Belgian one-day men's cycling race
Liege?Bastogne?Liege
[lj??.bas.t??.lj??]
, also known as
La Doyenne
("The Old Lady"),
[N 1]
is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.
[1]
[2]
[3]
First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five
Monuments
of the European professional
road cycling
calendar;
[4]
usually coming as the last of the spring classics. It is held annually in late April, in the
Ardennes
region of Belgium, from
Liege
to
Bastogne
and back.
It is considered one of the most arduous one-day cycling events in the world because of its length and demanding course.
[5]
The most successful rider with five victories is Belgian rider
Eddy Merckx
, trailed by Italian
Moreno Argentin
in the 1980s and Spaniard
Alejandro Valverde
in the 2000s, who both won the race four times.
[6]
Liege?Bastogne?Liege is part of the
UCI World Tour
competition. It is the concluding race of the
Ardennes Classics
series, which includes the
Amstel Gold Race
(not technically in the Ardennes, but treated as part of the series) and
La Fleche Wallonne
('The Walloon Arrow'). Both Liege and La Fleche are organised by French owner
Amaury Sport Organisation
, which also organises the
Tour de France
and
Paris?Roubaix
.
It generally marks the end of the entire spring classics season, as the one-day races give way to the stage races and grand tours; Liege is generally followed almost immediately by the week-long Giro d'Italia warm-up, the
Tour de Romandie
. The parcours, with its multiple short, hard climbs, is seen as friendlier terrain for general classification riders and climbers than the gravelled and cobbled classics of early spring.
In 2017, the
Liege?Bastogne?Liege Femmes
was inaugurated and added to the
UCI Women's World Tour
,
[7]
[8]
becoming the second of the
cycling monuments
to introduce a women's edition after the
Tour of Flanders
in 2014. In 2020 a third women's 'monument',
Paris-Roubaix Femmes
was added, creating a triple crown of women's monuments.
History
[
edit
]
Spa-Bastogne-Spa
[
edit
]
Like many of cycling's classics, Liege?Bastogne?Liege was first organized by a
French-Belgian
newspaper (
L'Express
). The route has always stayed in the southern, French-speaking (and hillier), part of Belgium where Liege and Bastogne are located.
[9]
The race had its first running for amateurs in 1892, from
Spa
to
Bastogne
and back, over a 250 km distance.
[2]
As bicycles were expensive in the late 19th century, cycling was considered an exclusive sport for the wealthy, and the event was considered a "gentlemen's affair". 33 riders from the
Liege cycling union
and the
Pesant Club Liegois
, all Belgians and most of them from Liege, took the start. Only 17 finished. The course halfway turn point was the train station in Bastogne, chosen because of its convenience for race officials. Some tired riders abandoned the race in Bastogne and took the train back to Spa.
[9]
Leon Houa
, a Liege native, won the race after 10 hours and 48 minutes on the bike. The second-place finisher, Leon Lhoest, came in at 22 minutes, the third, Louis Rasquinet, at 44 minutes.
[10]
Riders kept arriving for another five hours.
Houa won again the next year, over the same course, this time by a margin of a half hour. In 1894 the first race for professionals was held, and the average speed rose from 23.3 km/h (14.5 mph) to 25 km/h (16 mph). Houa concluded his third win, by seven minutes over Rasquinet. Frenchman
Maurice Garin
, who would later become the first winner of the
Tour de France
, finished fourth. After the inaugural three editions, the race was not organized for another 14 years, after which it was sometimes open only to amateurs and semi-professionals.
The race was resumed in 1908, with a start and finish in Liege for the first time. It was won by Frenchman
Andre Trousselier
. In 1909 the winner,
Eugene Charlier
, was disqualified because he had changed bikes.
Victor Fastre
was declared winner.
[10]
The event was cancelled during World War I but resumed in 1919. The race was mainly won by Belgians, but started to attract more riders from
Flanders
, the bike-crazed northern part of Belgium, who began to dominate the event. Fleming
Alfons Schepers
gained three victories in the
Interwar period
.
