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Independent Singapore
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Tadej Pogacar wins the Liège race for the third time in an impressive solo finish
BELGIUM: Tadej Pogacar, a cyclist for UAE Team Emirates, impressively won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race for the third time. The 26-year-old Slovenian athlete and world champion made a strong solo move 34 km from the finish. He finished a minute ahead of Italy's Giulio Ciccone and Ireland's Ben Healy. His main competitor, Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who won the past two years, was far behind and finished over three minutes later. Pogacar has already built a legendary career, but his third win in the event, after triumphs in 2021 and 2024, strongly establishes his legacy in the sport. Furthermore, he became the second rider ever, after Eddy Merckx, to win both the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the same year. With this feat, the athlete said: ' 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.' Highlights of the race Pogacar moved on to the challenging Cote de la Redoute climb, pulling away from his competitors. He completed the 252-km race in six hours and nine seconds, securing his dominant win. He admitted: '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.' In a social media post, the athlete shared: 'Legs did the talking, but it took a village to get here… Liège–Bastogne–Liège—what a way to end the spring. Thank you, team, thank you everyone… Grateful for every moment, every person behind me.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tadej Pogačar (@tadejpogacar) Netizens commented on the post and said: 'Once again, you performed an amazing race as the best team and rewarded them, Tadej, with an amazing victory.🏆👑🤍🌈 Thank you for a great racing experience🤍,' 'What a classic season thank you Tadej your a big champion,' 'What a performance, you did incredible ❤️🔥,' and 'You are POGIGOAT 🐐🐐🐐💪, the strongest cyclist of the XXIst century !!!! ❤️❤️🔥🔥.' Pogacar's athletic performance The athlete now has nine monument wins, placing him in third place on the all-time list with Roger De Vlaeminck, behind Eddy Merckx with 19. At 26, he also became the first rider to finish on the podium in six consecutive monument races. Suppose Pogacar finishes on the podium once again at the Giro di Lombardia this coming October . In that case, he will make history by being the first rider to podium in all five major classics in the same year. Now, he will take a break for over a month before returning to compete at the Criterium du Dauphine in June, preparing for his next big goal: his fourth win at the Tour de France in July.
The National
27-04-2025
- Sport
- The National
Tadej Pogacar continues stunning form to clinch third Liege victory
UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar clinched his third Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory on Sunday after the Slovenian world champion launched a stunning solo attack 34km from the finish line. The 26-year-old road race world champion finished a minute ahead of Italy's Giulio Ciccone and Ireland's Ben Healy. Pogacar's main rival and champion in 2022 and 2023, Belgian Remco Evenepoel, was never in the hunt and finished more than three minutes behind the winner. Pogacar has already done enough in his career to be considered a legend but his third win, after success 2021 and 2024, cemented his stature. Sunday's win means the UAE Team Emirates star becomes only the second rider after Eddy Merckx to win the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the same year. Pogacar launched his attack on the climb at the iconic Cote de la Redoute and put some distance between his rivals, finishing the 252km route with a time of six hours and nine seconds. '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.' Pogacar now has nine monument victories which puts him joint-third on the all-time list behind 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. Pogacar's victory in Liege rounded off an intense classics campaign in which the Slovenian shone on all fronts. His wins in the Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders and Fleche Wallonne gives him four victories and he also had three other podiums, including Paris-Roubaix, in his seven races. He will now take a break of over a month before returning to racing at the Criterium du Dauphine in June to prepare for his next major objective – the Tour de France in July where he will be aiming for a fourth victory.
Straits Times
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Pogacar claims third Liege victory with stunning solo attack
Tadej Pogacar claimed his third Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory on Sunday after the Slovenian world champion launched a stunning solo attack 34 kilometres from the finish, just as he had last year. Pogacar launched his attack on the climb at the iconic Cote de la Redoute and put some distance between his rivals, eventually finishing the 252km route with a time of six hours and nine seconds. The UAE Team Emirates rider finished 63 seconds ahead of Italian Giulio Ciccone and Ireland's Ben Healy, who completed the podium after a sprint for second place. "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 anymore. "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 after a solo attack with 34km remaining. Pogacar 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. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Evenepoel thought he might have to retire after horror crash
April 17 (Reuters) - Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel thought his cycling career may be over after his horror crash in December, he said on Thursday, a day before his comeback race in the Brabantse Pijl. The 25-year-old Belgian suffered multiple injuries in the accident, including fractures to his rib, shoulder blade and hand, contusions to his lungs, and a dislocation of his right clavicle that left the surrounding ligaments torn. He crashed into a postal vehicle's open door while he was on a training ride in Oetingen, Belgian media reported. "Of course, the injuries were quite severe," Evenepoel said in a video press conference when asked if he thought about retirement. "With my shoulder, where all the muscles, all the ligaments were destroyed, the surgery was a heavy one. "It was just a difficult period, the second time for the same shoulder in six months. So at a certain point, you start to doubt, will the shoulder be healthy again? Will it be functional again?" The Soudal-Quick Step rider, who finished third in last year's Tour de France, said he also suffered a nerve problem in his shoulder. "This one has not healed yet, so there's a part of the shoulder muscle that is not working at all for the moment. If I were a tennis, a volleyball or basketball player, my career would have been over. Luckily I'm a cyclist," he said. Evenepoel has suffered several big crashes in recent years such as at the 2020 Giro di Lombardia and when he fell in the Tour of the Basque Country, an accident also involving two-times Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard. "It's not the first big crash that I've had. Coming out of a period of off-season did not make it any easier knowing that everybody was starting to train again and I had to wait for six more weeks doing absolutely nothing," the reigning time trial world champion told reporters. Evenepoel will start the Brabantse Pijl on Friday before racing the Amstel Gold Race, La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, which he has won twice (2022 and 2023). "I'm behind my top shape, but I'm still in a good shape. Will it be enough to beat guys like (Tom) Pidcock and (Tadej) Pogacar, who are in the shapes of their lives, I don't know," Evenepoel said. When asked if he could beat Pogacar, he said: "If I don't believe it, I won't be at the start... If I have good legs, why not."
