"Pogacar is so good, I don't know when that will ever stop" - Laurens Ten Dam on World Champion, Evenepoel and Vingegaard
Cycling
Liège-Bastogne-Liège was hoped to be the climax of the battles between Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel this spring but it was anything but that. After a brilliant Amstel Gold Race, the Olympic Champion simply did not have the legs to compete for the win, whilst the World Champion was above the rest of the competiton for the second consecutive year at La Doyenne.
"In the past, we Dutch people were more into the Ardennes classics, and that has now shifted more towards the cobblestone classics with Van der Poel [...] But if you now see what the Dutch are achieving in the hilly classics: it's just real poverty. Uphill, we simply have a poor generation, except for Arensman," Laurens Ten Dam argued in the Live Slow Ride Fast Podcast. Only four Dutch riders finished the race, none within the first 70.
But what Ten Dam payed the most attention to was the way Pogacar attacked to victory at La Redoute. "Pogacar's team was so strong. What UAE showed was simply phenomenal. At La Redoute, Pogacar even had two teammates ahead of him. And when he went – it wasn't even really a breakaway – he rode everyone out of their wheel without visibly accelerating and even broke the record time".
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The Slovenian won his third Liège and ninth ever monument, now equal to a few other riders as the third rider to conquer the most monuments in his career. "It's great that Evenepoel had so much confidence for Liège-Bastogne-Liège. But he simply fell off his pink cloud like a ton of bricks," he believes.
"Liège-Bastogne-Liège simply doesn't lie, and then you see that the preparation – which was simply not ideal for Evenepoel – means that you can't win a race like that, especially not against Pogacar".
"But I do think it's a shame. You hope it will be a duel, but you soon knew it wasn't going to work out. You never really saw Evenepoel and his team riding in front towards La Redoute. I thought then: he's just not good enough," the Dutch ex-pro argued. "Because no matter how good you are, if you're 200 metres behind Pogacar on La Redoute, you're automatically defeated".
Evenepoel then cracked on the Còte de la Rouche aux Faucons, and rode slowly to avoid the TV motorbike's attention on what was not his best day. "I immediately saw what he wanted: he just didn't want to have the bike with him. And I understand that, it's of course annoying when you're constantly being filmed while you're no longer racing for the win. I thought he handled that quite maturely".
This Pogacar seems rather unbeatable on a good day, and will likely give Evenepoel (and others) more trouble at the Tour de France. "Pogacar is so good, I don't know when that will ever stop. If you ride in the top three everywhere from Strade to Liège, you are really an asset to the sport. And in the Tour – he will be great again. I think that at Visma | Lease a Bike they are now thinking: how are we going to solve this with Vingegaard?'
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- lol yeah. this is a good onemij12-11-2026
- Mads is the best: I didn’t even know there were rules in cyclocross. I just thought it was a matter of: ‘Go, three, two, one, ride.’ It’s like a street fight, a kind of underground brawl. It’s the MMA of cycling he gives the best quotes.mij12-11-2026
- he's too young. he's 23, so not really a fair call yet.mij12-11-2026
- and don't forget Pidcock's departure. maybe he will never win a GT, but he knows how to light up a race.mij12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was going to say a 12 year obsessed Pogi fan girlie ! Like she's chasing a teen boy band! All glossy eyed about tadej!frieders312-11-2026
- That stint in the Pink was so good. If memory serves he struggled with the champagne cuz he'd never been on the podium before. I feel like it gave him some self-belief, and yeah - then the move to Visma to be one of their lieutenants has really brought him to the best version of himself.wrsty12-11-2026
- So, you never really compared Paul Seixas with his main rival Isaac Del Toro why jump to Pogačar? They've (Paul & Isaac) raced together here and there, and they've both shared in wins and losses, I think they should be compared to each other, even with Vingegaard and Remco first before even touching Pogačar. From your writing it's like he's better than Vingegaard, Remco and Del Toro already that his main target is now Pogačar 🤔Sadick11-11-2026
- gee i hope its a minor injury. a great rider and ambassador for the sport. get well soon Lucinda.
Davide11-11-2026 - some of lidl-treks retention and recruiting has been puzzling in the mens and womens teams.Davide11-11-2026
- Yeah his ride at World's was unreal. Over 6 W/kg for over an hour and a half...he single handedly destroyed the break.DAS11-11-2026
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