Ardennes Classic
[
edit
]
Liege?Bastogne?Liege had some interruptions during World War II, but was again a calendar-fixture as from 1945 and began to attract some of the stars of European cycling. In 1951 the race was added to the
Challenge Desgrange-Colombo
, the competition that combined cycling's greatest races at the time. Swiss
Ferdinand Kubler
won the race in 1951 and 1952. Belgian favourite
Raymond Impanis
became the race's eternal runner-up, with four second places but never a victory.
In the late 1950s
Fred De Bruyne
won the race three times in his first three participations, equalling the former record of
Houa
and
Schepers
. In 1957 two riders were declared winner.
Germain Derijcke
was first over the finish line, but he had crossed a closed
level crossing
. Derijcke had won by a three-minute lead and judges felt he had not gained that much time from illegally crossing the railway, thereby not disqualifying him. Officials compromised to promote second-place rider
Frans Schoubben
to first as well.
[11]
In 1959 Liege?Bastogne?Liege became part of the
Super Prestige
, successor of the Desgrange-Colombo competition and early precursor of the
UCI World Tour
, making the
Ardennes Classic
one of the main cycling events of the year.
In
1969
began the era of cycling icon
Eddy Merckx
, who gained five victories, three of which consecutive, and a total of seven podium finishes. The
1971 race
was run in appalling conditions, with snow and cold ravaging the peloton. Merckx gained one of his most memorable victories. The Belgian attacked in solo at 92 kilometers from the finish and soon had a five-minute advantage over his pursuiters. In a rare display, he suffered a sudden fatigue near the end and was joined by
Georges Pintens
. Pintens failed to distance a tired Merckx, and Merckx managed to outsprint his fellow Belgian to his second victory in the classic.
[12]
[13]
In 1972 the finish moved to
Verviers
, 15 km from Liege, but because of fans' protest, this was a one-year occasion. The edition was again won by Merckx. In 1975
The Cannibal
sealed his fifth and final victory, making him the sole record-holder of
La Doyenne
.
French cycling great,
Bernard Hinault
won the race twice, both times in harrowing weather conditions. In
1977
Hinault made a late escape from a six-strong group including a faltering Eddy Merckx; three years later he won the epic
contest of 1980
in torrential snowfall and glacial temperatures (see below).
[14]
In the 1980s, Italian
classics
specialist
Moreno Argentin
won the race four times, narrowly missing Merckx' record. Argentin also gained three victories in the sister classic
La Fleche Wallonne
, earning him the title of
King of the Ardennes
in his day.
Finish in Ans
[
edit
]
In 1990, the
Pesant Club Liegeois
partnered with the
Societe du Tour de France
, the organizer of cycling's flagships the
Tour de France
and
Paris?Roubaix
.
[15]
The partnership led to a more professional organization, resulting in a complete overhauling of the race course: the start and finish moved to different locations in Liege and five new climbs were included.
[16]
In the late 1990s, Italians
Michele Bartoli
and
Paolo Bettini
continued a tradition of Italian victories in La Doyenne, with two wins each. In
1997
, Bartoli and
Laurent Jalabert
made a decisive breakaway on the climb of
La Redoute
, 40 km from the finish. Both riders worked together and Bartoli broke away from the Frenchman on the steep slopes in the final kilometer of the race. Jalabert, a specialist of the Ardennes races, finished second two years in a row but failed to win the
Doyenne
. In
1999
, Bartoli sought a third consecutive win, but his effort was thwarted by young Belgian
Frank Vandenbroucke
who controlled the race and stunned followers with his victory.
[17]
In
2005
, Kazakh
Alexander Vinokourov
and German
Jens Voigt
broke away from the peloton 80 km from the end. Although the escape seemed unlikely to stay away in modern cycling, the two riders made it to the finish ahead of the peloton, with Vinokourov beating Voigt in the sprint.
[18]
[19]
Other memorable editions were the races of 2009 and 2010. In
2009
, young
Luxembourger
Andy Schleck
produced a solo breakaway to beat a strong field and win the race.
[20]
In
2010
, Alexander Vinokourov concluded his second victory by outsprinting his breakaway companion
Alexander Kolobnev
.
