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  "description": "For the first time in a long time, someone managed to survive the Tadej Pogačar onslaught on La Redoute.",
  "path": "/paul-seixas-didnt-win-liege-but-he-gave-us-a-glimpse-into-a-brighter-future/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-26T18:21:16.000Z",
  "site": "https://escapecollective.com",
  "tags": [
    "all was said and done",
    "Subscribe now"
  ],
  "textContent": "Cor Vos\n\nIn the film that spawned the franchise, Rocky Balboa didn't actually win his epic fight against Apollo Creed. When all was said and done in Rocky I, the heavyweight champion was declared the victor over the plucky underdog – but that underdog had managed to stand up to the champ in a way that no one else had done before.\n\nGoing the distance to survive the full 15 rounds was a victory in itself. Rocky had earned a sequel (five of them, actually). He could get that win some day down the road.\n\nWhen all was said and done at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, plucky underdog Paul Seixas had to settle for runner-up honors behind world champion Tadej Pogačar, who delivered on his pre-race favorite status to take a third straight victory as impressive as it was unsurprising. And yet ... Seixas pushed Pogačar in a way that no one else has done since the world champ first established himself as the dominant racer of this era. He survived Pogačar's inevitable attack on the Côte de La Redoute, and held on all the way to the middle of the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons.\n\nIt wasn't the victory Seixas came for, but it was a victory in its own way. Liège-Bastogne-Liège was _fun_ to watch this time, and surely we are in for more of that entertainment as these two go head-to-head again in the months and years to come.\n\n\"I am impressed and amazed by how good Paul is,\" Pogačar said after the race. \"Chapeau to him. I have nothing but praise for the kid – for his incredible results at the start of this season, and for how mature he is.\"\n\nThat \"kid\" acknowledged that he was proud to have put in a runner-up ride: \"Of course I'm really happy to be second and to make all the work of the team pay off today,\" Seixas said. \"This is a good feeling, first time in Liège and second is pretty good.\"\n\nThe past two years at Liège, Pogačar has left the field behind with devastating attacks on the Côte de La Redoute. Going solo from that point on, he has quickly built up big gaps and then cruised into Liège to celebrate more than a minute ahead of the field. On Sunday, he again went with the tried-and-true approach and put the hammer down on La Redoute 35 km from the finish. The move laid waste to the field, but not to Paul Seixas.\n\n0:00\n\n/0:16\n\n1×\n\nThe 19-year-old Frenchman, in his first ever Liège appearance, refused to be dropped on the 9.4% gradient. Despite constant pressure applied by the world's best rider, Seixas hung on.\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "Paul Seixas gives us a glimpse into a brighter future",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-27T06:03:26.847Z"
}