Cycling · Liège-Bastogne-Liège : Pogačar chases fourth title at the oldest monument

Tadej Pogačar will line up on Sunday as the man to beat at the 112th edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Belgian classic known as La Doyenne, the oldest of cycling's five Monuments, first held in 1892.

The Slovenian world champion, riding for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, is chasing a fourth victory in six years at the race, having first won it in 2021. The ambition comes fresh off his triumph at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, which brought his Monument tally to an extraordinary 12 titles.

Sunday's race covers 259.3 kilometres with 4,401 metres of climbing across 11 classified ascents, eight of them packed into the final 90 kilometres, making it one of the most punishing finales in professional cycling.

Pogačar will be supported by a strong squad including Benoît Cosnefroy, Rune Herregodts, Pavel Sivakov, Domen Novak, Vegard Stake Laengen and Belgian Tim Wellens, under the direction of sports directors Andrej Hauptman and Marco Marzano.

The team will also ride the Tour de Romandie in May, keeping Pogačar at the centre of the sport's biggest stages as the road to the Grand Tours draws closer.