Updated April 21, 2026 07:55AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
What might pro cycling look like in April 2027, 2028, and beyond?<\/p>\n
The winner-takes-all brawl between Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a>, Remco Evenepoel<\/a>, and Paul Seixas<\/a>\u00a0at Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge<\/a>\u00a0this Sunday is your crystal ball into the future of the sport.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar, double defending champion and three-time winner of La Doyenne, is an echelon ahead of everybody and plowing his own furrow through history.<\/p>\n The question is, how close are the chasers behind King Pog?<\/p>\n And how soon might his rainbow kingdom be torn down and rebuilt by a next-in-line?<\/p>\n Whisper it quietly, but some believe the first faultlines could appear as soon as Sunday in a battle for the ages across the Ardennes.<\/p>\n For the first time in years, there\u2019s a glimmer of possibility that Poga\u010dar could be beaten on the terrain that\u2019s perfect for his muscled climber\u2019s frame.<\/a><\/p>\n Wout van Aert\u2019s sensational win over the dusted and busted Slovenian after 55km of Paris-Roubaix cobbles proved that Poga\u010dar isn\u2019t invincible, after all.<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s on Seixas and Evenepoel to go one step further and beat Poga\u010dar on his very own territory.<\/p>\n Seixas is doing what Poga\u010dar did six years ago in his meteoric rise<\/a> through the hierarchy. The 19-year-old brushed away his rivals at Itzulia Basque Country with the panache of peak Poga\u010dar. He won three stages and earned the txalepa hat by a margin that would do the Slovenian proud.<\/p>\n Seixas\u2019 obliteration of the Basque Country capped a tear that\u2019s elevated him to top-favorite for Wednesday\u2019s Fl\u00e8che Wallonne. It will be just his first Belgian classic as a pro.<\/p>\n Shades of Pogi, indeed<\/em>.<\/p>\n Evenepoel and Poga\u010dar have opted out of testing their legs for Li\u00e8ge on the 30 percent ramps of Huy.<\/p>\n Away from France\u2019s Seixas Fever, Evenepoel has been blowing up Belgian hopes.<\/p>\n He converted a surprise \u2013 and maybe controversia<\/a>l \u2013 debut in the Tour of Flanders into a standout third place in Oudenaarde. He backed it up with an assured, matured win at Amstel<\/a> to become the winningest rider of the season so far.<\/p>\n Maybe Remco is a one-day crusher masquerading as a grand tour hopeful<\/a>, after all?<\/p>\n Evenepoel has long been a challenger to Poga\u010dar, but always a chaser.<\/p>\n That trend hasn\u2019t changed in 2026, but he\u2019s raging hot and poised to draw level with Poga\u010dar on three victories in Li\u00e8ge on Sunday.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll need his best legs and the coolest head to earnself him the accolade.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar at Li\u00e8ge:<\/strong> 6 starts, 3 wins (2021, 2024, 2025) Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge will give telling insights into the structure of the pro cycling hierarchy.<\/p>\n The old framework fell apart when Seixas and Poga\u010dar\u2019s teammate Isaac del Toro blasted onto the scene and became the latest generation of WorldTour wunderkind.<\/p>\n At 19 and 22 respectively, they make even 26-year-old Remco seem old. Poga\u010dar? A grandpa.<\/p>\n If anybody poses a true threat to Poga\u010dar\u2019s reign, it\u2019s Seixas.<\/p>\n He turned everybody\u2019s head and fried French minds when he last faced-off against Poga\u010dar and Evenepoel. Third on the podium last fall at the European championships, just weeks after he turned 19, was a sign of what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n The rest is history \u2013 literally.<\/p>\n Seixas became the first Frenchman to win a WorldTour stage-race in 19 years earlier this month when he won Itzulia Basque Country while on easy mode.<\/p>\n Before that, he dared to challenge Poga\u010dar at Strade Bianche and made mincemeat of Matteo Jorgenson at the Ard\u00e8che classic.<\/p>\n Hearts are being set ablaze and column inches are being filled throughout France at the thought of the nation\u2019s first yellow jersey since Bernard Hinault in 1985.<\/p>\n But the question on everybody\u2019s lips right now is \u2013 will Seixas make his Tour de France debut as soon as this summer?<\/a><\/p>\n It would be a grand tour baptism of fire befitting the most exciting new talent the peloton has seen since \u2013 you know who \u2013 Mr. Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n Seixas\u2019s Decathlon CMA CGM team has promised all will be revealed next week after its prodigal leader has swept through Fl\u00e8che and Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n It seems a no-brainer for Decathlon to send Seixas to Le Tour<\/em> this July.<\/p>\n Why wait? The frenzy of expectation will multiply every day he\u2019s unnecessarily shielded from the hype of the Grand Boucle<\/em>.<\/p>\n Choosing the easy route via the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a won\u2019t cut it.<\/p>\n If there\u2019s ever a time Poga\u010dar might be beaten at Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, it\u2019s now.<\/p>\n King Pog will chase his three-peat on Sunday rattled by an uncharacteristic crash at Milan-San Remo and sore from being brought down to earth by Wout at Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>\n This spring has shown that while Poga\u010dar is near untouchable,<\/a> he\u2019s not unbeatable.<\/p>\n It will be intriguing to see how he approaches the climbing frenzy of La Doyenne on Sunday.<\/p>\n His winning moves over La Redoute in 2024 and 2025 were perfectly choreographed and exquisitely executed by his UAE super team. He earned his first monument victory in Li\u00e8ge 2021 in a more scrappy affaire that culminated in a small group sprint.<\/p>\n Will Poga\u010dar reprise his attack on La Redoute this Sunday?<\/p>\n Everybody will expect it, and, as we saw at Strade Bianche, Seixas has got the cojones<\/em> and (almost) got the legs to follow<\/a>.<\/p>\n Likewise, Evenepoel won\u2019t be shy about jumping on the wheel \u2013 or, knowing Remco, moving first.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar might need to try something new to get the jump. He could broaden his palette by sampling any one of the menu of jagged ramps on the roads back to Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar\u2019s 2026 season so far has been immaculate.<\/p>\n It could have been a spotless \u2013 4 wins in 4 \u2013 if a bike change meltdown<\/a> didn\u2019t zap his legs in the Hell of the North.<\/p>\n And Poga\u010dar will likely continue to toy with perfection Sunday and level Eddy Merckx and Moreno Argentin with a fourth win in Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n But what happens before that will be a preview of what happens in some apocalyptic post-Pog era.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/div>\nInsatiable Seixas and Golden Remco ride tailwinds into Li\u00e8ge<\/h2>\n
Setting the stage for Li\u00e8ge:<\/h3>\n
Evenepoel at Li\u00e8ge:<\/strong> 3 starts, 2 wins (2022, 2023)
Seixas at Li\u00e8ge:<\/strong> Debutant<\/p>\nSeixas: LBL to the TDF?<\/h2>\n
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Poga\u010dar: Near untouchable \u2013 but not unbeatable<\/h2>\n
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Toying with perfection<\/h2>\n
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