Tadej Pogacar retired after just 85 kilometers at the 2023 Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The big favorite on the eve, fresh from victories at the Amstel Gold Race and at the Freccia Vallone, is had a fall when there were 173 km to go to the finish line and we still had to enter the series of cotes that characterize the fourth Monument Classic of the season.
The Slovenian champion, who was chasing the triptych of successes in the Ardennes (a feat only achieved by the late Davide Rebellin and the Belgian Philippe Gilbert), had to raise the white flag in an unexpected and surprising way. The dynamics of the accident are still to be clarified. Tadej Pogacar went down with Dane Mikkel Honoréhe then got back on the saddle but after a few rides he decided to abandon the Doyenne.
There is still no news regarding the physical conditions of the two-time Tour de France winner, UAE Emirates said it will provide updates as soon as possible. The hope is that the Balkan rider, this year’s winner of the Tour of Flanders, hasn’t picked up on some serious physical problems and that he will soon be back in the group approaching the Grande Boucle.
Photo: Lapresse