Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the last of this year’s spring Classics, will be held on Sunday (22).
First staged in 1892, and known as La Doyenne, this Sunday’s 98th edition will take the riders across a grueling parcours of 257.5km from the Belgian city of Liege to Bastogne, and back to Liege.
The route is famed for a series of punishing climbs, most of which occur in its latter stages; short steep ramps on which the hardmen of the Classics compete with the Grand Tour climbing specialists (Andy Schleck won the race in 2009; Philippe Gilbert was last year’s victor).
Liege-Bastogne-Liege is one of five ‘Monuments’ of the professional cycling calendar (with Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and the Tour of Lombardy) and victory is cherished addition to even the most decorated palmares.
Heading south from Liege into Luxembourg, the riders encounter the first significant climb at 70 kilometres in the shape of the Cote de La Roche-en-Ardenne, a ramp of nearly 3km with a gradient climbing to 6.2 per cent.
But it isn’t until the closing stages of the race that the hills appear with draining regularity. Having raced for more than 160km, the riders will still face eight climbs, including the Col du Rosier, the Côte de la Redoute, and the final Cote de Saint-Nicolas before the descent into Ans.
Defending champion, Philippe Gilbert, will spearhead the efforts of BMC Racing. The Belgian national champion was sixth last week at the Amstel Gold Race and third yesterday (18) at the La Fleche Wallonne. Last year’s world number one has played down his chances for Sunday’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege, but believes Belgium’s spring climate may provide an advantage. “I think that the weather plays into my favor. I can stand the cold, maybe more than the Italian or Spanish riders. So that can be an advantage for me,” he said.
The Belgian Omega Pharma-QuickStep squad, dominant in the northern Classics, will field RCUK columnist, Matt Brammeier, road and time trial champion of Ireland, in an eight-man squad that includes the winner of this year’s Three Days of De Panne, Sylvain Chavenel.
Directeur sportif, Davide Bramati, said: “The team can also count on Chavanel to come back to competition after Amstel Gold Race. He took a period of rest, didn’t ride La Flèche Wallonne, and is ready. Brammeier, Pauwels and Cataldo are in good condition. Cataldo and Pauwels both have been doing some altitude training, so we hope they can be very prepared for this race.”
The Schleck brothers will do their best to erase the disappointment of last year when they were outsprinted by Philippe Gilbert in sight of the finish line despite holding a numerical advantaged over the Belgian in a three-man breakaway. Andy won the race, which passes through the brothers’ native Luxembourg, in 2009.
Team Sky will field a strong climbing squad headed by Rigoberto Uran, fifth in last year’s LBL, and fifth overall at this year’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege, with the inform Lars Petter Nordhaug, who rode strongly at the Amstel Gold Race and La Fleche Wallonne, as well as British neo pro, Luke Rowe.
All eighteen WorldTour teams will contest the race, with Thomas Voeckler’s Europcar squad among the seven wild card entries handed to UCI Pro Continental teams.
