"Those real lightweight climbers like Tadej Pogacar struggle in 8 degrees and rain" - Jan Bakelants feels weather could be deciding factor at Liege-Bastogne-Liege

At the fourth monument of the season this coming weekend, Tadej Pogacar will start as the favourite for Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory.

When assessing the potential challengers to Pogacar this Sunday, could mother nature herself prove the most difficult obstacle to overcome for the UAE Team Emirates leader? "If the weather stays like this, I think the chances will increase for the real classic riders, such as Mathieu van der Poel," predicts Jan Bakelants on the Wielerclub Wattage podcast, with bad weather having caused havoc this Wednesday afternoon at La Fleche Wallonne and the Tour of the Alps. "They take advantage of the bad weather conditions."

There's no doubt that cold weather affects each rider differently but for Bakelants there could be a worrying correlation for Pogacar to take note of. "Those real lightweights - climbers like Pogacar - struggle in 8 degrees and rain," analyses the former Tour de France stage winning Belgian.

Nevertheless, Bakelants still predicts Pogacar to emerge victorious. "He is now in Spain and he will be even more motivated to train there. He hasn't peaked yet, certainly not," Bakelants adds in conclusion. "If you see how steep the Redoute is, he can easily take a minute off the rest there. Normally I just don't see anyone beating Pogacar."