Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) has shocked his key rivals at Liège-Bastogne-Liège by getting into a massive early breakaway of more than 50 riders, with both Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) missing the split.
The breakaway had a lead of 3:30 heading into the final 180km, with UAE and Decathlon both committing riders to the chase. All of the categorised climbs on the 260km route are still to be ridden.
In what is a complete tearing up of the script for the final Spring Classic in 2026, the early move got away in the opening 10km of racing on Sunday morning.
Heading south out of Liège, it's not entirely clear what caused the split, but there was an early crash for Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) and Andrea Vendrame (Jayco AlUla) that could have played a part.
Either way, the race's live updates and race radio shocked everyone as it announced that a 50-strong group had got away from the main peloton, with Evenepoel being the biggest name present.
As is the case with several races, even Monuments, Liège-Bastogne-Liège isn't broadcast in its entirety, so the live pictures still haven't started. When they do at around 12:10 CET, it should show the unexpected scene of UAE and Decathlon frantically working to bring back what is now a relatively stable 3:30 deficit.
Evenepoel has one teammate for company in the move, Nico Denz, but several other top teams are represented and would suddenly have a chance at the win or the podium if they help Red Bull stay away. Ineos Grenadiers are one example, with Egan Bernal making it into the front group with Laurens De Plus for company, who has been pictured pulling on the front of the break.
Pogačar did have one teammate in the move, Domen Novak. Decathlon missed the move entirely, with Seixas surrounded by all his teammates to try to bring the race back together.
Will Pogačar and Seixas see the front of the race again, or is Evenepoel too far up the road? Follow the rest of the action and final 180km to find out on our live report: Liège-Bastogne-Liège Men LIVE: Tadej Pogačar misses early split as race explodes and Evenepoel takes advantage
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