"Game over in the space of 800 metres" - Philippa York mightily impressed by Tadej Pogacar's brutal La Redoute acceleration

In incredibly impressive fashion, Tadej Pogacar added yet another monument success to his palmares on Sunday afternoon with a dominant victory at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Just as many others were, Philippa York was left mightily impressed.

"Rarely in professional cycling does the plan that was so carefully worked on beforehand and then drilled into the riders in the pre-race briefing follow that script to the letter. Somewhere along the route, there’s usually a mishap of some sort or a tactical move from the opponents that disrupts things," reflects York in her column for Cycling News. "For UAE Team Emirates on Sunday, there wasn’t one off-key moment, not even close."

As had been widely expected pre-race, the climb of La Redoute proved a key point. It was there that the Slovenian decided to launch and although his rivals must surely have been waiting for Pogacar to make his move, none could live with the brutal acceleration of the UAE Team Emirates leader. "It’s always been a crucial point of the race and that’s why the crowds flock there, because they know that’s where they’ll get the best chance to see everyone suffer," York analyses. " It’s a horrible climb that few get over with all their faculties intact."

"Pogacar doesn’t often get out the saddle, but even by his standards, the acceleration at the very beginning of La Redoute was brutal. Ben Healy tried to follow and couldn’t. Richard Carapaz, sensing the danger, briefly got across but then blew as the steepest section sucked the momentum from him. And that was that," York continues. "Game over in the space of 800 metres."

"The level he was operating on was remarkable. His lead steadily grew from one minute towards two minutes, and he still looked like he was in complete control of the effort. I’d go as far to say that he probably only rode near his maximum for 20 of the 254km on offer, from the bottom of La Redoute, obviously, to the summit of La Roche aux Facons. From there, he cruised to the line, never in the red zone unless he chose to be," York adds. "That was quite clear from the reaction, or lack of it, among the chasers, who were resigned to the knowledge that podium places were the best they could do. In their defence, that was a decision that had been made for them by the guy disappearing up the road."