Tadej Pogacar (left) greets Remco Evenepoel prior to the start of the men elite race of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege. AFP

Remco Evenepoel won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege cycling classic on Sunday, retaining his title after his rival Tadej Pogacar broke a wrist in an early fall.

World champion Evenepoel broke solo with 30km to go when Briton Tom Pidcock refused the Belgian's offer of an alliance, finishing the 258km race in 6hrs 15min 49sec with Pidcock second and Santiago Sanchez third.

Two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar broke a wrist in a fall at the Liege-Bastogne-Liege one day classic on Sunday and will undergo immediate surgery.

The 24-year-old Slovenian will be operated on at a Ghent hospital by a specialist surgeon, his UAE Emirates team said.

Earlier, Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar was forced to retire from the Liege-Bastogne-Liege one-day classic on Sunday after a fall 85 kilometres into the race.

Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates said their rider had been taken to hospital.

"He has a wrist injury and has gone to hospital for tests," the team said.

Liege-Bastogne-Liege was the final race on Pogacar's programme before he set off for altitude training in the lead-up to the Tour de France, where he came second last year.

Pogacar crashed with Dane Mikkel Honore who also had to pull out of the race.

His teammates waited to help their leader catch up with the main group, but the 24-year-old could not continue.

Agencies