As it happened: Pogacar dominates Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of Liège-Bastogne-Liège!

It's the showdown we’ve all been waiting for, between the two riders of the year so far: Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel. They’ve been virtually unstoppable in every race they’ve completed in this spring, Pogačar storming to a huge solo victory at Strade Bianche and reaching a level of absurd dominance at Volta a Catalunya to win four stages and the GC; and Van der Poel enjoying one of the great cobbled classics campaign of all-time with a hat-trick of wins at Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and E3 Saxo Classic. 

At Liège-Bastogne-Liège today, however, something has to give as they face off directly. 

They have already raced against each once this year, at Milan-Sanremo, a rare occasion in which they both appeared at a race without winning. Van der Poel still got the upper hand, helping Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen Take the victory ahead of Pogačar, who finished third, but this time they are expected to face off directly. It promises to be a thriller.

Today, Pogačar is the favourite of the two to take victory. The amount of climbing in Liège-Bastogne-Liège makes it a race better suited to him than the heavier Van der Poel, and he already has great credentials having placed first and third on his last two finishes here. Van der Poel wasn’t competitive at his last race in Amstel Gold last weekend, when tiredness appeared to catch up to him.

That said, Van der Poel has said he still believes he can win, and wasn’t too far off the pace at his only previous appearance at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2020, when he won the sprint in the second group on the field to finish sixth. And we would do well to remember last summer’s World Championships in Glasgow, where he excelled on a route with lots of climbing to take victory — counting Pogačar among his victims.

One decisive factor today looks set to be the weather. That was certainly the case at Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne, where freezing temperatures and snow caused many of the pre-race favourites to abandon, and threw up many surprise results. 

Today isn’t forecasted to be quite so extreme, but it’s still going to be uncomfortably cold, with temperatures not expected to rise above 10 degrees all day.

The riders are in the neutralised zone now, and it is indeed a cold morning - a mere 5 degrees currently. 

254.5KM

They're off, the 2024 Liège-Bastogne-Liège is officially underway!

Four riders are trying to get up the road and have a small gap: Lilian Calmejane, Rémy Rochas, Gil Gelders and Paul Ourselin.

The riders in the neutralised zone. It promises to be another cold, nasty day.

The four initial escapees have been joined by another five now, as the attacks keep coming.

Those five riders are: Christian Scaroni, Loic Vliegen, Iván Romeo, Fabien Doubey, Enzo  Leijnse.

This could be the break of the day already. Danny van der Tuuk is also trying to join, but attacks have died down and the gap is growing out.

240KM TO GO

The nine riders already lead by about 1-30, with Van der Tuuk somewhere in between. It does indeed seem that the peloton are happy with the make up of this group, and they will be allowed to go free.

Over two minutes for the leaders now. They are: Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché - Wanty), Rémy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ), Christian Scaroni (Astana), Loic Vliegen (Bingoal WB), Iván Romeo (Movistar), Fabien Doubey, Paul Ourselin (both TotalEnergies) and Enzo Leijnse (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL).

Meanwhile Equipo Kern Pharma's Danny van der Tuuk has given up the ghost and dropped back into the peloton. There will be no represenetitive from the wildcard team in the break. 

230KM TO GO

2-40 now for the leaders. They've just started a long uphill drag that, though not counted among the day's eleven official climbs, will still play a part in the long wearing down proccess. 

UAE Team Emirates are living up to their favourites tag, and taking responsibility for leading the peloton. They have a strong squad, with the likes of Marc Hirschi, João Almeida and Finn Fisher-Black reverting to domestique roles to support Tadej Pogačar.

Here's a glimpse of the riders in the break. It's cold, but for now it's not raining - though there are reports of some snow in Bastogne, where they are currently heading towards. 

220KM TO GO

Three minutes now for the leaders, as they continue to ride steadily uphill.

Of the riders in the break, Calmejane has the most pedigree as a former stage winner at the Tour de France. But in terms of recent form, Doubey and Leijnse stand out having both made the top 25 at Flèche Wallonne. Both might have been on for a good result anyway, and could now have a head-start once the favourites start attacking, if the break can grow a big lead.

