Image 1 of 52 The BMC squad of defending Liege-Bastogne-Liege champion Philippe Gilbert on the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 2 of 52 Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 3 of 52 2011 Liege-Bastogne-Liege podium finisher Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) on the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 4 of 52 US-based Pro Continental squad Team Type 1-Sanofi were one of the wildcard invites to Liege-Bastogne-Liege. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 5 of 52 Jerome Pineau (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 6 of 52 Brice Feillu (Saur-Sojasun) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 7 of 52 Vincenzo NIbali and his Liquigas-Cannondale teammates check out the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 8 of 52 Amstel Gold Race champion Enrico Gasparotto (Astana) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 9 of 52 Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) leads his teammates up the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 10 of 52 Italian champion Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) doesn't seem too bothered by the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 11 of 52 Christophe Le Mevel (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 12 of 52 Katusha riders preview the Liege-Bastogne-Liege route on Friday. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 13 of 52 FDJ-Big Mat riders preview the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 14 of 52 The orange armada of Euskaltel-Euskadi should find the hilly terrain to their liking. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 15 of 52 AG2R La Mondial riders preview the Liege-Bastogne-Liege route. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 16 of 52 Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi) checks in with his directeur sportif. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 17 of 52 Riders enjoyed good weather during their LIege-Bastogne-Liege recon on Friday. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 18 of 52 Chris Horner (RadioShack-Nissan), smiling as usual on the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 19 of 52 2009 Liege-Bastogne-Liege champion Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 20 of 52 Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 21 of 52 Rubens Bertogliati, right, leads his Team Type 1-Sanofi teammates up the La Redoute climb. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 22 of 52 The Lampre-ISD team checks out the Liege-Bastogne-Liege parcours. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 23 of 52 Fans of Wout Poels have been busy on the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 24 of 52 Belgium's Lotto Belisol team will look for a good result in the final Spring Classic of the 2012 season. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 25 of 52 The BMC team rolls up the Côte de La Redoute climb. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 26 of 52 Japanese champion Fumiyuki Beppu (GreenEdge) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 27 of 52 Danish champion Nicki Sørensen (Saxo Bank) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 28 of 52 A plaque on the La Redoute climb commemorating the 100th anniversaray of Liege-Bastogne-Liege. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 29 of 52 Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 30 of 52 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) recons the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 31 of 52 France's Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) will seek a good results on Sunday. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 32 of 52 The Lampre-ISD team ascends the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 33 of 52 Lotto Belisol riders check out the key La Redoute climb on the Liege-Bastogne-Liege parcours. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 34 of 52 Defending Liege-Bastogne-Liege champion Philippe Gilbert makes his way up the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 35 of 52 Philippe Gilbert and his BMC teammates climb the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 36 of 52 Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC) will seek his second straight Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory on Sunday. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 37 of 52 Australia's GreenEdge team ascends La Redoute on a Friday recon ride. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 38 of 52 The GreenEdge squad recons the Côte de La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 39 of 52 Danish champion Nicki Sørensen and two Saxo Bank teammates climb Côte de La Redoute (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 40 of 52 Oscar Freire, right, will be part of a strong Katusha team for Liege-Bastogne-Liege. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 41 of 52 The Philippe Gilbert fan club has been busy at work for the defending Liege-Bastogne-Liege champion. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 42 of 52 Plenty of love for Philippe Gilbert on the steep pitch of La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 43 of 52 Crowd barriers in place on the La Redoute climb. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 44 of 52 The route markers are up for Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 45 of 52 Spanish champion Jose Joaquin Rojas climbs La Redoute with his Movistar teammates. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 46 of 52 Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) will seek a third Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory on Sunday. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 47 of 52 The hilly Liege-Bastogne-Liege terrain should play to the strengths of Daniel Martin (Garmin-Barracuda). (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 48 of 52 Fabian Wegmann (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 49 of 52 Sébastien Rosseler (Garmin-Barracuda) (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 50 of 52 Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) is a heavy favourite to win the 2012 edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 51 of 52 Katusha's Daniel Moreno, Joaquim Rodriguez and Angel Vicioso climb La Redoute. (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 52 of 52 The Côte de La Redoute is prepped with crowd retention barriers. (Image credit: Sirotti) As the clock ticks down to the start of Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, riders took the opportunity to preview the parcours today and familiarise (or re-familiarise) themselves with the challenging, hilly route of the 2012 season's final Spring Classic.
Eleven categorised climbs are included in the 257.5km route, with the final nine placed in the last 100km. The narrow, steeply pitched Côte de La Redoute, situated 34.5km from the finish in Ans, is a frequent launch pad for winning moves in La Doyenne and teams made sure their riders were well acquainted with the climb during Friday's course preview.
The teams were able to ride the latter portions of the route in relative calm under sunny skies, but the crowd barriers already in place will be put to good use on Sunday as the parcours will be full of spectators eager to see who will be crowned the 2012 Liège-Bastogne-Liège champion.
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