Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Spaniard Carlos Sastre, winner of the 2008 Tour de France, will compete in the 2010 Giro d'Italia.

Held in the Ardennes since 1892, "La Doyenne" ("the old one") is organized by ASO, owner and operator of the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix and other major events.

Andy Shleck times his attack to perfection on the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons and rides alone to victory in the 95th La Doyenne

Thus far, the 2009 Classics season has provided cycling fans plenty of drama and nail-biting finishes. Tom Boonen’s Paris-Roubaix winning escape on the Carrefour d l’Arbre cobbles, Sergei Ivanov’s cagey tactics in the final meters of the Amstel Gold Race and Davide Rebellin’s last-minute burst on the Mur de Huy stand out as key moments when the aggressor came out on top. Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège caps off the 2009 Classics season, and the question on everyone’s mind is whether tactics of attack will again prevail.

Luxembourger Frank Schleck has been cleared to start Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège after crashing hard at last week’s Amstel Gold Race. “I joined the boys for a ride down in Bastogne [today] and it’s the first day I have felt better,” Schleck said. “I have one more day to get better and I hope to make the best of it.”

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Frank Schleck, the victim of a nasty crash in the Amstel Gold Race, has been cleared to start Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Saxo Bank announced Thursday that the Luxembourg national champion will line up for Liège alongside his younger brother, Andy Schleck. The pair finished third and fourth last year, respectively. Schleck was a victim of a crash late in Amstel Gold Race on Sunday, prompting him to renounce Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, where Andy Schleck finished second to Davide Rebellin (Diquigiovanni).

There were a few surprises Friday as race organizers released the names of 25 squads that will start Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Flèche Wallonne next month in the Belgian Ardennes. The LPR team of Danilo Di Luca, winner of Liège in 2007, was left out along with Fuji-Servetto, the Spanish ProTour team. Wild-card teams include new Dutch squad Vacansoleil, the Diquigiovanni team of Davide Rebellin, Belgian teams Landbouwkrediet-Colnago and Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, Barloworld and Cervélo. Agritubel and Skil-Shimano are also both in.

Caisse d'Epargne's Alejandro Valverde gave his future Tour de France rivals an early reminder of his explosive climbing talents by winning his second Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic Sunday.

Cadel Evans' plans to go one better than his runner-up place at last year's Tour de France remain intact after what has proved to be an ultimately confidence-boosting week of bike racing. Yet on Sunday the 30-year-old Australian was left wondering about his form at the prestigious Liege-Bastogne-Liege one-day classic, where at least one of his yellow jersey rivals put his climbing potential on full display.

Italian Davide Rebellin conceded defeat to the "faster legs" of Spanish rival Alejandro Valverde after their thrilling battle for one of the most prestigious crowns in one-day cycling Sunday. A runner-up to Italian Danilo Di Luca last year and winner in 2006, Valverde left Rebellin struggling to match his pace when he capped the tough, 12-climb 261km epic with a winning sprint a few hundred meters from the finish line. Rebellin's victory here in 2004 rounded off a superb week in which he won the Amstel Gold Race and the Fleche Wallonne classics.

Graham Watson shares some images from the 2008 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which saw Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) take a second victory ahead of Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Frank Schleck (CSC).

A new climb with 20km to go lived up to expectations, breaking Liège-Bastogne-Liège wide open, but Alejandro Valverde relied on tactical savvy and his fiery finish-line punch to win La Doyenne for the second time in three years Sunday. After working into the decisive four-man move, Spain’s “Green Bullet” collaborated with Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) to fend off searing attacks from the Schleck brothers on the Saint-Nicolas climb with 5.5km to go only to relegate the Italian to bridesmaid status with his winning sprint.

The final round of the Ardennes Classics went off Sunday morning in Liège. VeloNews senior writer was at the start and sent in these images.