[21]
The victory was controversial, not only because Vinokourov had recently returned to cycling after a doping ban, but also because it was suggested he had 'bought' the victory. Swiss magazine
L'Illustre
published e-mail correspondence between the winner and runner-up that suggests Vinokourov paid Kolobnev €100,000 not to contest the final sprint. Both riders were later charged with bribery by Belgian authorities.
[22]
[23]
In recent years, Spanish allrounder
Alejandro Valverde
won four times, all sprint victories of a select group at the finish.
[6]
[24]
Route
[
edit
]
Present course
[
edit
]
The route of Liege?Bastogne?Liege crosses the two eastern
Walloon
provinces,
Liege
and
Luxembourg
, from north to south and back. Its distance is more or less fixed at 250?260 km. The race starts in the center of
Liege
, after which the course follows a straightforward 95 km (59 mi) route southwards to
Bastogne
, and a winding 163 km (101 mi) route back to Liege.
The second half of the course contains numerous climbs, such as the Stockeu, Haute-Levee,
La Redoute
, and the Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons, before finishing in Liege. In the final 15 km of the race, the course makes a remarkable transition from the meadowy and agrarian landscapes in the Ardennes to the post-industrial urban scenery of Liege.
Course changes
[
edit
]
Until 1991, the race finished in Liege's city center. In 1992, the finish moved to the industrial suburb of
Ans
, on the northwestern side of the city. The steep
Cote de Saint-Nicolas
was included in the final kilometres, along with a final climb to the finish in
Ans
.
[25]
The move implied profound changes to the character of the race, as climbers with a strong uphill-sprint in recent years often wait until the final stretches to launch their ultimate attack.
The route usually has some minor changes every year, with some climbs skipped and others added, but the traditional finale containing the
Cote de La Redoute
,
Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons
and
Cote de Saint-Nicolas
was a fixture for 27 years.
[N 2]
In 2019, the finish line moved back into the centre of Liege, with a flat run-in towards the finish. Both the Cote de Saint-Nicolas and the final climb to Ans were thereby removed from the route. The Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons is the final named climb, topping out at 13 km from the finish
[26]
but the climbing continues after a short descent off of La Roche, with the final uphill topping out approximately 10.5 km from the finish line.
[27]
Race characteristics
[
edit
]
Demands
[
edit
]
Liege?Bastogne?Liege is considered one of the most arduous one-day races in the world because of its length and succession of steep climbs. Every edition, about a dozen climbs ? ranging in length, gradient and difficulty ? are addressed, offering opportunities to attack.
The British magazine
Cycling Weekly
stated:
- In purely physical terms, this is probably the toughest classic: the climbs are long, most of them are pretty steep as well, and they come up with depressing frequency in the final kilometres.
[2]
Four-times winner
Moreno Argentin
said:
- Riders who win in Liege are what we call
fondisti
? men with a superior level of stamina. [The climb of] La Redoute is like the
Mur de Huy
in that it has to be tackled at pace, from the front of the peloton. The gradient is about 14 or 15 per cent, and it comes after 220 or 230 kilometers, so you don't have to be a genius to work out how tough it is. I remember that we used to go up with a maximum of 39 x 21 ? it's not quite as steep as the Mur de Huy. A lot of riders mistakenly think you should attack on the hardest part, but in reality you hurt people on the slightly flatter section that comes after this.
- Liege is a race of trial by elimination, where it's very unlikely that a breakaway can go clear and decide the race before the final 100 km [62 mi]. You need to be strong and at the same time clever and calculating ? in this sense it's a complete test of a cyclist's ability.
[28]
Climbs
[
edit
]
The most iconic hill is the
Cote de La Redoute
, the 2.0 km climb in
Aywaille
at an average gradient of 8.9% with slopes of over 20%. For a long time in the 1980s and 1990s La Redoute, at ca. 40 km from the finish, was the breaking point of the race and often the place where decisive breakaways were launched. In recent years the climb seems to have lost that particular role, as many riders are able to keep up with the pace on the climb and race favourites often wait until the last stages of the race to make a break.
