The long-awaited duel between Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel will have to wait at least another year. Everyone was expecting a legendary showdown on La Redoute, a head-to-head that would have been etched in the memory of fans for a long time, but that was not the case, and the Belgian had to accept defeat. Evenepoel was not well-positioned when Pogacar decided to attack and saw his race end just as the Slovenian was tackling the famous Remouchamps climb. The final surrender came at La Roche-aux-Faucons when he showed irritation towards a camera motorcycle that was filming him.

Once he crossed the finish line, Evenepoel appeared exhausted with a noticeable cold sore, probably due to the races he had done the previous week.

"For the first few hours, everything was fine. But on the Desnié climb, my legs started to feel heavy. I didn't feel at my best: this explains my uncomfortable position at the foot of La Redoute. I wanted to be honest with the team, I immediately said via radio that they couldn't count on me." It was difficult for a rider like Remco Evenepoel, who in a few days had achieved a victory and third place at the Amstel Gold Race, to accept such a defeat, but the Belgian explained that he is not a machine and that defeats are part of being human.

"I'm not a robot. When I returned to training, before the Brabant Arrow, I said I had very good days and very bad days. After winter, I managed to do only a month and a half of complete training before my first races. I started training at the beginning of February and now we're at the end of April. I couldn't expect miracles. A six-hour race, as tough as Liège, requires a lot of rhythm, and I simply didn't have enough."

When the body doesn't function, the mind also suffers, but Evenepoel seems to have quickly metabolized his discomfort. "I must accept it, I have no choice. In modern cycling, everyone trains hard to be at the top of their form, and I haven't been able to train properly in recent months. It showed. In the last hour, my legs were really heavy."

Defeats must be set aside to move forward, and the Belgian will be at the start of the Tour de Romandie, which begins on Tuesday, a race that is part of his preparation for the Tour de France.

"I need to work on the basics to return to optimal conditions. And it's important to do this in a race because it allows me to go beyond training exercises. I hope this race helps me return to a good level. After Romandie, I'll take a week off and then resume work for the Tour de France."