Liege-Bastogne-Liege
La Doyenne

“La Doyenne”, The Old Lady, is the nickname of this oldest of all the classics which was first raced in 1892. Like the Ronde Van Vlaanderen this race is greatly coveted by the Belgian riders who have succeeded in keeping the race a dominantly home affair. Anyone familiar with the story of the WWII “Battle of the Bulge” will know that the road between Liege and Bastogne passes through the Ardennes forest region which is riddled with very long leg-sapping climbs. The spring weather can be brutal in this region and perhaps one of the most famous victories was that of Frenchman Bernard Hinault in the snow of 1980. Only 21 riders (from 174 starters) finished that day. Hinault rode the final 80kms (50 miles) alone through a raging blizzard to win by 9min. 24secs.

In common with the other ‘monuments' the L-B-L includes legendary stretches of road that evoke memories of numerous epic battles; the Stockeu, Haute-Levee, La Redoute, Saint-Nicolas and the Col de Forges. The sting in the tail is the interminable climb to the finish in Ans in the suburbs of Liège. The record for the most wins belongs to Eddy Merck with an incredible five victories. A statue honoring the great man has been erected at the top of the Stockeu climb.

The run down to Bastogne typically only includes two named Cotes (hills) whereas the return journey packs in ten of them. Due to it's place in the calendar this gruelling course is seen as a great test for the upcoming Giro d'Italia. Consequently Italian riders will often feature in the final showdown and their top man is the great Moreno Argentin who claimed four victories.

A fascinating feature of this race is that there is no specific profile of rider that dominates the winner's podium. In 1961 one of the greatest ever road-man sprinters, Rik Van Looy, claimed the winners laurels. A few years later in 1966 Jacques Anquetil, who was as different as you could get from Van Looy, won the race. Anquetil was a five time TdF winner and time triallist whereas Van Looy revelled in mass bunch sprints.

In recent years Belgium has been losing its grip on this race with the last home winner being Frank Vandenbroucke in 1999. With the globalisation of the sport it might be expected that these great races would start to see fewer home grown winners. However Belgium 's other great ‘monument', the Ronde seems to be resisting the trend having had five Belgian winners since 1999.

Return to ToC >>>