Pogacar claims Liege hat-trick with stunning solo win
Slovenian world champion Tadej Pogacar has claimed his third Liege-Bastogne-Liege triumph after launching a stunning solo attack 34 kilometres from the finish, just as he did last year.
Pogacar launched his attack on the climb on the iconic Cote de la Redoute and immediately cracked his rivals, eventually finishing over a minute ahead on the 252km route in six hours and nine seconds.
The UAE Team Emirates rider finished 63 seconds clear of Italian Giulio Ciccone and Ireland's Ben Healy, who completed the podium after a sprint for second place.
In the sprint for fourth place won by Italian Simone Velasco, Australia's top hope Michael Matthews was out of position for the dash to the line and had to settle for 11th overall.
His Jayco-AlUla teammate, world championship silver medallist Ben O'Connor, came home 44th.
"It feels great to finish the first part of the season like this. I'm just happy that the whole season so far went perfect," Pogacar said.
"It wasn't the plan to attack on La Redoute, but it was such a hard pace before that I saw a number of teams didn't have a lot of teammates any more.
"I said, 'OK, I'll test my legs a little bit and see if I can get a gap on the top' and then I'll decide if I continue or not. Then I just committed because I had good legs, also on the second climb after La Redoute."
Last year, Pogacar finished one minute and 39 seconds clear after a solo attack with 34km remaining.
He now has nine 'Monument' victories, which puts him joint-third on the all-time list behind only Eddy Merckx (19) and Roger De Vlaeminck (11).
The 26-year-old also became the first rider to finish on the podium in six straight Monument races.
Another podium at the Giro di Lombardia in October would make him the first man to finish on the podium in all five in the same year.
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It's been three intense weeks but I have one more step to take. I'm playing great tennis and I have great confidence. I've been doing great things in this tournament and now is the time to give 100 per cent in the final."
