"I was also ready to sprint against Paul" - Tadej Pogacar wins Liège-Bastogne-Liège but admits he didn't think he'd drop Paul Seixas after La Redoute

Tadej Pogacar has won Liège-Bastogne-Liége for a fourth time, bringing to a close a spring campaign where only a Paris-Roubaix win was missing. The World Champion performed as expected and dropped the entire competition at La Doyenne - even if Paul Seixas gave him a proper fight.

“A lot really happened today," the Slovenian said in the flash interview. "In the opening phase, I was at the back and was mainly following wheels. I could already feel that it was going very fast, but when I looked forward again, I saw that the peloton had split in two".

The front group had big numbers and also a lot of quality in Remco Evenepoel. That forced the peloton to go hard and pressured Decathlon CMA CGM Team into working with UAE Team Emirates - XRG. Even though the Olympic Champion was in the front group, this was ultimately not something that put Pogacar under a lot of stress. "After twenty minutes, we realized: this isn't such a bad situation.”

“It was admittedly a large breakaway, but you often see that the cooperation isn't optimal in those situations. Although Remco is of course capable of attacking from far out. So I was a bit nervous, but we managed to maintain control and at a certain point Decathlon also came to help".

This forced the pace to be high all day long, and the endurance aspect - which has proved key in other races this spring for the Slovenian - would benefit him later on. "My teammates did a truly amazing job. In the end, we had everything under control.”

With the catch made still some time before La Redoute, UAE had time to organize and execute its strategy accordingly. After tremendous performances at Amstel Gold Race and La Fléche Wallonne, it was written down that Benoît Cosnefroy would be launching the Slovenian up the main climb of the day. This was done to perfection and Pogacar attacked where he did so 24 and 12 months ago respectively.

But he was followed by a Paul Seixas in the form of his life. “On the slopes of La Redoute, I was really pushing myself to the limit. I could see that Paul was at his limit, but at the top, he rode past me," he details. "I was impressed for a moment. We rode hard after that and pulled further away from the pursuers. That was a good situation for us.”

Pogacar believed it would come down to a sprint, where he could be surprised, but the same Seixas that followed him up La Redoute didn't have the legs to repeat the maximum effort at the same pace for a second time. “After the Redoute, I actually already had a sprint in mind because Paul was so strong, but I decided to accelerate one more time on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons. I know the climb well and it suits me perfectly. I did manage to drop him then, but I was also ready to sprint against Paul," he adds.

In the end, this adds yet another monument to his tally. He is now up to 13 - and should be able to take win number 14 at Il Lombardia. "That means a lot to me. It is one of the biggest races on the calendar. I don't ride many races, so I don't have many opportunities to win. Consequently, there is a lot of pressure to deliver on days like this. I am very happy that we succeeded. I am really proud of my team," he concluded.