Cycling king Tadej Pogacar and rising star Paul Seixas are set to face off Sunday at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, an electrifying duel between two dominant riders who share more than a few similarities.
The oldest of cycling’s five Monuments, dating back to 1892, is poised for a seismic shift this year with the emergence of teenage sensation Seixas. At just 19, the Frenchman is rewriting the rules of the sport.
On Wednesday, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider triumphed in his first Flèche Wallonne appearance—a race notorious for requiring extensive experience. Pogacar needed four attempts before conquering the Mur de Huy. The way Seixas crushed the competition makes Sunday’s showdown even more tantalizing, as it marks the final chapter of the Ardennes triptych. Pogacar aims for his 13th Monument victory.
The “Doyenne” promises a thrilling three-way battle between Remco Evenepoel (winner in 2022 and 2023), Pogacar (champion in 2021, 2024, and 2025), and the new prodigy making his debut in a race he won as a junior in 2024. Yet recent events suggest it might become a direct duel between the Frenchman and the Slovenian, given Seixas’s stunning displays—including his solo victory at the Tour of the Basque Country.
Can the rider from Lyon already challenge the double world champion on a hilly terrain that suits both perfectly? Can he follow Pogacar on the Côte de la Redoute, 34 kilometers from the finish, where Pogacar and Evenepoel have shaped the outcome over the past five years?
Asked Tuesday if he believed he could beat Pogacar on Sunday, Seixas replied: “This question is crazy. We’re talking about perhaps the greatest rider of all time. Right now, I don’t think I have the level to beat him. Of course, I try to be the best or one of the best, but I need to work and then prove it in the race. After that, we can talk.”
In reality, Pogacar remains the heavy favorite. So far, they have faced off four times in one-day races, with the Slovenian dominating each time: World Championships (1st vs 13th), European Championships (1st vs 3rd), Giro di Lombardia (1st vs 7th) at the end of 2025, and Strade Bianche (1st vs 2nd) in March.
But the young Frenchman keeps improving—and fast. Determined yet relaxed, he reminds many of Pogacar.
Beyond both having mothers who teach French, they share an attacking mentality, a playful character, and now a similar display of supremacy.
“Why wait?” says Julien Jurdie, one of Seixas’s sports directors. “For them, the best defense is attack. When Paul attacks 28 kilometers from the finish in the Basque Country or more than 40 kilometers out in the Classic Ardèche, it’s like what Pogi does. Why wait when you’re head and shoulders above the rest?”
Their career paths also converge, as both have won the Tour de l’Avenir, though Seixas is even more precocious than the Slovenian. In this regard, he resembles Evenepoel, who also shone immediately after leaving the junior ranks.
Domen Novak, Pogacar’s loyal lieutenant at UAE Team Emirates, noted that Seixas is already far more professional than Pogacar was at the same age.
“Everyone compares him to Tadej; he’s even better than Tadej was at the same age. But back then, Tadej had never done an altitude training camp, he was racing for the Gusto Ljubljana team, and you could say he won his first Tour de France (in 2020, at 22) eating pizzas, drinking beer, and playing PlayStation,” Novak told Slovenian media Siol in March.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège presents another test, as the Belgian Monument closes a block of races that will reveal whether Seixas can truly challenge the king.