Coming into the 93rd Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the number of riders named as potential race favorites was almost overwhelming. Nearly a dozen men were believed to have a serious shot at winning the hilly classic on its demanding course that suits a variety of riders. In the end, the cadre of serious contenders proved to be a hindrance for all the favorites, except one — Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas). The Italian, who won the Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallone in 2005, completed a career triple of the Ardennes Classics by bridging across to a late attack by CSC’s Frank Schleck and then jumping away

“It’s the best one-day race in cycling.” American Chris Horner, who placed eighth at last year’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, says this weekend’s coming edition is the highlight of the season. But the Predictor-Lotto man’s assessment could just as easily come from world champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) or defending Liège champion Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne), or any of the 192 riders expected to start the 93rd edition of Liège Sunday, the final race of the spring classics season. “It’s a race almost any type of rider can win — a climber, a Tour rider, a time-trial

Discovery Channel rider Ivan Basso will skip Wednesday’s Flèche Wallone and Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège over growing pressure to boycott riders with links to the Operación Puerto doping investigation heats up again. The Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Tuesday that the decision comes following an agreement between Discovery Channel team officials and race organizer ASO, which runs the Tour de France as well as the two upcoming Ardennes classics. Both sides agreed it would be more pragmatic to keep the Italian out of the hilly spring classics to avoid a potentially

Damiano Cunego has marked two very clear goals for his 2007 racing. Cunego, who said he enjoyed “excellent” winter training, is motivated to have a strong run at the Giro d’Italia podium and shine in the spring classics. “Compared to 2006, it’s true there are less difficult stages but I don’t agree with those who said it’s less difficult,” Cunego told the Italian web page cicloweb.it. “It’s a balanced course with a few decisive days.” Cunego won the 2004 Giro in spectacular fashion, but suffered through media pressure and health issues in 2005 only to bounce back with a solid campaign last

Alejandro Valverde, whose fans sometimes call him Balaverde, the Green Bullet, added a second notch to his list of classics victories on Sunday in a riveting 92nd edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, raced on a splendidly sunny spring day. The verdict was always in doubt after repeated attacks in the finale failed to break up a 12-strong group that eventually contested a ragged sprint, which Valverde of Caisse d’Épargne-Illes Balears clearly won from the Italians Paolo Bettini of Quick Step-Innergetic and Damiano Cunego of Lampre-Fondital.

Since his break-through victory last Sunday at the Amstel Gold Race, FrankSchleck has seen his stock rise like a meteor. “He seems like a fragileguy,” his CSC team manager Bjarne Riis commented this week, “but he hasa huge resistance.”Schleck confirmed his good form on Wednesday at the Flèche Wallonne,where he was one of three riders, with CSC teammate Karsten Kroon and SamuelSanchez of Euskaltel, who finished at the top of the Mur de Huy just behindwinner Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d’Épargne-Illes Balears.In placing fourth at the Flèche, Schleck rode a smart race inview of the difficulties

A more aggressive, more exciting edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège resulted last year when the organizers restored the "Bermuda Triangle" to the Belgian classic’s 262kmn course. The series of three critical climbs — Côte de Wanne, Côte de Stockeu and Côte de la Haute-Levée — in the space of just 12km around the town of Stavelot split the peloton into shreds. Only 35 riders from the 180-strong pack emerged from the "triangle" with a chance of winning. As a result, none of the pre-race favorites had more than a couple of teammates to help them in the final 80km. This gave an opening for

After Tom Boonen rounded out the first half of the spring classics season by winning the GP Schelde near Antwerp on Wednesday, he said he was looking forward to some vacation time before building up toward a green-jersey bid at the Tour de France. While the current UCI ProTour leader (see standings below) puts up his feet by the pool at his home in Monte Carlo or in Spain’s Canary Islands, his co-leader at Quick Step-Innergetic, Paolo Bettini, will be coping with harsher weather (and the reality of racing) in the hills of the Netherlands and Belgium. This Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race, next

