"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
Cycling
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."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 5visitors 5
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
Tadej Pogačar’s last training days before the Liege Bastogne Liege monument and the Giro d’Italia Grand Tour. ❤️
9 Comments