Le Court and Pogačar win Liège-Bastogne-Liège

27 April 2025

Kim Le Court and Tadej Pogačar claimed victories on Sunday in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the fourth and final Monument of the cycling spring. Le Court sprinted to victory in the women’s race, while Pogačar dominated solo in the men’s edition.

In the ninth edition of the women's race, Le Court took the win after a four-way sprint. The 29-year-old from Mauritius, who competes in both road cycling and mountain biking, outsprinted the Dutch riders Puck Pieterse and Demi Vollering, along with French cyclist Cédrine Kerbaol. World champion Lotte Kopecky was the best Belgian, finishing fifth.

^{Lotte Kopecky in action during the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race, 27 April 2025 © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND}

Speaking of her performance, Kopecky said: "In general, I think it was not bad. Our team was really good in the front and they tried to help as good as possible. For myself I had a pretty good beginning of the last climb and the last kilometre was a bit too much, but it is what it is."

Despite missing out on a podium spot, Kopecky remained optimistic about the future. "I think we set goals, and we try to challenge ourselves, so I think we need to keep doing that," she said. "I think it is a race that I can win in the future, just not this year."

Third title

Earlier in the day, in the men's race, Slovenian world champion Pogačar claimed his third Liège-Bastogne-Liège title and his second consecutive win. He launched a decisive attack on La Redoute, just under 35km from the finish, and crossed the line solo with a lead of just over a minute. Italian Giulio Ciccone won the sprint for second place ahead of Ireland’s Ben Healy.

^{Giulio Ciccione, Tadej Pogačar and Ben Healy © PHOTO PRESS SPORTS}

It was a difficult day for Belgium's Remco Evenepoel, who finished 59th, over 3 minutes behind Pogačar. Evenepoel, who is still rebuilding form after an injury said: "I'm not a robot. Everyone has had a whole winter, I've only been able to train for a month and a half. In races like today, which last six hours, that just comes out. My legs felt very heavy at the end."

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Evenepoel acknowledged that inconsistent performances are part of his comeback: "I've said it myself from the start: we're going to have to take it day by day. If it's a good day, I have to take advantage of it. If it's a bad day, I have to accept that too."

^{Kim Le Court celebrates after winning the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race, 27 April 2025 © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND}

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