Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2026

The road

At the start

Pogačar, and a nineteen-year-old

Liège, 259 kilometres and 4,100 metres of Ardennes climbing to close the spring. Tadej Pogačar has raced four days in 2026 and won three of them, and arrives stung by a sprint lost to Van Aert in the Roubaix velodrome. Remco Evenepoel, twice a winner here, comes off the Amstel Gold Race. And Paul Seixas, nineteen and the youngest Flèche Wallonne winner ever, says he does not yet have the level to beat Pogačar.

How it was won

1. 1250 km to go

   Evenepoel tears up the script

   Inside the opening ten kilometres a fifty-rider move goes clear — and both Pogačar and Seixas miss it, while Evenepoel makes the split. UAE and Decathlon are forced into a long, grinding chase of a 3:30 deficit.

2. 294 km to go

   Côte de Wanne — the reset

   With 94km to go the break is finally reeled in, right on cue for La Doyenne's traditional launchpad. UAE seize control of a shredded peloton over the Wanne and Stockeu, and the real racing begins.

3. 335 km to go

   Côte de la Redoute

   Thirty-five kilometres out Cosnefroy winds it up on the Redoute and Evenepoel is immediately gapped. Only Seixas and Skjelmose can hold the UAE tempo; Pogačar's repeated digs cannot shake the young Frenchman loose.

4. 414 km to go

   Roche-aux-Faucons — the break

   Pogačar hits the base of the Roche-aux-Faucons and Seixas somehow follows, body rocking, teeth gritted. Then, 13.9km from home and 530 metres from the summit, the world champion finally cracks him open and rides for the line.

5. 5At the line

   A fourth La Doyenne

   Pogačar solos into Liège 45 seconds clear for his fourth Liège-Bastogne-Liège, as behind him Evenepoel opens and wins the sprint for third to salvage a podium from his audacious day in the break.

The result