TADEJ Pogacar stands in Mathieu van der Poel’s way to become the first man in almost half a century to win three of the five major one-day races in a season at Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday.
On the 259km journey, through the winding paths of the Ardennes forest, Pogacar will be joined by world champion van der Poel, recognized as the greatest classic rider of his generation since winning the notoriously tough Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix classics.
If Van der Poel wins this Sunday’s final spring classic, he will become the first man to conquer three of the ‘big five’ monuments in one season since legendary racer Eddy Merckx in 1975.
“Facing Mathieu will be a great fight,” Pogacar said Friday.
“Even though I probably climbed better than him, I felt he was capable of winning the race.”
Van der Poel is well aware of this, but continues to find ways to exploit the uniqueness of each race.
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“I’m realistic in knowing that I would have a hard time competing with Remco (Evenepoel) and Tadej if they were at their best. They climb better,” said the Dutchman in the recent Paris-Roubaix race.
For Pogacar, the race also launched him in his ambitious bid for a Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double and allowed him to shake off the ghost of the fall in which he broke his wrist last season.
Champion Evenepoel, former winner Primoz Roglic, and Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard, all real threats, were injured.
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“I wish them all a speedy recovery,” said the 25-year-old Pogacar.
“I learned from personal experience that coming back following an accident takes a long time. Your body doesn’t recover as quickly as your head.”
Liege-Bastogne-Liege is dotted with some steep climbs, one of which is 12km from the finish line in Liege following racers sweep down into the city from the industrial surroundings above the stadium of local football club Standard Liege where breathless runs often occur.
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Undefeated at the Rocky Monument, Van der Poel spent the week warmly in Spain, where he lives, to train and avoid media attention.
Pogacar comes with a very different dynamic. Focused on the Giro in May, he has not raced since his victory at the Tour of Catalonia on March 24.
“I spent time at altitude preparing for the Giro. My form is good and I can’t wait to race once more,” he said.
She also cycled in the sun, sharing photos of her training under the blue skies of the Italian Riviera while hail pummeled her teammates competing in the Fleche Wallonne.
Many times sparks flew when the two men battled, especially at the Tour of Flanders, where Van der Poel won in 2022 before Pogacar took stunning revenge in 2023.
Evenepoel won the last two editions with long-distance attacks while Amstel Gold winner Tom Pidcock won the second-place race last year and will be joined by Egan Bernal in a strong Ineos team. (AFP/Z-3)
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