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These are the 54 riders in the front group. There are some interesting names in there, including Evenepoel and Bernal but can they stay away?
Domen Novak (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Remco Evenepoel, Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Julien Bernard, Jacopo Mosca, Carlos Verona (Lidl-Trek), Menno Huising (Visma-Lease a Bike), Alan Hatherly, Asbjorn Hellemose (Jayco-AlUla), Sjoerd Bax, Xandro Meurisse (Pinarello-Q36.5), Michael Leonard, Jardi Van der Lee (EF Education-EasyPost), Sam Maisonobe, Paul Ourselin (Cofidis), Pau Miquel (Bahrain Victorious), Ewen Costiou, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ) Egan Bernal, Laurens de Plus (Ineos Grenadiers), Nicola Conci, Diego Ulissi (XDS-Astana), Magnus Cort, Alexander Kamp, Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X), Davide Formolo, Pavel Novak (Movistar Team), Roland Thalmann, Fabian Weiss (Tudor Pro Cycling), Pascal Eenkhoorn, Louis Vervaeke, Dylan Van Baarle (Soudal-Quick Step), Marco Frigo, Krists Neilands (NSN), Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto-Intermarché), Frank Van der Broek, Matthew Dinham, Gijs Leemreize, Bjorn Koerdt (Picnic-PostNL), Aaron Dockx, Gal Glivar, Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Thibaut Guernalec, Alan Jousseaume, Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies), Iñigo Elosegui, César Pérez, Diego Uriarte (Equipo Kern Pharma), Jesús Herrada , Clément Alleno, Josh Burnett, Jambaljamts Sainbayar (Burgos Burpellet BH).
This is the front group. We can see that some teams are working hard to make it difficult for the chasing Pogacar peloton.
There are 48 riders in the front group and their lead on the Pogacar peloton is up to 1:50!
The peloton is still split, with Tadej Pogačar in group 2 and his UAE leading the chase as the attacks come off the front of group 1.
💨 C’est parti vite ! Le peloton est scindé en deux et Tadej Pogacar n’est pas dans la première partie. Les deux groupes sont séparés par 25”. A very fast start! The peloton has split in two and Tadej Pogacar is not in the front group. Gap: 25 seconds 🔥#LBL pic.twitter.com/SAGKAXEf64April 26, 2026
240km to go
The Tadej Pogačar peloton is still 30 seconds down on the Evenepoel split. Other riders are even further behind.
This is the view from the race director’s car sat behind the peloton, captured by Radio Tour announcer Seb Piquet.
Tadej Pogačar is sat near the back.
And we are off for the 112th edition @LiegeBastogneL !@TamauPogi taking it easy. pic.twitter.com/lBUJht07ARApril 26, 2026
There are also attacks off the front to try to join the early breakaway. There is no such thing as an easy start to a modern-day Monument.
With Liege in the valley, the climb up to Beaufays has sparked the intense start to the day.
UAE have Tim Wellens and Vegard Stake Laengen in the front group but they have been told to sit on as the peloton tries to close the gap.
Big-name riders in the front group include Remco Evenepoel and Egan Bernal.
Tadej Pogačar was at the back of the peloton for the roll out and so might be in the second group. That could explain the split and the growing gap.
Race on!
The front group is pushing on, the gap is up to 35 seconds.
The crash has raised the tension in the early kilometres, with 60 riders off the front and the others chasing at 20 seconds. It’s going to be a long, hard day for every rider.
When the race directors flag is dropped there are attacks! There’s also an early crash, involving Ion Izagirre (Cofidis).
173 riders in the race today. James Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost) and Alexandre Delettre (TotalEnergies) didnot sign on and so didn’t start.
🚩 Le départ est donné pour cette 112ème édition de #LBL ! 🚩 The start has been given for this 112th edition of #LBL! pic.twitter.com/RSNE4yj6M4April 26, 2026
The riders face a 96km ride south to Bastogne and then return north to Liege by a longer, hillier route.
All eyes are on this man today.
3-2-1 C’est Parti! They’re off!
The riders face 259.5km of racing today, with a short ride out of the city centre before the flag drops.
One minute to the start!
The riders are now on the start line, with Evenepoel, Belgian national champion Tim Wellens, Tadej Pogačar on the front of the grid.
Tadej Pogačar and his UAE team are the last to sign on. The Slovenian races in the rainbow jersey as world champion and with race number 1 as the 2025 winner.
Evenepoel spoke about the race and his rivals on Friday after his final recon ride on the route.
Remco Evenepoel is next to sign on with his Red Bull teammates. He is, of course, a two-time winner, in 2022 and 2023.
“We’ll give the maximum to try to win. The final is so long and so hard, that whoever wins is the strongest in the race.”
The race announcer lists Paul Seixas’ results and he waves to the crowd with a smile. He is only 19 but has a poise and maturity beyond his years.
“It’s true I won the Junior Liege-Bastogne-Liege, so I’ve done it once, but that race ended on La Redoute climb, so its a different race.
“We’ll see how it goes. If I can stay with Pogacar, it will already be a success.”
Get ready to hear the crowd cheer. Paul Seixas and his Decathlon CMA CGM are about to sign on.
Visma are the next team to sign on. They lost Matteo Jorgenson after his crash at last week’s Amstel Gold Race but still have a solid team. Ben Tullett was strong at La Fleche Wallonne and could be part of the race today.
Tom Pidcock signs on as leader of Pinarello-Q36.5. He has played down his chances after his crash and knee injury but impressed at the Tour of the Alps.
To understand the big favourites and the outsiders, read our analysis of the contenders.
The big four and the rest – Analysing the contenders at the men’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Ben O’Conor signs on with his Jayco AlUla teammates. The Australia ids one of several riders to travel to Belgium after riding the Tour of the Alps during the week.
The best WorldTour teams and several wild card teams are in the peloton but the expected narrative is all about a three-rider clash: Tadej Pogačar versus Remco Evenepoel versus Paul Siexas.
Kévin Vauquelin of Ineos has just signed on, with the race organisers playing a happy boirhtdat tune for his 25th birthday. The French rider faces a birthday of suffering but could be a contender today.
This is the 112th edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, making it the oldest Classic on the calendar.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège closes out the Ardennes Classics week with a tough race over 250km, 10 classified climbs and many, many others in the rolling hills of south-eastern Belgium.
The climbs of the Saint-Roch, Wanne, Stockeu, La Redoute, and Roche-aux-Faucons are among those which pepper the route, making the race the toughest of Ardennes week and perhaps the whole season.
The riders are currently signing on in the centre of Liege before the start. The sun is out, everyone is ready to race hard in what should be a spectacular race.
Hello, Bonjour and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of the 2026 men’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Check back all day to understands what happens in the final Classic of the spring.
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