Taddei Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) won a historic victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and dedicated it to the mother of his fiancée Urska Zigato, who passed away before the 2022 race.

The Slovenian was listed as the favorite to win the 2022 race, but announced on the eve of the race that he would miss the race due to personal sad news; in an interview after winning the 2024 race, he revealed the extent to which this event had affected him.

"I was on the bike all day, remembering my mom in Urschka two years ago, and I was so emotional that I had to go home," Pogachar said in a broadcast interview immediately after the race.

"Today I ran for Urschka's mother." [However, the 2022 race was only the first of two traumatic races for Pogachar, and in the 2023 race, Pogachar fell with a broken hand and was lost for most of the race season.

"The last two years were really painful," Pogachar said.

A showdown between Pogachar and Evenpoel was promised for the 2023 edition, but this year Mathieu Van der Poel faced the former Tour de France winner, setting up a rare battle between the strongest riders of the spring 2024 classic.

Whether it was a tactical error, tired legs, or simply bad luck, Van der Poel struggled over the 254.5 km course.

Van der Poel and Alpecin Deceuninck returned to the main peloton, but this effort may have played a part in Pogachar's attack on the Côte de la Redoute.

This move seemed to have been planned from the beginning. He said, "I rode hard on the climbs, played it safe on the descents, and did exactly what I said I would do on La Redoute. From then on it was a struggle to the finish."

Conditions were forgiving compared to the blistering temperatures of La Flèche Wallonne earlier in the week, but the temperature at the start was a cool 5°C, and the race was hit by several heavy downpours.

"It was a miserable day from the start. 'My mind was blank all day. It was in my head all day. Last year I spent all day trying to conserve as much energy as possible, but today I focused on the safety aspect."

"I was so happy to win this race,"

"I was so happy to win this race.

The victory was an exceptional performance so far this season for the UAE Team Emirates riders. The only race in which Pogachar did not excel was Milan-San Remo, where he finished third, with two of those days being stages in the Volta a Catalunya, where he took the overall win, the mountains, and the points jersey.

His results so far have given him hope for a strong showing in the Giro d'Italia, where he is expected to finish in the top three.

"I am really, really happy to finally win this beautiful race again.

"It was a great team effort and we couldn't have done it without them.