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Monday, April 27, 2026

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Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it. - Rene Descartes

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Plato's dialogue Phaedo is available in both audiobook & Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• April 26 - May 3: Tour of Turkey

Upcoming racing:

• April 28 - May 3: Tour de Romandie
• May 1: Eschborn-Frankfurt

Latest completed racing:

• April 26: Giro dell'Appennino
• April 23 - 26: Vuelta Asturias
• April 26: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• April 20 - 24: Tour of the Alps
• April 22: La Flèche Wallonne
• April 19: Amstel Gold Race
• April 15 - 19: Tour of Hainan
• April 14 - 18: O Gran Camiño
• April 17: De Brabantse Pijl
• April 19: Tour du Doubs race cancelled
• April 12: Paris-Roubaix
• April 6 - 11: Itzulia Basque Country (Tour of the Basque Country)
• April 7 - 10: Région Pays de la Loire Tour

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Liège-Bastogne-Liège reports

We posted the report from the race organizer with the results.

Here's the report from winner Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

In a battle of the generations at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tadej Pogačar had the beating of the young sensation, Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), to win his third Monument of the season on Sunday.

Not only did Liège-Bastogne-Liège mark his third Monument success of the year, but Pogačar’s third victory in a row at the race known as La Doyenne. ‘The Old Lady’ has now seen the Slovenian stand on its top step across 2021, 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Tadej Pogacar crosses the line alone. Photo: ASO/Billy Ceusters

Moving to four Liège-Bastogne-Liège titles across his career, Pogačar sits joint-second in the all-time list of winners, alongside Alejandro Valverde and Moreno Argentin. Just Eddy Merckx lies ahead of the trio, with five victories, whilst the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider now takes his overall tally of Monument successes to a whopping 13.

Raced across the Ardennes at lightning speed on Sunday afternoon, Pogačar’s latest Monument victory may well prove to be one of his most impressive. In a two-up encounter with the young Paul Seixas, Pogačar contested a battle that will likely be remembered for years to come. It was from that battle that the world champion emerged victorious and rode alone to the line in Liège.

Five hours before his eventual victory, however, things looked far from usual for Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates. In fact, just 3km into the day’s racing, a crash engulfed the peloton and caused the group to be ruptured into two. From this chaos emerged a 52-man breakaway that included one of the pre-race favourites, Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe).

The split between Evenepoel’s breakaway and the peloton of Pogačar soon ballooned out to over four minutes, as the likes of Nico Denz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) rallied to take advantage of the situation. With riders such as Evenepoel and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) up front, there was no shortage of race-winning pedigree amongst their number.

As for a response from the peloton, the onus fell on the shoulders of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, primarily. After all, the Emirati squad was defending the title of Pogačar for the second year in a row.

Accepting their position, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG engine room soon came to the fore, with Rune Herregodts and Vegard Stake Laengen both taking turns at the front of the group. Their work allowed the situation to be brought under control, before teammate Tim Wellens emerged to bite a sizeable chunk out of the breakaway’s advantage.

With the front group brought to heel, all eyes in the peloton turned to the key climbs that would dictate the racing action in its return leg from Bastogne to Liège.

On the Côte de Wanne (2.2km at 7%), Pavel Sivakov was the next UAE Team Emirates-XRG stallion to position himself at the head of the peloton, and at the head he would remain for nigh on the next hour of racing. Over the Côte de Stockeau (1km at 11.7%), the Col du Rosier (4.4km at 5.7%), and the Col de Maquisard (2.5km at 5.3%), the Frenchman tuned up the band.

It was an almighty effort from Sivakov, perhaps the best of the day, and no doubt put Pogačar’s opponents into trouble well before the Slovenian made his opening acceleration.

Between the Côte de Desnié and the bottom of the Côte de La Redoute, Domen Novak carried on the work of Sivakov, until teammate Benoît Cosnefroy served as Pogačar’s final lead-out man on the lower slopes of La Redoute. Stretching out for 1.6km at 9.3%, this climb had been where the Slovenian made his race-winning attack in each of the last two editions of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Leaping out of the saddle and into attack mode, Cosnefroy sparkled for a breathtaking 600m spell from the foot of La Redoute. This pace-setting was hard enough to see Evenepoel and many others distanced, before Pogačar had even gotten out of the saddle.

With 1km of the climb remaining, it was go-time for Pogačar, who unleashed his assault. Immediately it became clear that only Seixas of Decathlon CMA CGM could stand the onslaught, and the pair opened up a sizeable gap to their rivals. Over the top of the climb, their advantage was well in excess of 20 seconds, with that gap only opening in the kilometres to come.

For a period, it looked as though Pogačar and Seixas may have to contend the day’s victory in a two-up sprint, but the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider ultimately kicked again on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons (1.3km at 11%), and with 13.9km of the race remaining, Seixas had to cede ground.

