The much-anticipated duel between Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) at Liege-Bastogne-Liege didn’t materialise as the latter was forced to abandon early on following a crash. Evenepoel took the victory after attacking on an uphill section after the summit of La Redoute and distancing Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), who finished second.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) won Liege-Bastogne-Liege for the second year in a row after Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) was taken to hospital following an early crash.
Pogacar’s hopes of becoming only the third man to complete a hat-trick of Ardennes classic wins were ended when he abandoned with around 185km to go.
In his absence it was Evenepoel who took charge, making his winning move in a similar spot to last year just after the summit of La Redoute to distance Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).
Evenepoel stormed clear in wet conditions and finished one minute and six seconds ahead of Pidcock.
Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) took third with Tom Healy (EF Education–EasyPost) in fourth.
The win is the ideal preparation for Evenepoel ahead of the Giro d’Italia, which starts on May 6.
Evenepoel will be aiming to win his second straight Grand Tour after triumphing at the Vuelta a Espana last summer.
More to follow
