Tadej Pogacar praises teenage rival Paul Seixas after Liege-Bastogne-Liege battle - 'Racing with his heart, no bulls***'

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Tadej Pogacar has admitted the emergence of 19-year-old Paul Seixas has given him a "push for the future" after the two battled for first at last month's Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

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Pogacar pulled clear with 14km left of the gruelling 260km race to win in Belgium for the third straight year.

But it was yet more evidence of Seixas' huge potential, following his eye-catching recent victories at the Tour of the Basque Country and La Fleche Wallonne.

"It was a good sensation riding against Paul," Pogacar said in an interview with RSI Sport. "I was afraid that I would be like: 'Okay, he's on my wheel, I give up' or whatever.

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"But he pushed me more, because I think he's a good kid, very mature for his age, and he's really racing with his heart, with no bulls***.

"I was happy racing against him, he showed that he can be the best in the world also. He gave me a bit more push for the future."

For now, Pogacar remains out in front on his own, and, at 27, the expectation is that he will continue to win and break records.

Pogacar sees off Seixas on 'earth-shattering day' at Liege-Bastogne-Liege

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But he insisted he is not pursuing glory, and instead "enjoying the moment."

"When you hear this, every interview, every press conference, every mixed zone, they talk about records, history, and it becomes a little bit subconscious in your mind," he said.

"But I still don't chase anything. I just want to live in the moment and enjoy what I have now and see where the road goes. If I break some records, I break some records. If not, it doesn't matter. I will not obsess myself over anything."

Pogacar, who added another stage race win to his ever-growing list of achievements with victory at the Tour de Romandie last weekend, also bemoaned the lack of recognition given to his UAE Emirates-XRG team-mates after his wins.

"This sport is as big as a team, and if one part of the team is not okay, then it's so much more difficult to achieve the goal," he added.

"I always feel kind of bad for the teammates, because then it's just one guy on the podium. But the work the guys do, for example in Liege, they work much harder for longer than me, that I just deliver the victory.

"Maybe in the future I'll realise that it's a more important team, and we will see, after the finish, all the team together on the podium. That would be a good move."

Asked if he feels angry when he fails to win a race, Pogacar added: "The thing that irritates me most is if I cannot show my best version of myself, but it doesn't happen very often.

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"I always push myself to the limit, try my best, so I'm always kind of happy even if I lose. If I show that I give everything, then I'm always satisfied and happy. You can be disappointed, but never really angry."

Neither Pogacar nor Seixas will be racing at the upcoming Giro d'Italia, instead looking ahead to the Tour de France, which begins on July 4, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

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