210KM TO GO

The riders are enjoying some brief respite, but will be climbing again imminently.

The peloton isn't giving the break much encouragement. Having grown to three minutes they’ve already pegged the gap, which has in fact come down in recent kilometres to about 2-30.

200KM TO GO

Having spent the best part of the first fifth of the race, the riders can at last enjoy some simpler roads as they begin a shallow descent. After that comes the first of the day’s eleven official climbs, Côte de Bonnerue.

All the talk has been about Tadej Pogačar versus Mathieu van der Poel, but what of the other contenders? After all, the Ardennes Classics have so far been won by other riders. Amstel Gold winner Tom Pidcock is surely one of the riders who can break the duopoly, especially as Liège-Bastogne-Liège is a race that suits him perhaps more than any other monument, and he was second here last year.

Despite abandoning Flèche Wallonne due to the cold, Pidcock himself is confident that he still has ‘really good’ form.

Victory at Flèche Wallonne has also catapulted Stevie Williams to a top contender for victory today. The Brit is in the form of his life this year, having also won the Tour Down Under in January, and, though unproven at this race, his performance on Wednesday suggests he’ll be one of the riders excelling in these cold conditions.

190KM TO GO

The break has used the descent to extend their lead again, which is now up to about 3-30 - the highest it's been all day.

Also relatively unaffected by the bad weather on Wednesday was Max Van Gils, who sprinted impressively up the Mur de Huy to take third-place. Remembering also how he was one of the riders to get closest to Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche earlier this year, where he also finished third, he must be counted among the favourites again today.

The only other rider to finish within three minutes of Pogačar that day was Toms Skujiņš, pictured here. His form has since tailed off a little since, however, so instead Lidl-Trek are likely to back Mattias Skjelmose - who has talked himself up as a possible winner, now that he has recovered from a hypothermic reaction at Flèche Wallonne.

Make sure to read our full run-down of all the main contenders before they start showing their faces later in the race.

CÔTE DE BONNERUE

The leaders have just finished climbing the first official hill of the day, Côte de Bonnerue, with Ourselin leading them over the top. The peloton is still further down on it.

The riders in the peloton are now done climbing the Côte de Bonnerue too. 

Incidentally, it was around this time in the race that Tadej Pogačar crashed out last year, a fall that would have ramifications for the rest of the year, and that he partly blames for being so thoroughly beaten by Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France. Not many things seem to affect the unflappable Slovenian, but that crash must surely be a bad memory.

170KM TO GO

Still about 3-30 for the leaders. Their lead is holding steady for now.

The next official climb, Côte de Saint-Roch, isn’t for another 25km, but on the way the road continues to undulate. Liège-Bastogne-Liège is one long, energy-sapping war of attrition, and the hard work is already having to be put in.

We have a first abandon to announce - Giacomo Villa of Bingoal WB. There have thankfully been no other casualties yet today. 

160KM TO GO

It's all still very calm out there. The break's lead has been allowed to grow out some more, and is nearing four minutes. 

We’ve completed the first half of the race’s titular challenge, as the riders arrive into the city of Bastogne. Unfortunately for them, the route back to Liège is a lot harder than from there. 

150M TO GO

The pace is slow enough in the peloton for Van der Poel to have a chat with Bob Jungels towards the back, and for other riders to take comfort breaks. The gaps grown some more, to 4-30.

UAE Team Emirates still lead the peloton, but behind their rider is a line of Bahrain-Victorious representatives They’re not an obvious team to take responsibility for pace-setting, but have a strong line-up featuring former winner Wout Poels, Antonio Tiberi, Pello Bilbao, and, perhaps most significantly, last year’s podium finisher Santiago Buitrago.

It's still cold out there, but we're not seeing the truly horrible conditions that blighted La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday. For one thing it’s not raining, though that could yet change as the day goes on.

