Cycling-The motto of Liège-Bastogne-Liège: All against Tadej Pogačar

The dress rehearsal was successful. During the Walloon, Tadej Pogačar once again stormed away from the competition. An explosive start at the notorious Mur de Huy, only 1.2 kilometers long, but with a maximum incline of 18.6 percent. “It’s nice to win here. Every year I get better at the Mur. And the result also makes me optimistic for Sunday, «said Pogačar, after he had washed the traces of street dirt and rain from the face, which was also drawn by exhaustion.

Tempo an der Mur de Huy

On Wednesday afternoon, the Slovenian bike star also benefited from the fact that the opponents did not make life too difficult for him. Remco Evenepoel had at least tried to drive into the Mur at more speed to mash Pogačar. »The team also worked well. But then I lacked explosiveness to intervene in the fight for victory, «the Belgian stated.

The Amstel Gold Race had shown how the peloton can make it in joint effort to snork the laurels to the world’s best driver. The former world champion Julian Alaphilippe had caused the key moment, which was surprised by Pogačar’s attack 40 kilometers before the finish. “He pulled off like a rocket. Perhaps he even thought that the goal is already on the crest of this hill, «the Slovenian looked back with humor. He had probably wanted to attack a little later, but couldn’t just let the French go. “You must never underestimate one like him,” the current world champion warned.

False tactics

Alaphilipe then left the forces a few kilometers later – and Pogačar was alone in front of the field. Everything looked like a safe victory. In contrast to last year, when the competition resigned in similar situations with the fight for the places behind the superstar, Evenepoel and the Dane Mattias Skjelmosis did not lose their belief in their own strength. Both struggled to Pogačar. “I was hoping that they would watch each other behind me, but they were very strong hunters,” said Pogačar, who then lost the sprint against Skjelmose. The star had gambled: “I was alone all the time and didn’t know how strong Evenepoel and Skjelmosis were. So I wanted to assess their strength and then thought that a sprint decision was a good idea. «

Pogačar’s defeat at the Amstel shows that it can be beat. But only when others bring it into force with early attacks, let him spoil forces at the front in the wind and put pressure from behind. But despite this setback, the 26-year-old Slovenian can look back on a great spring. He competed in six one -day races, he won three times, and the other three times he was on the podium.

Dubious achievements

Such results provide doubts, most recently even until the tour of the Tour de France. “In view of the not very distant past of cycling, questions about the credibility of the services are certainly entitled,” said tour director Christian Prudhomme French media. How he himself assesses the credibility, he did not allow himself to be elicited: “I have no answer.” And so the doubts travel to La Doyenne, the royal race of the Ardennes classic. Evenepoel seems easy there. »The race is longer, about an hour more. Remco should play that in the cards, «said his sporting director Klaas Lodewyck. And even Evenepoels compatriot Laurens de Plus, who drives for the once dominating racing team in Ineos Grenadier, also believes the Olympic champion: »As he occurs, he is full of self -confidence. And it is also good, if not always the same. ”And that is the motto on Sunday at the end of the classic season: everyone against Pogačar, also for the tension and the ratings.

Many favorites

The field of favorites is more diverse for women who also crown their Ardennennenkönigin on Sunday. Of course, the victory will only go out of the Netherlands with the Belgian world champion Lotte Kopecky and European champion Lorena Wiebes and the two-time Liège winner Anna van der Breggen. Their compatriot Puck Pietense underlined how strong she is at the Mur de Huy on Wednesday. Ex-mountain biker Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has also been a top-class class on the street at the latest since her Roubaix triumph. And the last two Tour-de France winners Demi Volling and Kasia Niewiadoma also recently indicated their good shape for single-day races.