A brief gap soon became an advantage, and from here to the finish in Liège, Pogačar produced another solo exhibition. It was a display of the highest order from the reigning world champion, who more than earned a fourth famous victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

In a special moment across the line, Pogačar raised his finger to the sky and ushered a poignant tribute to the former UAE Team Emirates rider, Cristian Camilo Muñoz. The Colombian rider passed away on Friday after a recent crash, and Pogačar paid homage to his former teammate by wearing a black armband throughout Sunday’s race.

Muñoz will always be remembered as a beloved former friend and colleague by all at the Emirati team.

Speaking after the finish, Pogačar gave a detailed account of his race-winning afternoon at the 112th Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Pogačar: “Today, a lot happened. At the beginning, I was at the back. It is always hard at the start so I just followed the wheels, I looked down and I saw we were going fast. In one moment, I looked up and the group was split. But after 20 minutes, we realised it was not so bad to let them go.

“These kinds of breakaways with a big group rarely have good collaboration, but of course we could still be a little scared. Remco can go from far away from that group, so we kept it under control. Vegard and Rune did an amazing job, and later also Decathlon came to help, and the rest of my team did a super job. It was all under control but you never let Remco go away.

“It means a lot to win again one of the biggest races of the year in cycling, and I don’t do many races [as yet], so I don’t have a lot of opportunities to win. So it is a lot of pressure for me for today and for days like today, and I am really really happy that we succeeded. I couldn’t be more proud of the team.

“On La Redoute, I was really going deep and I could see that [Paul Seixas] was a little bit on the elastic, but on the top he came next to me. I was really impressed, and then also he was pulling quite strong all the way. We opened up a big gap which was really good for us, and then in my head I was already preparing to do a dual sprint, because he was so strong.

“I tried on Roche aux Faucons, I did my pace and I know the climb super well. It suits me well, and luckily he dropped. But I was prepared to go head to head in a sprint with him.”

Here's the report from third-place Rempco Evenepoel's Team REd Bull-BORA-hansgrohe:

After the Tour of Flanders, Remco Evenepoel has also finished his second Monument in the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe jersey in third place.
At Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the 26-year-old won the sprint of a large chasing group behind Tadej Pogacar and Paul Seixas.

Contrary to plan, Remco and Nico Denz found themselves in a huge leading group after just a few kilometres, which was initially not chased by the peloton and was therefore able to pull out a large lead. When it came to the decisive part of the day, however, the collaboration fell by the wayside, meaning that the race started from scratch 80 kilometres before the finish.

A front group of 52 riders on the first climb of the day, the Côte de Saint-Roch

Preliminary decision on the Cote de la Redoute
At the Cote de la Redoute, which was always decisive for the race, with 35 kilometres to go, there was no chance against Pogacar and Seixas. Alongside Jai Hindley, who also reached the finish in the large chasing group, Remco fought to prevent any further breakaway attempts in order to finally sprint to the podium in Liège.

Remco Evenepoel: "It was a strange day. I found myself in the break. It was by accident. I was just in the front of the bunch and it split. And then it was a bit strange. Third in the end is pretty okay result. I think I had to kind of recover a bit from being in the break and then I gave it the maximum to go for the podium. Beeing again on the podium is a good feeling.hird in the end is pretty okay result. I think I had to kind of recover a bit from being in the break and then I gave it the maximum to go for the podium. Beeing again on the podium is a good feeling.s good to be on the podium again."

Klaas Lodewyck, Sports Director: "It was a very fast start today and 53 guys went up the road. We had Nico and Remco in. It wasn't really planned but suddenly it happened. The Peloton wasn't really reacting so we decided just to keep Remco and Nico there to see what would happen. We got a big gap but the moment they really had to keep that distance everybody started to look to each other and then we lost a lot of time. In the end we weren't able to follow Pogacar and Seixas, but still able to fight back after that and still do a big result, third in a monument, with the help of Jay. We came for more, but we have to be happy with what we have."

First a break, then Tour preparation
After completing his first phase of the season with seven victories, including the Amstel Gold Race, as well as the two podium finishes in the Monuments, Remco will now take a break. He will then begin his preparations for the Tour de France with an altitude training camp and the Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes.

Here's the L-B-L report from fifth-place Egan Bernal's Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Egan Bernal took fifth place after a thrilling sprint finish from the bunch at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The Colombian rider showed his strength in the 259.5km race, making an early break, before finishing in the bunch sprint.

Remco Evenepoel won the field sprint for third. Egan Bernal is just next/behind him throwing his bike. Sirotti photo

An early crash in the race caused the peloton to splinter, with Bernal and Laurens De Plus able to make a 50-man break inside the first 30km, racking up a three minute gap.

As the race approached the halfway point, De Plus played a major role on the front of the break, driving the pace for 20km. Attacks from the front group began to come, with Bernal responding decisively to chase down and bring the group back together.

A four-man break went clear, but with 75km remaining, the peloton was all back together, resetting the race ahead of the decisive climbs in the Ardennes.

As the peloton approached the Côte de la Redoute, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) made his attack, taking Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CDM Team) with him - enough to secure them the top two places.