Alexandre Vinokourov’s road to the Tour de France won’t be going through Georgia this year. Vinokourov’s Liberty Seguros team isn’t making the trek next month for the Tour de Georgia, and Vinokourov – who won the final stage and the overall at the Vuelta a Castilla y León - will instead defend his title at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. “This year I am preparing everything for the Tour and we are planning to have no pressure before that,” Vinokourov told VeloNews in an interview this week. “I think I can return to the Tour podium.” The battling Kazakh – third overall in the 2003 Tour and fifth last

Alex Vinokourov’s exciting victory over Jens Voigt in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège not only ended the T-Mobile’s season-long losing streak, but also laid to rest the assumption that a long-range breakaway couldn’t succeed in this super-hilly classic. Vinokourov was not among the top favorites to win this 10th race of the UCI ProTour, but his rising form and savvy racing brain allowed him to take advantage of a race that was in flux after the trilogy of climbs that were restored to the 260km course.

A steady rain that started in Liège Saturday afternoon is forecast to return Sunday, which - combined with a 20-kph wind from the south - should make the Belgian super-classic even tougher than it already promises to be. The new 260km course has 10 major hills compared with eight last year, and the restoration of the Wanne-Stockeu-Haute-Levée trilogy of climbs has added meat to what was becoming a less demanding race. Even the hot race favorite, Italy’s Danilo Di Luca, seems to agree. The Italian, who is hoping to increase his UCI ProTour lead in this 10th race of the series, said Saturday:

The sun was shining from a clear blue sky Friday on the 260km course of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the 91st edition of which takes place on Sunday. It was almost like summer, with early tourists hiking the wooded trails of the Ardennes, anglers out in the trout streams, and cows lounging around their meadows of lush, green grass. But this sort of weather is unusual for Belgium, a country that on average has 203 days of rainfall a year, and only three days of what the locals call “excessive heat” — warmer than 30 degrees C (or 86 degrees F). It was great weather for the 25 teams that will contest

PHONAK HEARING SYSTEMS1. Tyler Hamilton (USA)2. Niki Aebersold (Swi)3. Oscar Camenzind (Swi)4. Martin Elmiger (Swi)5. Bert Grabsch (G)6. Gutierrez José Enrique (Sp)7. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Sp)8. Gregory Rast (Swi)T-MOBILE TEAM11. Steffen Wesemann (G)12. Mario Aerts (B)13. Giuseppe Guerini (I)14. Matthias Kessler (G)15. Klöden Andréas (G)16. Daniele Nardello (I)17. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz)18. Erik Zabel (G)LOTTO - DOMO21. Peter Van Petegem (B)22. Serge Baguet (B)23. Christophe Brandt (B)24. Thierry Marichal (B)25. Axel Merckx (B)27. Rik Verbrugghe (B)28. Piotr Wadecki (Pol)29. Glenn D'Hollander

There’s now little doubt that Gerolsteiner’s Italian wonder man Davide Rebellin is the man of the week, the man of the month, maybe even the man of the year. That seven-year gap between World Cup victories after the two he scored in August 1997 was more like a blockage than a drought. Suddenly, last Sunday in the Netherlands, the dam broke and in eight days Rebellin has simply swept away his opposition in a torrent of victories: Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) said he’s feeling strong and will be motivated to defend his title in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège race in Belgium. Since joining Phonak, the popular New Englander has been quietly building his form for July’s Tour de France. He narrowly missed victory in the final time trial at the Tour of the Basque Country in early April and worked himself into an early attack in Wednesday’s Flèche Wallone. “You maybe didn't see it on Wednesday, but I consider myself to be in good shape, maybe slightly below that of a year ago but not by much,” Hamilton told Belgian newspaper La

The sunshine that enveloped the green hills of the Ardennes Saturday evening augers well for the Italians who have arrived in force for Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Not only do they have the highest number of starters (44) and teams (six) for this World Cup race, but they have also delivered the race winner four times in the past seven years. Last year, of course, Tyler Hamilton broke their stranglehold with a brilliant solo victory ahead of two other non-Italians, Spaniard Iban Mayo of Euskaltel-Euskadi and Dutchman Michael Boogerd of Rabobank. Both Hamilton (race No. 1) and Boogerd (No.

