Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) confirmed his dominance in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic by winning the 112th edition and add their fourth title in this competition.
Beyond the result, the Slovenian paid tribute to the Colombian cyclist Cristian Camilo Muñoz, who died last Friday.
Muñoz Lancheros was the protagonist of the Vuelta a Guatemala 2025 after standing out in several stages and wearing the leader’s jersey for several days; He died on Friday, April 24, due to medical complications resulting from an accident in Europe.
Muñoz’s journey in professional cycling included stints with teams such as UAE Team Emirates between 2019 and 2021, where he coincided with Pogacar, which is why the Slovenian decided to pay tribute to him after his victory.
Duel with Seixas
In terms of sport, it was not an easy victory: the Frenchman Paul Seixas (Decathlon) resisted his traditional attack on the climb to La Redoute, although he ended up giving in on the Roche-aux-Faucons and finished in second place.
The podium was completed by the Belgian Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull), who started the race very aggressively, but was unable to keep up with Pogacar at the decisive moment.
With this victory, the Slovenian equals the Spaniard Alejandro Valverde and the Italian Moreno Argentin in the history of the ‘Decana’, and is only one victory away from the record of the Belgian Eddy Merckx, who has five titles.
The race, which closes the traditional triptych of the Ardennes, brought together great cycling figures such as Pogacar – winner this season of Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders -, Evenepoel – winner of the Amstel Gold Race – and Seixas, one of the revelations of the year.
Fight every kilometer
From the beginning there was movement. Just three kilometers from the start, a fall divided the peloton and left Evenepoel well positioned in the front group, while Pogacar and Seixas were left behind. The UAE team, together with Decathlon, worked intensely to close the gap, which exceeded three minutes.
The group regrouped before the decisive stage, where the attacks began. On the legendary climb of La Redoute, Pogacar launched his offensive about 35 kilometers from the finish line. Only Seixas managed to keep up with him, while Evenepoel was left behind.
Both riders collaborated until reaching the final climb in Roche-aux-Faucons, where Pogacar attacked again. Although the Frenchman resisted at first, he ended up giving in when there were about 600 meters to go to the top, at which point the Slovenian made the definitive difference.
Pogacar crossed the finish line alone with a time of 5 hours, 50 minutes and 28 seconds, in the fastest edition in the history of the competition, with an average speed of over 44 kilometers per hour.