Behind them, Bernal found himself in a reduced chase group of around 21 riders.

In the final kilometers, attention turned to the battle for the remaining podium spot. From the chase group, Bernal positioned himself well in the sprint and delivered a strong finish to take fifth place on the day.

And here's the report from seventh-place Romain Grégoire's Team Groupama-FDJ United:

Romain Grégoire, a master of consistency. As he concluded his Classics campaign this Sunday in Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the leader of Groupama–FDJ United once again delivered. In a fast-paced and historic edition, the puncheur from Besançon fully took part in the fight for the podium. In Liège, after a tight sprint, he ultimately finished seventh in the Belgian race. It marks his best career result in a Monument and his fourth consecutive top-10 in a major race.

With 4,000 metres of elevation gain spread across a dozen climbs, including the iconic Côte de Wanne, Côte de Stockeu, Côte de la La Redoute and Côte de la La Roche-aux-Faucons, the 2026 edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège had all the ingredients for an intense and spectacular battle this Sunday, April 26.

However, the fourth Monument of the season proved even tougher than expected, following a chaotic start and a surprising split in the peloton. After just five kilometres, out of 260 (!), a group of around fifty riders broke away following a crash, and the presence of Remco Evenepoel at the front immediately set the tone for the opening hours of racing. The gap initially grew to four minutes before a relentless chase gradually took place in the main bunch. “We didn’t expect that, and it made the race extremely difficult,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard.

The point when Tadej Pogacar went solo on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons.

“Fortunately, we had three riders up front, and it’s always better to have a head start in this kind of race. We had strong cards with Ewen and Guillaume, and Enzo to support them. It was interesting for us.” “We were well represented at the front, and it was clearly to our advantage if it went far,” Romain Grégoire agreed.
At the head of the race, Enzo Paleni contributed to keeping the breakaway moving until mid-race and the Col de la Haussire, which created a first selection both in front and in the back. After that, cooperation weakened in the leading group, and the peloton led by teammates of Tadej Pogačar gradually brought the gap back under control.

“We may have needed more teammates for Bernal and Remco to go further,” said Benoît. “That would have allowed us to have a small lead before tackling the Côte de Wanne.” In the end, most of the breakaway was caught just before the Wanne–Stockeu–Haute-Levée sequence, traditionally the first selective section of “La Doyenne.” This year, however, the selection had already begun earlier, leaving only around seventy riders in the peloton after these climbs, including Romain Grégoire, Quentin Pacher, Rudy Molard and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet. Little changed on the following hills — the Col du Rosier, Col du Maquisard and Côte de Desnié — but the intensity and the pace remained extremely high. As a result, riders were already somewhat fatigued by the time they reached the Côte de la Redoute, the traditional launchpad for the favourites.

Thanks to his teammates, Romain Grégoire entered it around tenth position, but he could not follow when Pogačar and Paul Seixas went clear. “We looked up ahead, saw them up the road, and from there we rode our race for the podium,” said Romain. “We knew that from La Redoute on, there would be two races in one,” added Benoît. “The race of the aliens and the other one. We rode a very good race from that point.” After that climb, around thirty riders regrouped behind the leading duo. “It was very even, as expected,” Benoît continued. “Quentin anticipated well before the Côte des Forges, and we still had four riders there.” “We did the race we had to do and still had numbers after La Redoute,” Grégoire insisted. “Rudy and Quentin had a great day and did an excellent job.” In the Côte des Forges, the Frenchman followed another acceleration to join the counterattack, but everything came back together before the final climb: the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, 15 kilometres from the finish.

Well positioned at the bottom and on the steepest ramps, Grégoire held the pace as Mattias Skjelmose briefly went clear in pursuit. “I rode the race I had to ride,” claimed Romain. “Given the last two years’ scenarios, I was really aiming for the sprint to go for the podium. I think that was my best chance. I was in the right moves on La Redoute and Roche-aux-Faucons, but with the profile of the final ten kilometres favouring regrouping, I was fully focused on the sprint.”

A group of around twenty riders emerged over the final slopes, and Skjelmose was caught before the run-in to Liège, setting up a sprint for third place. The sprint was launched with about 300 metres to go by Remco Evenepoel himself, with Grégoire starting from around tenth position. After a strong kick, the Frenchman first moved up to third place before eventually finishing seventh. “It was a little short for third, but at least I have no regrets,” he said. “I sprinted in the wind, but I was able to do my sprint and still take a nice top 10.”

With that result, Romain Grégoire also secured his third top-10 in as many Ardennes Classics this season — the only rider in the peloton to do so. Pacher (27th), Molard (29th) and Martin-Guyonnet (31st) finished two minutes later. “We saw a great team again today, as in all the Ardennes races, and that’s worth highlighting,” concluded Benoît. “We close up this spring with a strong week. We were up front in all these Classics, with four top-10s in the last three races and especially in a Monument. We can be very satisfied, both in terms of attitude and results. Romain capped off the efforts of the whole group, and that’s what we’ll remember.”