The action was hot despite the cold and rain in Friday’s third stage of the Tour of Aragon in Spain. Constantino Zaballa (Saunier Duval) won a photo-finish, seven-up sprint against Oscar Laguna (Relax-Bodysol) as Denis Menchov (Illes Balears) retained the overall lead. Zaballa and Laguna were part of a seven-man break that peeled away from the main bunch over the final Category 3 climb about 25km from the finish line, and the chase was on. Illes Balears checked an early move that chugged away over the day’s main obstacles – two Cat. 1 climbs in the opening 90km. Menchov was part of the

Two-time Vuelta a España champion Alex Zülle, former world champion Oscar Carmenzind and two other pros were intentionally driven into a guard-rail by an angry motorist Thursday in Spain. Zülle, Carmenzind (both Phonak), compatriot Fabian Jeker (Saunier Duval) and Santos González (Phonak) were training near Alicante in southern Spain when an 84-year-old driver exchanged heated words with the pros and then forced them into a guard-rail with his vehicle, the EFE wire services reported. Jeker suffered a three-inch cut in his left thigh while Zülle was taken away in an ambulance, received five

The warm ties between Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx and Lance Armstrong appear to have hit a rough stretch following Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège World Cup race. Merckx, who won the Tour de France five times over a career that included three world titles, seven victories at Milan-San Remo and five wins at La Doyenne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, said that Armstrong may have "overestimated" his abilities. "He was supposed to sail to victory. To have listened to him, it was a formality and his rivals never even had a look in," said Merckx, in a story published in Tuesday's edition of

If Tyler Hamilton doesn’t achieve any thing else in his career — and he certainly will — his stunning victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday will always hold a special place in his heart. Shortly after winning the 89th edition of the world’s oldest classics (and one of the toughest) on a rainy afternoon in the green hills of the Belgian Ardennes, he made a cell-phone call to his wife Haven at their home in Gerona, Spain. “She just screamed,” Tyler reported. “She had just as hard a job as I did of believing what’s happened.”

Only four Tour de France winners have won Liège-Bastogne-Liège:Eddy Merckx (a record five times), Bernard Hinault and Ferdi Kubler (bothtwice), and Jacques Anquetil (once). Lance Armstrong would like to be the fifth. This Sunday will see the Texan on the start line at Liège foronly the fifth time in his career. Prior to his cancer diagnosis, he finishedsecond in 1994, sixth in 1995 and second again in 1996. He returned towhat is the world’s oldest bicycle classic (founded in 1894) only lastyear, when he finished 65th, 8:12 behind winner Paolo Bettini, after ridingthe 258.5km race in support

11:30 a.m. Good morning. Welcome to VeloNews.com’s coverage ofthe 2002 edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. For the first timeduring this year’s Ardennes classics, the weather is cooperating and 197starters left Liege under sunny and windless skies today… just about90 minutes ago. One race note for those of you checking out the startlist we've posted. The U.S. Postal team has made a last-minute changein their roster. Number 105 Floyd Landis is on his way home after findinghis recovery from crashes in Paris-Roubaix a little harder than expected.The roster now shows that 109 - David Zabriskie has

It seems the Italians have gotten it together. With a savvy one-two punch by Paolo Bettini and Stefano Garzelli of the Mapei-Quick Step machine at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, Italy, which struggled slightly in the World Cup and one-day classics last year, made a smashing return to the top on the back of the 5-foot 6-inch Italian powerhouse. Inspired by the Italian flags flying in Saint-Nicolas, a tough Italian-flavored neighborhood overlooking the ancient city of Liège, Bettini put the icing on the cake, joining his teammate Garzelli in an attack with less than 10km to go in the 258.5km