140KM TO GO

The gap continues to grow, and is now up to 4-40. 

CÔTE DE SAINT-ROCH

The leaders are climbing the steep slopes of the second ascent of the day, the Côte de Saint-Roch. It's a nasty one in terms of gradients, but will be over quickly, lasting less than a kilometre.

Now the peloton are on it, wth lots of Bahrain jerseys massing at the front.

UAE Team Emirates lead the peloton over the climb, and do so at a fair pace. The defecit to the leaders has come down as a result to 3-40.

130KM TO GO

Almost halfway into the race now. The riders will be feeling the kilometres in their legs, and the hardest are still to come. 

While we near the halfway point here, the women’s race is about to begin. You can also follow all the action with us here.

Here's Mathieu van der Poel, safely in the peloton. He's a less conspicuous presence than usual, wearing a rain jacket that hides his rainbow jersey.

There are some spots of rain visible, but it's only falling slightly and sporadically. Things could get very lairy if the heaven’s do open though.

120KM TO GO

3-10 now for the leaders. Sjoerd Bax is the UAE Team Emirates rider who is setting the pace, and is single-handedly keeping this break on a leash. 

Strong winds have caused the breakaway to form an echelon on an exposed section of road. Will any team in the peloton attempt to attack when they reach it in a few minutes?

It doesn't seem so. They're riding through it now and are all bunched together. 

110KM TO GO

The pace is up in the peloton now as they fight for position at the start of a descent, bringing the gap down to 2-40. There’s still about another 15km until the next climb, but the road continues to undulate before then.

The pace is really up in the peloton now. They appear to be anticipating the start of an uncategorised but tricky climb coming up soon.

This is a significant moment in the race, as from this rise onwards the climbs come thick and fast. Côte de Mont-le-Soie follows it almost immediately, and there are never more than 15km between the eight climbs that follow. The race is about to get serious.

Both the break and the peloton are climbing the uncategorised hill now, and there is barely more than a minute between them now. 

There's been a crash towards the back of the peloton, just in front of Van der Poel who was coming back from dropping things off at the team car. Van der Poel managed to avoid it, but three riders did go down.

Chris Hamilton, Toon Clynhens and William Junior Lecerf are the three riders, but they seem OK.

100KM TO GO

Three fifths into the race now as we enter the final 100km.

Another crash in the peloton. Few seem to have gone down, but many have been held up, as it occured at a narrow stretch of road.

Once again nobody appears too hurt, but those held up face an effort to rejoin the peloton now as the pace is on on the approach to the next climb.

Van der Poel was one of the many riders held up, and is in a large group trying to get back up to the peloton. There isn't a sense of panic though, he and the rest should be there before long.

Van der Poel has two Alpecin teammates pacing him up, so isn't having to do any work himself, but is using up those teammates earlier than he would have liked.

CÔTE DE MONT-LE-SOIE

Back in the peloton, it's Israel Premier Tech that are leading onto the next climb, Côte de Mont-le-Soie.

The lead group is breaking up on this climb, with Scaroni, Gelders, Rochas, Doubey and Ourselin clear of the rest.

The dropped riders are now falling back into the peloton, as the peoton reach the top of the climb.

There's still lots of work for the Van der Poel group to do. They remain a minute adrift of the peloton, with his Alpecin teammate doing the work.

90KM TO GO

The five riders remaining in the break are approaching the next climb, but are only 14 seconds ahead of the peloton, which is being led by Israel Premier Tech.

CÔTE DE WANNE

Those five did not last long on the climb, and were caught almost as soon as they began riding it. The pace in the peloton remains very high, and the Van der Poel group a minute behind. 

Bad news for Pidcock, who has had to have a bike change. 

Pidcock was in the Van der Poel group, which means he's even further adrift.

That Van der Poel group is a big one, and contains many other favourites. Vlasov, Madouas, Bilbao, Vansevenant and Grégoire are all there. 

The pace isn't high in this Van der Poel group. In fact, Kevin Vermaerke has attacked out of it and has a small gap.

