Did That Weird Early Split Doom Remco Evenepoel at Liège-Bastogne-Liège?

Remco Evenepoel salvaged a podium finish at the 2026 Liège-Bastogne-Liège after being swept into an unexpected early breakaway that disrupted his race strategy.

The Belgian superstar, lined up as a top favorite for the monument classic, found himself part of a large early split that formed just four kilometres into the race. More than 50 riders went up the road, including Evenepoel, who insisted his presence in the breakaway was accidental.

“I was just in position 30,” Evenepoel told Cycling Pro Net after the finish. “So it’s not that I was really jumping to be in the break. I think it just split at some point and then I found myself in the front. It was by accident that we were in there. It was not the goal.”

As the gap to the peloton stretched toward nearly four minutes, Evenepoel shifted tactics, focusing on energy conservation to ensure he could remain competitive for the decisive climbs later in the race.

“I just had to save and make sure I would arrive as fresh as possible to the hills,” he said, explaining his decision to sit in and allow others to take turns at the front of the breakaway.

The move forced UAE Team Emirates XRG and Decathlon CMA CGM Team, the squads of eventual winner Tadej Pogačar and runner-up Paul Seixas, to chase the breakaway and neutralize the time advantage.

Evenepoel remained with the leading group until the race reached La Redoute, the iconic climb in the final kilometres where the race-winning moves were launched. By that point, the accumulated effort from spending so much time in the break had taken its toll.

Evenepoel admitted he lacked the spark to respond to the accelerations from Pogačar and Seixas when the race ignited on La Redoute. “Instead, in a race framed as a generational shift inside the peloton, it was Evenepoel who couldn’t respond to the race-breaking flares on La Redoute.”

Pogačar went on to secure his latest Monument victory, while Seixas finished second at 45 seconds behind the winner. Evenepoel completed the podium in third place, crossing the line at 1 minute and 42 seconds behind Pogačar.

The race split after just four kilometres, producing a front group of more than 50 riders. Evenepoel was among them, but not by design. “I was just in position 30,” he told the Cycling Pro Net video channel after the finish. “So it’s not that I was really jumping to be in the break. I think it just split at some point and then I found myself in the front. It was by accident that we were in there. It was not the goal.”

Once the advantage passed two minutes and kept rising, Evenepoel’s approach changed. “I just had to save and make sure I would arrive as fresh as possible to the hills,” he said. The gap pushed toward four minutes, with UAE Team Emirates XRG among the teams forced to chase.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège men Results

Liège – Bastogne – Liège • Apr 26

Pos Rider Team Time

🥇 Tadej Pogačar UAE Team Emirates XRG UAE Team Emirates XRG 5:50:28

🥈 Paul Seixas Decathlon CMA CGM Team Decathlon CMA CGM Team +0:45

🥉 Remco Evenepoel Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe +1:42

4 Emiel Verstrynge Alpecin-Premier Tech Alpecin-Premier Tech +1:42

5 Egan Bernal INEOS Grenadiers INEOS Grenadiers +1:42

6 Pello Bilbao Bahrain Victorious Bahrain Victorious +1:42

7 Romain Grégoire Groupama-FDJ United Groupama-FDJ United +1:42

8 Christian Scaroni XDS Astana Team XDS Astana Team +1:42

9 Tobias Halland Johannessen Uno-X Mobility Uno-X Mobility +1:42

10 Filippo Zana Soudal Quick-Step Soudal Quick-Step +1:42

11 Mauro Schmid Team Jayco AlUla Team Jayco AlUla +1:42

12 Léo Bisiaux Decathlon CMA CGM Team Decathlon CMA CGM Team +1:42