World champion Tadej Pogacar held off a determined challenge from teenage sensation Paul Seixas to claim his third consecutive Liège-Bastogne-Liège title, cementing his dominance in one of cycling's most grueling one-day classics.
The 27-year-old Slovenian made his decisive break with 14 kilometers remaining on the final climb of the 260-kilometer race, finally shaking the 19-year-old Frenchman after a prolonged battle. Pogacar crossed the line in 5 hours, 50 minutes and 9 seconds, finishing 45 seconds ahead of Seixas. Belgium's Remco Evenepoel took third, just over a minute and a half behind.
"It means a lot to win again one of the biggest races of the year," said Pogacar, who now has four career victories at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The win extends his remarkable 2025 season, which has seen him take four victories in five races, including three Monument classics. His only non-win came as a runner-up at Paris-Roubaix last month.
Seixas, competing in his first Liège and only his second Monument, proved a formidable opponent. He matched Pogacar for nearly 20 kilometers on the Côte de la Redoute, where the winning move has been forged in each of the previous four editions.
"On the Redoute climb I was really going deep but on the top, he came next to me and I was like, 'OK, really impressed,'" Pogacar admitted. "Maybe back in my head, I was already preparing to do a duel sprint because he was so strong."
It wasn't until the final attack on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons that Pogacar finally left his young rival behind, dropping him 600 meters from the summit. "I tried on Roche-aux-Faucons, I tried to keep my pace... It suits me super well and luckily he dropped," Pogacar explained.
With the victory, Pogacar now sits just one win shy of Eddy Merckx's record of five Liège titles.
Result
- Tadej Pogacar (Svn/UAE Team Emirates) – 5hrs 50mins 28secs
- Paul Seixas (Fra/Decathlon) – +45secs
- Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Red Bull) – +1min 42secs
- Emiel Verstrynge (Bel/Alpecin-Premier Tech) – Same time
- Egan Bernal (Col/Ineos Grenadiers) – Same time
- Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain Victorious) – Same time
- Romain Gregoire (Fra/Groupama-FDJ United) – Same time
- Christian Scaroni (Ita/XDX Astana Team) – Same time
- Tobias Johannessen (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) – Same time
- Filippo Zana (Ita/Soudal Quick-step) – Same time