The slow pace has helped Pidcock, who has managed to make his way back into the group following his mechanical. 

UAE Team Emirates lead the peloton over the climb, and their lead has increased to 1-25. This is looking dangerous now for Van der Poel and every other GC contender in the trailing group. 

Alpecin-Deceuninck might have ridden a flawless spring so far, but it's going wrong for them today. They don't seem to have the firepower to drag Van der Poel back into the lead group.

Alpecin are at least now getting some help from Ineos Grenadiers. They have riders in the lead group, including Bernal, but their main man Pidcock is the other big name caught out with Van der Poel. 

80KM TO GO

1-20 now is the gap between the two groups. It's come down a little since Ineos started working, but that's still a lot of ground to make up. 

CÔTE DE STOCKEU

UAE Team Emirates seem intent to not let them come back. They're leading the peloton onto the next climb, the Côte de Stockeu.

Pidcock's taking things into his own hands. He's attacked out of the group as they begin the climb.

Two riders are with Pidcock, but none of them are Van der Poel.

Van der Poel is further down the group - he appears to be struggling!

Vansevenant and Buitrago are the two riders with Pidcock. They're taking drastic action, but it may not be enough - they're still one minute down. 

Buitrago has been dropped by the other two, and Pidcock is struggling to stay with Vansevenant on an especially steep ramp.

CÔTE DE LA HAUTE-LEVÉE

UAE continue to lead the peloton as they begin the Côte de la Haute-Levée. Pidcock and Vansevenant are 50 seconds behind, and the Van der Poel group another 10 seconds behind them.

Grégoire has joined Vansevenant and Pidcock, but no sign of Buitrago any more. 

Rémy Rochas from the day’s original break has dropped back to the Grégoire/Pidcock/Vansevenant trio, to help pace his Groupama teammate Grégoire. And now Ineos have dropped Fraile to do the same. There is at least some ammunition in this group now.

More reinforcements for the Pidcock group now, as Soudal’s Pieter Serry also comes back for Vansevenant. They’re closer now to the peloton than they are the Van der Poel group.

The Van der Poel are getting their act together too now! They’re bearing down on the Pidcock group, who are themselves getting closer and closer to the peloton. This might yet all come back together…

Pidcock Vansevenant and Grégoire have made it back! That was great work from their respective teammates, Fraile, Serry and Rochas.

70KM TO GO

As too has the Van der Poel group! His race looked to be over, but he's now back in the peloton - and did co without expending any energy with an attack or putting his nose to the wind, as Pidcock did. Is Van der Poel really struggling, or did he just play a tactical blinder?

Carlos Canal has gone heavily in a fall, after colliding into a bollard. No other rider was involved.

Now back in the peloton, Van der Poel has his Alpecin teammates move to the front of the pelton, alogside UAE Team Emirates. The Van der Poel / Pogačar showdown could still be on after all.

Canal has abandoned the race as a result of that crash.

Just five climbs to go now, the first of which, Col du Rosier, is coming shortly. 

COL DU ROSIER

They're on the climb now, and it's still UAE and Alpecin that are at the front.

This is a long climb - the longest of the race, in fact - but it's not particularly steep, averaging 5.7%.

There are about 60 or so riders in the peloton, being led by UAE Team Emirates.

Domen Novak is the UAE rider leading, having just taken over from Finn Fisher-Black.

60KM TO GO

Novak leads the peloton over the climb. He's done his job of keeping the pace high, and continuing to make it a hard race.

After all this UAE work, the big question is: when will Tadej Pogačar make his move? The Côte de la Redoute would be the obvious point, given that it’s the most famous climb of the race, and where Remco Evenepoel made his winning move last year But given how early he likes to make his moves, perhaps he’ll even try something on the climb before, Côte de Desnié, which is coming up in about 10km.

Here's the Pidcock group from earlier, when they were chasing back up to the peloton. Will he, Vansevenant and Grégoire pay for their efforts later?