1892 HOUA (Bel) Amateur1893 HOUA (Bel) Amateur1894 HOUA (Bel) Amateur  [The route was Liège- Bastogne - Spa]1898 TROUSSELIER (Fra) Amateur1899 FASTRE (Bel) Amateur1911 VAN DAELE (Bel) Independent LEKEUX (Bel) Amateur1912 VERSCHOORE (Bel) ROSSIUS & GAUTHY (Bel) Independent1913 MORITZ (Bel) Independent1919 DEVOS (Bel)1920 SCIEUR (Bel)1921 MOTTIAT (Bel)1922 MOTTIAT (Bel)1923 VERMANDEL (Bel)1924 VERMANDEL (Bel)1925 RONSSE (Bel) Independent1926 SMETS (Bel) Independent1927 RAES (Bel) Independent1928 MOTTARD (Bel) Independent1929 SCHEPERS (Bel) Independent1930 BUSE (Ger)1931 SCHEPERS (Bel)1932

Lance Armstrong arrived in Liège, Belgium, Saturday afternoon as one of 10 Americans scheduled to race cycling’s oldest classic, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, on Sunday. Armstrong was whisked into the Palace des Princes Evêques, a giant stone structure in central Liège just in time to join his teammates at the presentation ceremony on the eve of the 88th edition of the demanding 258km race. Armstrong, who has twice finished second at Liège (1994, ’96), has marked this event, also round 4 of the UCI World Cup series, as one he’s been gunning for this year. A large crowd was packed into a tent

Start List for Liege-Bastogne-Liege - As of Friday at 4:00 p.m.DOMO - FARM FRITES001 - MUSEEUW Johan (B);002 - BRUYLANDTS Dave (B);003 - DE WOLF Steve (B);004 - KASHECHKIN Andrey (Kz);005 - KONECNY Tomas (Cz);006 - MERCKX Axel (B);007 - RODRIGUEZ Fred (USA);008 - TANKINK Bram (Nl);LOTTO - ADECCO011 - AERTS Mario (B);012 - BAGUET Serge (B);013 - BRANDT Christophe (B);014 - DETILLOUX Christophe (B);015 - MIKHAILOV Guennadi (Rus);016 - VAN LANCKER Kurt (B);017 - VAN PETEGEM Peter (B);018 - VERBRUGGHE Rik (B);MAPEI - QUICK STEP021 - FREIRE Oscar (Sp);022 - BETTINI Paolo (I);023

It’s been six years since Lance Armstrong last rode Liège-Bastogne-Liège, in the days when he was a little heavier and focused on the one-day classics instead of the three-week Tour. Liège-Bastogne-Liège was then his favorite event, and he delighted in the Belgian race’s frequent climbs and its challenging distance. In 1994, Armstrong placed second, trapped in a Gewiss team sandwich between winner Eugeni Berzin and third-placed Giorgio Furlan. The following year, the Texan came in sixth, after dropping off the winning break on the last hill. And in 1996, he was outfoxed in a three-up sprint

Oscar Camenzind outsprinted Davide Rebellin, David Etxebarria, Francesco Casagrande and Michael Boogerd in an exciting finish to the Ardennes classic, Liége-Bastogne-Liége. The Swiss Lampre-Daikin star followed the moves of the powerhouse Fassa Bortolo team of Casagrande and Raimondas Rumsas, who led in the bunch seconds after the first five. Another Fassa Bortolo rider, Dario Frigo, had been off the front for well over the hour in a group that shrunk from 13 down to six by the time it was caught with a mere 10km to go. Fassa Bortolo then lined the field out on the approach to the

Lotto’s Andreï Tchmil crashed in a training accident on Tuesday and is now questionable for Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege race in his home country, according to team sources in Belgium. Tchmil sustained bruises to his elbow when he collided with a camper van. He had also fallen in Sunday's Paris-Roubaix race although he remounted to finish eighth. Copyright AFP2001