Kim Le Court and Tadej Pogačar claimed impressive victories on Sunday at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the fourth and final Monument of the cycling spring. Le Court sprinted to victory in the women’s race, while Pogačar dominated solo in the men’s edition.
In the ninth edition of the women’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) took the win after a four-up sprint. The 29-year-old rider from Mauritius, who competes in both road cycling and mountain biking, outsprinted the Dutch riders Puck Pieterse and Demi Vollering, along with French cyclist Cédrine Kerbaol. World champion Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx-Protime) was the best Belgian, finishing fifth.
Speaking of her performance in the race, Kopecky said, “In general, I think it was not bad. Our team was really good in the front and they tried to help as good as possible. I think Anna in the break before Roche-aux-Faucons was really good for us but it’s sad that she got caught already and couldn’t make it over it. For myself I had a pretty good beginning of the last climb and the last km was a bit too much, but it is what it is.”
Despite missing out on a podium spot, Kopecky remained optimistic about the future, saying, “I think we set goals, and we try to challenge ourselves, so I think we need to keep doing that. I think it is a race that I can win in the future, just not this year.”
Men’s race
Earlier in the day, in the men’s race, Slovenian world champion Pogačar (UAE Emirates-XRG) claimed his third Liège-Bastogne-Liège title and his second consecutive win. Pogačar launched a decisive attack on La Redoute, just under 35 kilometres from the finish, and crossed the line solo with a lead of just over a minute. Italian Giulio Ciccone won the sprint for second place ahead of Ireland’s Ben Healy.
Evenepoel reflects on recent injury
It was a difficult day for Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), who never made it into the final battle and finished 59th, over three minutes behind Pogačar. Evenepoel, who is still rebuilding form after an injury said of the race, “I’m not a robot. Everyone has had a whole winter, I’ve only been able to train for a month and a half. In races like today, which last six hours, that just comes out. My legs felt very heavy at the end.”
Remco Evenepoel’s latest medical tests were hopeful, he announced on Thursday. “The results were quite good. I can really start my recovery,”.
Evenepoel acknowledged that inconsistent performances are part of his comeback: “I’ve said it myself from the start: we’re going to have to take it day by day. If it’s a good day, I have to take advantage of it. If it’s a bad day, I have to accept that too.”
Evenepoel added, “I just have to keep working and stay calm. I can’t expect miracles. From the day after tomorrow, there will be another race (the Tour de Romandie) to get better.”