Van der Poel and Pogačar back together in the peloton again, ready to do battle.

50KM TO GO

We're inside the all-important final fifth of the race now. UAE Team Emirates are leading the peloton, as they approach the next climb, Côte de Desnié.

CÔTE DE DESNIE

They're climbing again now - will anyone attack?

Some big names sliding towards the back of the peloton on this climb, most notably Flèche Wallonne Stephen Williams.

It's Novak again who's laying down the hammer for UAE Team Emirates. Behind him is a line of Israel Premier Tech riders, who are still well represented in this lead group.

They crest the climb, and no attacks yet. 

There’s now a descent leading to the bottom of Côte de la Redoute, which is where a Pogačar attack feels inevitable. The question is, can Van der Poel - or anyone, for that matter - follow him?

The favourites are preparing to do battle. Pidcock is at the back of the peloton taking layers off, getting ready for the climb.

Domen Novak leading the peloton, as they approach the endgame of the race. 

40KM TO GO

Lots of teams now fighting for position as they descend to the bottom of the climb. The pace is high and anticipation is building. 

CÔTE DE LA REDOUTE

Here we go, they're on the climb now!

Lidl-Trek and EF have taken over from UAE at the front. 

But is UAE again who retake control.

Novak is once again the UAE rider setting the pace. EF's Healy is on his wheel, then, ominously, Pogačar.

34.8KM TO GO

Pogačar attacks!

Carapaz is on his wheel.

Pogačar accelerates again, and Carapaz is struggling to cling on.

Carapaz how now been distenced, Pogačar is alone

Behind, Lutsenko, Healy, Bernal are all near the front of the now very reduced peloton.

As for Van der Poel, he's towards the back of the group.

Four riders are closing down on Carapaz: Bernal, Healy, Van Gils, Vansevenant and 

Pogačar summits the climb with a lead of about 15 seconds.

It's not over yet, but the group behind will have to get very organised.

A large second group has formed behind Pogačar, featuring Carapaz, Bernal, Healy, Van Gils and Vansevenant, plus lots of other riders who joined up on the descent. 

That group is 30 seconds behind Pogačar, while Van der Poel is in a group another 10 seconds further back.

Also in this second group: Bilbao, Bardet, Benoot, Lutsenko, Cosnefroy.

30KM TO GO

Hard not to feel a sense of déjà vu - Pogačar is out alone again, the gap is getting bigger, and the chase is discouraged.

Ben Healy attacks from the chase group.

Bardet is bridging up to Healy.

Healy and Bardet are together, and have a gap over the rest of the chasers. But they remain 45 seconds behind Pogačar.

 Grégoire and Cosnefroy are in pursuit of Bardet and Healy, only a few seconds in it.

Grégoire and Cosnefroy have joined up to Bardet and Healy. That makes three French riders in the top five on the road.

CÔTE DE FORGES

Pogačar's on the penultimate climb now, Côte des Forges. He's over a minute up from the Healy group chasing him, and 1-27 ahead of the rest of the chasers.

The chase group behind the Healy quartet has gotten bigger, with Van der Poel and Pidcock among those to have rejoined it.

Having held off for a while, the rain is starting to fall again now. The riders will have to be careful on these final few downhills, especially considering how fatigued they are going to be on them.

The quartet of Healy, Bardet, Grégoire and Cosnefroy are working well together.  Pogačar may be out of sight 1-20 up the road, but podium spots are up for grabs, and the rest of the chasers are 25 seconds behind.

Time to start looking at the biggest winning margins of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in recent years. Remco Evenepoel’s victories in the last two years of 48 seconds and 1-06 are both under threat, while you have to go back to Andy Schleck’s victory of 1-17 in 2009 for the last time a rider won by more.

Pogačar clear along on the Côte de la Redoute.

CÔTE DE LA ROCHE-AUX-FAUCONS

It's the final climb, the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons. This used to be where the race was decided, but this year, like Evenepoel twelve months ago, Pogačar already has it done and dusted.

Behind, Healy, Bardet, Cosnefroy and Grégoire are on the climb, 1-15 behind Pogacar and just 10 seconds ahead of the chasing 'peloton'.

Healy and Bardet have gone clear of the other two.

Bernal attacks out of the peloton.

Now Bardet drops Healy. It looked like the Frenchman was struggling to hold on, but now Healy has blown up.

Healy is now getting caught again by Grégoire and Cosnefroy.

Pogačar has already reached the top of the climb, Bardet will be next to the top.

Bernal has joined Healy, Cosnefroy and Grégoire, along with some other riders: Benoot, Lutsenko, Carapaz and Van Gils.

That's a strong group, but right now they're racing for third, as Bardet is still ahead by 15 seconds. The Frenchman is rolling back the years with this performance.

10KM TO GO

Pogačar's lead is now 1-30. You have to go all the way back to Evgeni Berzin in 1994 for the last time a rider won this race by that big a margin.

Bernal tried to use an unclassified uphill to get out of the chasing group, but didn't manage to.

Now Van Gils attacks, and he's got a bit of a gap.

He's brought back though by Carapaz, dragging the rest of the group with him.

There's a stop/start tempo to the chase now, as riders keep attacking, then being closed down. If this keeps up then second-place may well be Bardet's. 

Van der Poel is dragging himself back into contention for a podium finish. He's in a quartet behind the group that's behind Bardet.

Pidcock, Martin and Mollema are the riders with Van der Poel.

5KM TO GO

1-50 now for Pogačar, and 20 seconds for Bardet against the other chasers. 

Paul Lapeira is in this cahse group and has just tried to attack, but he too has been brought back.

Final 2km now for Pogačar, whose lead is nearing 2 minutes. This is going to be another stunning, historical victory for the Slovenian. 

Pogačar's on the finishing straight now, soaking up the applause.

He's done it again - Tadej Pogačar wins Liège-Bastogne-Liège!

Now here comes Romain Bardet, and he's looking good for second-place.

Behind the chase group has swelled, so there should be a big sprint for third place - and Van der Poel is in it.

Bardet crosses the line for second-place, a brilliant result for the Frenchman.

Now comes the sprint for third...

Van der Poel wins it, it's a podium for the Dutchman. 

He might have been well short on the climbs, but his finishing kick has brought him a podium finish regardless.

1-39 was the final winning margin from Pogačar to Bardet, which is the biggest since Bernard Hinault's famous victory in the snow, 44 years ago.

The top ten in full:

1 Tadej Pogačar

2 Romain Bardet at 1-39

3 Mathieu van der Poel at 2-02

4 Max Van Gils

5 Aurélien Paret-Peintre

6 Mauri Vansevenant

7 Valentin Madouas

8 Alexey Lutsenko

9 Pello Bilbao

10 Tom Pidcock all at st.

That’s a sixth career monument for Tadej Pogačar, a total he has amassed in the space of just three years. That sees him draw level on the all-time list with Mathieu van der Poel - at the age of just 25!

While Pogačar’s victory was expected, Romain Bardet’s runner-up finish certainly wasn’t. He’s used to being a runner-up behind an impossibly good opponent from his year’s as Chris Froome’s main adversary at the Tour de France, and this is his second podium finish at Liège-Bastogne-Liège following his third-place finish from 2018. But this will be far from a frustrating near miss, but rather a late-career triumph from a rider who continues to thrive while many of his adversaries have retired.

As for Van der Poel, he might not have won, but third-place was still very impressive. It also means he’s now podiumed at ten of his last 12 monument appearances, an extraordinary record that even Pogačar can’t match.

Van der Poel edging out Van Gils to take third-place in the sprint. 

Thanks for joining us today, for what was yet another historical occasion in the career of Tadej Pogačar. It's been a spring full of exceptional individual performanes, and this was right up there as one of the best. 

You can read what he had to say at the finish line in our full report of the race here, and don't forget that the women's race is continuing as we speak.