"Everyone will focus on Tadej Pogacar. He is the top favourite, not Van der Poel" - Michel Wuyts previews monumental Liege-Bastogne-Liege battle

In the fourth monument of the season, a mouthwatering battle is in prospect between Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel and other notable names at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. According to Belgian cycling expert Michel Wuyts, Pogacar's name stands head and shoulders above the rest however.

“Are we going to be miserable if van der Poel finishes fourth in Liège? No, right?” Wuyts analyses of the world champions prospects next weekend, on the Wuyts & Vlaeminck podcast for HLN. “In Liège everyone will again focus on Tadej Pogacar. He is the top favourite, not van der Poel.”

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"Of course, there is also one Tadej Pogacar” - Mathieu van der Poel admits he needs his best legs to compete at Liege-Bastogne-Liege

After an electric start to his 2024 road season, van der Poel was significantly quieter at last Sunday's Amstel Gold Race. Is that something to be concerned about heading into Liege-Bastogne-Liege? “If it were about any other rider, I would say it's all over the place,” Wuyts assesses. “But we are talking about Mathieu van der Poel. During the Amstel Gold Race, the world champion probably just had a lackluster day. He's an alien. I dare not say that he will be less successful on Sunday in Liège.”

“Training for a week in the heat is always pleasant," adds Sep Vanmarcke, noting how van der Poel has returned to train in the Spanish sun instead of keeping race-active at La Fleche Wallonne. "He will certainly also look for some stimuli that imitate the Ardennes. So Mathieu's training will be slightly different than in recent weeks, I think.”

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“I certainly didn't have the legs of the past few weeks" - Mathieu van der Poel absent from Amstel Gold Race finale