Pogačar impressed by 19-year-old Seixas after La Redoute attack: 'that made a big impression on me'

Tadej Pogačar won Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the fourth time on Sunday. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG world champion finally got rid of Paul Seixas on the final climb before riding solo into Liège. At the finish line, Pogačar pointed to the sky — a tribute to his former teammate Cristian Camilo Muñoz, who passed away on Friday.

The race began furiously, with a group of more than 50 riders escaping from the peloton. Among them was two-time winner Remco Evenepoel. "A lot happened in the opening phase and I was at the back," Pogačar recalled in his flash interview. "I knew the start was going to be hard and the pace was high, but I looked up and suddenly the peloton was split."

There was no panic in the Pogačar camp, however. "After about 20 minutes we realised it wasn't a problem to let them have some room. In such big groups, cooperation is never great. Still, I was a little worried. Vegard and Rune [Laengen and Herregodts] kept things well under control. And Decathlon helped us out later too."

The race was Pogačar's fourth Liège title — and his 13th Monument victory in total. "It's incredible to win one of the greatest races for the fourth time. I don't race much, so the pressure to deliver is high," he said. "I'm therefore very happy it worked out, and I couldn't be prouder of the team."

In the finale, Seixas was the only rider able to answer Pogačar's attack on the Redoute. The Slovenian was clearly struck by what the 19-year-old produced. "I went very deep there and I could see he was just hanging on. But at the top he actually came alongside me for a moment — that made a big impression on me. His turns at the front afterwards were strong too."

"So I was already thinking about a sprint," Pogačar continued. "On the Roche-aux-Faucons, though, I tried to ride at my own tempo. I know the climb well and it suits me. Fortunately, I was able to drop Seixas there — but I had already prepared myself for a sprint if it had come to that."