In modern cycling, as in many bike races, the decisive stretches have evolved towards the final climbs of the day. The
Cote de Saint-Nicolas
is the last categorized climb of the race, with the top at 6 km from the finish in Ans. It is a precipitous and atypical climb because it is not part of the forested hills in the
Ardennes
, but located in the middle of the industrial suburbs of Liege along the
Meuse
river. In
2016
, the organisers inserted the 600 m cobbled Cote de la Rue Naniot following the Cote de Saint-Nicolas, but preceding the finish in Ans. This turned out to be a one-off, however, as the race has not used the climb since.
Since the finish returned to Liege in
2019
, the Cote de Saint-Nicolas has been removed from the route, and the decisive climbs are once again the Cote de la Redoute, Cote des Forges and Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons.
Course changes are frequent from year to year. Climbs are sometimes cut or others included. These are the climbs in recent editions:
[29]
Climbs of the
2019 Liege?Bastogne?Liege
km mark
|
Name
|
Distance
|
Slope
|
75.0
|
Cote de la Roche-en-Ardenne
|
2.8 km
|
6.2%
|
121.0
|
Cote de Saint-Roch
|
1.0 km
|
11.2%
|
161.0
|
Cote de Mont-le-Soie
|
1.7 km
|
7.9%
|
169.5
|
Cote de Wanne
|
3.6 km
|
5.1%
|
176.0
|
Cote de Stockeu
|
1.0 km
|
12.5%
|
181.5
|
Cote de la Haute-Levee
|
3.6 km
|
5.6%
|
194.5
|
Cote du Rosier
|
4.4 km
|
5.9%
|
207.0
|
Col du Maquisard
|
2.5 km
|
5.0%
|
219.0
|
Cote de la Redoute
|
2.0 km
|
8.9%
|
231.0
|
Cote des Forges
|
1.3 km
|
7.8%
|
241.0
|
Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons
|
1.3 km
|
11.0%
|
Weather
[
edit
]
The weather in April is often unpredictable and the race has repeatedly been affected by harsh weather conditions. In 1919, 1957, 1980, and 2016 there was severe snowfall. The edition of 1980 was exceptionally hard: snow fell from the start and temperatures were near freezing point, leading commentators to call it
'Neige-Bastogne-Neige'
(Snow-Bastogne-Snow).
Bernard Hinault
attacked with 80 km (50 mi) to go and finished nearly 10 minutes ahead.
A feature published by the British magazine,
Procycling
in 2000, described the infamous race:
- A cold wind that blew across Belgium brought snow flakes and then a heavy fall within moments of the race starting. (...) Riders struggled on, with hands to faces to keep a view of the road. The race was an anonymous mass of plastic jackets and windcheaters. Spectators stood in goggles like upmarket snowmen, red-faced in the bitterness. Within the hour some teams had barely a man left on the road. They pulled out two dozen at a time, men like
Gibi Baronchelli
and
Giuseppe Saronni
,
Lucien Van Impe
and
Jean-Rene Bernaudeau
.
[11]
Bernard Hinault, the winner, was one of just 21 riders to finish the race of 174 starters. It took three weeks for proper movement to return to two fingers of his right hand.
[11]
Ardennes Classics
[
edit
]
Liege?Bastogne?Liege is the concluding race of the
Ardennes Classics
series, which includes
La Fleche Wallonne
. Both are organised by
ASO
.
The Fleche Wallonne ("Walloon Arrow"), although younger than Liege?Bastogne?Liege, was longtime considered the more prestigious event of the two Ardennes Classics, showing how prestige and importance of a race can sometimes change over time. At one time, Fleche Wallonne and Liege?Bastogne?Liege were run on successive days known as
Le Weekend Ardennais
, with Liege?Bastogne?Liege organized on Saturday and the Fleche Wallonne on Sunday.
Only seven riders have won both races in the same year:
Spaniard
Alejandro Valverde
three times (2006, 2015 and 2017),
Swiss
Ferdinand Kubler
twice (in 1951 and 1952),
Belgians
Stan Ockers
(1955),
Eddy Merckx
(1972), and
Philippe Gilbert
(2011) and
Italians
Moreno Argentin
(1991) and
Davide Rebellin
(2004).
In
2011
Belgian
Philippe Gilbert
won Liege?Bastogne?Liege, completing a unique streak of classics victories in a span of ten days. Gilbert had previously won the
Brabantse Pijl
,
Amstel Gold Race
and
La Fleche Wallonne
, thus achieving a historic
quadruple
of victories in the hilly classics of April. Gilbert beat
Luxembourg
brothers
Franck
and
Andy Schleck
in a sprint of three.
[30]
Winners
[
edit
]
Multiple winners
[
edit
]
Active riders are in italic
.
Wins
|
Rider
|
Years
|
5
|
Eddy Merckx
(
BEL
)
|
1969
,
1971
,
1972
,
1973
,
1975
|
4
|
Moreno Argentin
(
ITA
)
|
1985
,
1986
,
1987
,
1991
|
Alejandro Valverde
(
ESP
)
|
2006
,
2008
,
2015
,
2017
|
3
|
Leon Houa
(
BEL
)
|
1892
,
1893
,
1894
|
Alphonse Schepers
(
BEL
)
|
1929
,
1931
,
1935
|
Fred De Bruyne
(
BEL
)
|
1956
,
1958
,
1959
|
2
|
Louis Mottiat
(
BEL
)
|
1921
,
1922
|
Rene Vermandel
(
BEL
)
|
1923
,
1924
|
Richard Depoorter
(
BEL
)
|
1943
,
1947
|
Prosper Depredomme
(
BEL
)
|
1946
,
1950
|
Ferdinand Kubler
(
SUI
)
|
1951
,
1952
|
Joseph Bruyere
(
BEL
)
|
1976
,
1978
|
Bernard Hinault
(
FRA
)
|
1977
,
1980
|
Sean Kelly
(
IRL
)
|
1984
,
1989
|
Michele Bartoli
(
ITA
)
|
1997
,
1998
|
Paolo Bettini
(
ITA
)
|
2000
,
2002
|
Alexander Vinokourov
(
KAZ
)
|
2005
,
2010
|
Remco Evenepoel
(
BEL
)
|
2022
,
2023
|
Tadej Poga?ar
(
SLO
)
|
2021
,
2024
|
Wins per country
[
edit
]
Liege?Bastogne?Liege Femmes
[
edit
]
In 2017, Liege?Bastogne?Liege Femmes in the
UCI Women's World Tour
was inaugurated, following the example of
La Fleche Wallonne Feminine
and
Women's Amstel Gold Race
.
[31]
The first Liege?Bastogne?Liege Femmes, run on 23 April 2017, was won by Olympic champion
Anna van der Breggen
of the Netherlands.
[32]
At 135.5 km, the race is approximately half the distance of the men's event. Hence, it does not start in
Liege
but in
Bastogne
, from where it heads north past Liege to finish in
Ans
on the same location as the men's race. The route features four categorized climbs: the Cote de la Vecquee,
Cote de La Redoute
, Cote de la Roche aux faucons and
Cote de Saint-Nicolas
. The top of the last climb of Saint-Nicolas comes at 5.5 km from the finish.
[33]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Doyenne
is the female form of
doyen
, a French word literally meaning "dean". In its metaphorical meaning it denotes the most respected or prominent person in a particular field, usually the most senior person. Hence,
la doyenne
[la
dwa.j?n]
roughly translates as "the oldest, most respected lady".
- ^
Because of the composition of its immigrant population, and the many Italian flags hanging out the windows, Saint-Nicolas is nicknamed the "Italian hill".
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Tour de France 2015"
. Archived from
the original
on 2005-11-08
. Retrieved
2011-02-26
.
- ^
a
b
c
Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993
- ^
Cycling Weekly, UK, 7 March 1992
- ^
The title "monument" has no official significance; it was first used by French daily
L'Equipe
, to indicate a race's unchanging place on the calendar but the term has become more widespread because of television commentaries, especially in the USA
- ^
"Spring Classics: How to win cycling's hardest one-day races"
. BBC Sport
. Retrieved
27 March
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Alejandro Valverde takes Liege-Bastogne-Liege"
.
velonews.com
. Retrieved
3 October
2016
.
- ^
"UCI announce 2017 Women's WorldTour calendar"
.
Cyclingnews.com
. 15 October 2016
. Retrieved
17 October
2016
.
- ^
"UCI unveils 2017 Women's WorldTour"
.
VeloNews
. 15 October 2016
. Retrieved
17 October
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 April 2002
- ^
a
b
"Liege?Bastogne?Liege"
. Bike Race Info
. Retrieved
22 April
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
Procycling, UK, May 2000
- ^
Bouvet, Philippe (2007), De Klassiekers, Lannoo, Belgium,
ISBN
978-90-811691-10
, p25
- ^
"1971 Liege-Bastogne-Liege"
.
bikeraceinfo.com
.
- ^
"Liege?Bastogne?Liege's cold memories"
.
Cyclingnews.com
. Retrieved
2008-04-24
.
- ^
"Liege favorite du Tour 2004"
.
lesoir.be
. 20 April 2002
. Retrieved
27 February
2012
.
- ^
Fabien, Wille (2003).
Le Tour de France : un modele mediatique
. Presses universitaires du Septentrion.
ISBN
2-85939-797-3
.
- ^
"presents the Luik-Bastenaken-Luik 1999"
.
cyclingnews.com
.
- ^
Hedwig Kroner (24 April 2005).
"Vino the Vainqueur"
.
Cycling News
. Retrieved
23 August
2011
.
- ^
"sporza video: 2005: Aleksander Vinokoerov"
.
sporza
. Archived from
the original
on 2016-08-07
. Retrieved
2015-05-26
.
- ^
"Schleck takes impressive Liege win"
. BBC Sport. 2009-04-26.
Archived
from the original on April 28, 2009
. Retrieved
2009-04-26
.
- ^
MacLeary, John (2010-04-25).
"Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2010: Alexander Vinokourov back on summit with Belgian win"
.
The Daily Telegraph
.
Archived
from the original on 30 April 2010
. Retrieved
2010-04-26
.
- ^
"Archives ? L'illustre"
.
illustre.ch
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-01-07.
- ^
"Vinokourov and Kolobnev charged with bribery"
.
VeloNews.com
.
- ^
"Valverde wins Liege?Bastogne?Liege"
.
cyclingnews.com
. Immediate Media Company. 23 April 2017
. Retrieved
23 April
2017
.
- ^
"Liege?Bastogne?Liege change de visage, delaisse Stockeu et aborde de nouvelles cotes"
. 24 February 1990.
- ^
"2019 Liege-Bastogne-Liege features city centre finale and return of Stockeu"
.
cyclingnews.com
. Immediate Media Company. 22 January 2019
. Retrieved
8 March
2019
.
- ^
"Official Race Website"
.
liege-bastogne-liege.be
. ASO
. Retrieved
28 April
2024
.
- ^
Procycling, UK, March 2001
- ^
"The Race ? Liege > Liege ? Liege Bastogne Liege 2019"
. letour.com
. Retrieved
27 April
2009
.
- ^
Brecht Decaluwe (24 April 2011).
"Gilbert nets historic quadruple in Liege?Bastogne?Liege"
.
Cyclingnews.com
.
- ^
"Women's teams gear up for historic first Ardennes triple New Amstel Gold and Liege?Bastogne?Liege races bring fresh spark to the Classics"
.
CyclingNews
. 13 April 2017
. Retrieved
14 April
2018
.
- ^
"Van der Breggen wins the first ever Liege-Bastogne-Liege Femmes"
.
cyclingnews.com
.
Immediate Media Company
. 23 April 2017
. Retrieved
23 April
2017
.
- ^
"A.S.O. a devoile aujourd'hui les parcours de La Fleche Wallonne et de Liege?Bastogne?Liege version feminine, Van Der Breggen se rapproche de Marianne Vos"
.
velo101.com
(in French)
. Retrieved
14 April
2018
.
External links
[
edit
]
Liege?Bastogne?Liege
|
---|
Men's races
| |
---|
Women's races
| |
---|
|
---|
Culture
| General
| |
---|
Education
| |
---|
History
| |
---|
| |
---|
Geography
| Geology & Hydrology
| |
---|
Region / Urban area
| |
---|
Neighbourhoods
| |
---|
|
---|
Politics
| |
---|
Sports
| |
---|
Transportation
| |
---|
|