Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026: Live race report

A clash of giants — that’s how this year’s Liège–Bastogne–Liège can be described. The cycling world is eagerly awaiting the first showdown of the season between Tadej Pogacar and his heir apparent Paul Seixas. Follow the action live on Cyclingstage.com.

Early in the race, the peloton splits in two. Remco Evenepoel is in the front group, Tadej Pogacar in the second. And so the race ignites early on, with BORA driving the pace at the front and UAE Emirates in the second group. As they can’t close the gap down quickly, Pogacar's men abandon the chase and the gap grows to 4 minutes.

The first group initially consists of 52 riders. Besides Evenepoel, Egan Bernal and Quinten Hermans are also present there. The other pre-race favourites are in the main peloton.

On the Col de Haussire, the lead of the front peloton drops to 2 minutes, and by the Côte de Wanne the early mega break is over. Alexander Kamp, Gijs Leemreize and Hugo Houle refuse to give in, but they are caught at the foot of the Stockeu.

Up to the Redoute, the group stays together, and on the Redoute Remco Evenepoel is quickly dropped. Tadej Pogacar then attacks with 930 metres to go to the summit, and Paul Seixas follows him like a shadow. The world champion goes all out to shake off the youngster, but is unable to do so.

Mattias Skjelmose crests the summit in third place, nearly half a minute behind the duo, before the Dane drops back into the Evenepoel-led chase group in the run-up the the Côte des Forges. Not that they gain even a second; in fact, Pogacar and Seixas start the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons 1 minute and 30 seconds ahead of them.

With 550 metres to the summit, the world champion drops the Frenchman.

For the latest race situation, you can also click on the trackers in the slideshow below this article.

Liège–Bastogne–Liège is expected to finish around 16:20 CEST. For details, check the timings in the slideshow; click the relevant box for specifications of each climb.

Other interesting reads:
- route
- start list
- favourites
- records & winners
- 2025 Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 2026 pro-cycling calendar