:
- Nairo Quintana, Movistar, 14:28:46
- Adrià Pericas, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +25”
- Samuel Fernández, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, +1:33
