Liège and then straight to Romandie: Pogačar's schedule suddenly gets a lot busier

Tadej Pogačar skipped the Amstel Gold Race and the Flèche Wallonne this year, but returns to racing on Sunday at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. UAE Team Emirates-XRG announced their squad for La Doyenne on Thursday. Pogačar will then travel directly from Liège to the Tour de Romandie, which begins the following Tuesday.

Pogačar has raced just four days so far in 2026 — Strade Bianche, Milan–Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix — winning the first three and finishing second in the last. After Roubaix, he took some additional rest ahead of Romandie. But Liège is a race he rarely misses.

"The Ardennes campaign has gone very solidly for the team so far, and I hope we can build on that in Liège. The boys have worked really well together in the other races, and Benoît Cosnefroy is in top form right now too — so I think we're in a good position as a team to get a strong result," Pogačar said on the team's wesbite. He will line up against, among others, Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas.

In Liège, the Slovenian will lean heavily on Cosnefroy for support. The Frenchman arrives in fine fettle after third places at the Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold Race and fourth at the Flèche Wallonne. Alongside him, Rune Herregodts, Vegard Stake Laengen, Domen Novak, Pavel Sivakov and Belgian national champion Tim Wellens complete the squad.

After Liège, Pogačar heads to Switzerland. "I'm also really looking forward to the Tour de Romandie. It's a new race for me, a new challenge — and that's exciting. It will also be my first stage race of the year, so it's a nice addition to the calendar. I've heard it's a beautiful region to race in."

Sivakov, Novak and Laengen will also make the trip to Switzerland, joined by Kevin Vermaerke, Ivo Oliveira and Felix Großschartner. Pogačar has neither ridden nor won the Tour de Romandie before — and he clearly wants to add it to his palmarès.

Tadej Pogacar
Benoît Cosnefroy
Rune Herregodts
Vegard Stake Laengen
Domen Novak
Pavel Sivakov
Tim Wellens