The race was billed as a showdown between Pogacar and Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, who won back-to-back Liege titles in 2022 and 2023 before suffering multiple bone fractures in a serious crash on a training ride last year.

However, the Belgian struggled, caught out of position when Pogacar attacked and later dropped by the peloton on the final climb of the day.

Instead it was the familiar sight of Pogacar mounting an attack no-one could match.

Britain’s Tom Pidcock attempted to bring him back alongside Healy but Pogacar built up a lead of 30 seconds within 5km and the gap kept growing.

Ciccone and Julian Alaphilippe joined Pidcock and Healy but they could not get organised, with Ciccone and Healy eventually getting clear to compete for the two podium spots left. Pidcock finished ninth.

In reality this was just about Pogacar’s increasingly possible quest to rival Merckx’s standing as the greatest.

Pogacar is only the seventh rider to win three or more editions of Liege, the oldest of the Monuments, with Merckx holding the record of five wins.

Mercx won five Tours de France – including 34 stages – five Giro d’Italia titles, one Vuelta a Espana and three world road crowns, as well as his 19 monuments.

Pogacar has three Tour victories, including 17 stages, one Giro, one Vuelta, one world title and nine monuments.

Only Merckx (1974), Ireland’s Stephan Roche (1987) and Pogacar (2024) have completed the triple crown of winning the Giro, Tour and world championship in the same year.

Pogacar is unlikely to win as many Giro titles as Merckx, given the demands of targeting the Tour each year, but every other tally could well be in his sights.

After he attempts to defend his Tour title in July, Pogacar will be heavily favoured to claim a 10th Monument before the season ends at Il Lombardia in October.

Pogacar has won the last four consecutive editions of the one-day race in Italy and will be seeking to equal Fausto Coppi’s record of five wins overall.