Tour de France double champion Tadaij Bogacha, who plays for the UAE Team Emirates, will for some reason forfeit the Liège-Bastogne-Liège race, and his teammate Brandon McNulty will take his place.
The reason Why Pogacha gave up the race was that the mother of his fiancée, Urska Zigart, died of cancer recently, so Pogacha chose to return to his home in Slovenia to accompany his wife, who had lost his loved one.
At first, Pogacha planned to return to Belgium before Sunday to attend Sunday's Liege-Bastohn-Liège race, but on Saturday he publicly stated that he would forego the race.
He wrote on his personal social media: "Unfortunately, I will not be on the field of Liège-Baston-Liège tomorrow to compete for my honor. It's been a tough few days and I'm very grateful for my understanding and for the support the team has given me, especially Mauro Gianetti and team general manager Matar in this situation. ”
Bogacha's fiancée, Sieget, is a bike trade team driver. She was supposed to be scheduled to compete in the Liège-Bastohn-Liege women's race. But a few days ago, she announced the death of her mother on social media, and her decision to give up the race was also understood and supported by the team.
Sieggert said on his personal social media: "Life is sometimes unfair, and today I share this news with you with great sadness and a heavy heart. My mom was like my best friend and the most important person in my life. This is a very difficult time for me and my family as we go through this momentous change and I beg you to give some personal space and thank you all for your understanding and support. ”
The Emirates team have confirmed McNalty will replace Pogacha for Sunday's race. The American driver won a stage in Paris-Nice and finished 12th overall. He has not been scheduled to compete since March and was scheduled to return to the Tour de Romandie next week, but due to changes in Pogacha, he had to play early.
McNalty also competed in The Liege with Pogacha last year, which he won last year by beating Julian Alaphilippe, who had just won the Sword of Wallonia in the final climb, to win the first classic title of his career.
McNalty's results last year were not ideal, and he was knocked out of the team on the Cote de la Haute-Levée climb about 80 kilometers before the finish line, and eventually failed to finish the race. The Emirates team arranged for him to replace Pogacha to participate in the Liege race again, I wonder if his performance in the Liège race this year will be a qualitative leap forward and he will be able to take the main position?
Edit: Johnny
Image source: Infographic Gallery