| DOPING? Pintens Awarded the Victory
SPECIAL NOTE: the finish line for the 1974 Liege-Bastogne-Liege was moved from the aging Stade Velodrome de Rocourt to the Boulevard de la Sauveniere in the center of Liège.
SPECIAL NOTE: the organizers added the famous (or infamous?) climb of the brutal Cote de la Redoute. The climb is 2 km long with an average grade on 8.9% (12% on the final pitch).
Illness prevented three time defending champion Eddy Merckx from racing in 1974. George Pintens (MIC-Ludo-De Gribaldy), second to Merckx in 1971, broke away with Ronny de Witte (Carpenter–Confortluxe–Flandria).
George Pintens
The duo rode into Liege with a 2 minute lead. Not known for his sprint, Pintens started the charge to the finish. De Witte easily came around Pintens for the apparent LBL victory. However, after a disqualification for doping George Pintens was awarded the L-B-L victory.
SPECIAL NOTE: there were two additional disqualifications for doping. De Witte's teammate Wilfred David (5th place) and Peugeot-BP’s Raymond Delisle (7th place).
| L-B-L April 21, 1974 |
| 246 Km |
1. George PINTENS (Bel) 6h23'00" |
2. Walter Planckaert (Bel) +2'00" |
3. No third place was awarded |
Starters: 150 |
Finishers: 65 |
Average Speed: 37.870 km/h |
L-B-L 1973
L-B-L 1975
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60th Liege-Bastogne-Liege 1974 (Belgium)
