Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2023

Liège-Bastogne-Liège will have its 109th edition on April 23. It is the oldest Classic on the calendar. Known as La Doyenne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège closes out the Ardennes Classics with a last-man-standing war of attrition over 250km or more and 10 classified climbs in the rolling hills of eastern Belgium.

The climbs of the Saint-Roch, Wanne, Stockeu, La Redoute, and Roche-aux-Faucons are among those which pepper the route, making the race the toughest of Ardennes week.

From 1992 until 2019, Liège-Bastogne-Liège finished in the industrial suburb of Ans rather than in Liège with the last climb of the Côte de Saint-Nicolas just 5.5km from an uphill run-in to the finish line.

In 2019, the race finish returned to the centre of Liège now with the Côte de la Roche-Aux-Faucons the final climb with 13.3km to go.

The move hasn't turned the Monument into a sprinter's affair, however, with 2019's rainy edition won by Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) after a solo attack on the Roche-Aux-Faucons. In 2020, the race was held in late October after being postponed due the coronavirus pandemic. New world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quickstep) sparked the winning move on the final climb, and was followed by Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Marc Hirschi (Team Sunweb).

He dodged his way through the group and celebrated what he thought was a victory only to have Roglic continue through and pip him at the line. The jury later relegated the Frenchman for irregular sprinting to fifth, with Hirschi and Pogacar rounding out the podium behind Roglic.

The Côte de la Roche-Aux-Faucons played a key role again in 2021, when Pogačar sparked the winning move, then out-sprinted Alaphilippe and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ).

Then, in 2022, Remco Evenepoel (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) launched the winning move further out on the Côte de la Redoute with 29km to go and soloed in for victory. Quinten Hermans (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) topped Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) in the sprint for second.

Alaphilippe, the victim of a terrible crash on the descent from the Col du Rosier, ended the day in hospital. He was diagnosed with two broken ribs, a broken scapula and a punctured lung and spent the better part of three months out of competition, missing the Tour de France.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège winners

Liège-Bastogne-Liège is a maker of legends, and no male rider has won more than the biggest Belgian name in cycling, Eddy Merckx, who accumulated five titles in the race between 1969 and 1975.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), who retired in 2022, has four wins (2006, 2008, 2015, 2017) - equalling Moreno Argentin (1985, 1986, 1987, 1991) - and the most podium appearances in history with eight. His 2017 victory also made him the oldest winner of the race at 36 and 363 days.

No active rider has more than a single victory in the race, but that could change in 2023 with now-World Champion Remco Evenepoel an undoubted favourite for a repeat win.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège climbs

•     Côte de La Roche-en-Ardenne
•     Côte de Saint-Roch
•     Côte de Mont-le-Soie
•     Côte de Wanne
•     Stockeu
•     Côte de la Haute-Levée
•     Col du Rosier
•     Côte de Desnié
•     Côte de la Redoute
•     Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons