Liège-Bastogne-Liège is the oldest professional cycling race in the world and is one of the five cycling Monuments. It is also the main event of the three races known as the Ardennes Classics with this year's edition taking place on Sunday, April 25.
Believe it or not, the race starts and finishes in the Belgian city of Liège with the furthest point being at Bastogne. It's a UCI WorldTour event, with the women's edition of the race added in 2017 and went straight in as a UCI Women's WorldTour race taking place on the same day as the men's.
>>> The climbs of Liège-Bastogne-Liège
The race usually suits riders who are best up short punchy climbs as well as having a good turn of speed. In 2020 it came down to a small bunch sprint between some of the stars of the year, Marc Hirschi (then Sunweb), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) and the eventual winner Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma).
This year is likely to see all those riders return to the race with Alaphilippe and Roglič coming in with fine form after they took the top two slots on La Flèche Wallonne quite a way ahead of third-place Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
It is not yet known whether UAE Team Emirates will be allowed to race as they had to pull out of La Flèche Wallonne due to positive Covid-19 tests. Pogačar was keen to point out that these results were 'false positives' and looks likely to be racing alongside Hirschi at La Doyenne.
The inaugural Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes victory went to Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) - she managed to claim all three Ardennes Classics wins in an incredible display of spring form.
The Dutch rider retained her title into 2018, though the following year passed the mantle to Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton Scott), who won solo in her trademark breakaway style with British rider Lizzie Deignan taking the win in 2020.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2021 route
The route for Liège-Bastogne-Liège always promises to throw up a war of attrition, with steep climbs providing opportunities for attacks and the unavoidable counters from a long way out.
The race organisers decided to move the finish from Ans and a climb to the finish to instead have the finish line in the city centre. This meant the final uphill tests were revised - with riders charging towards the finish via the Côte de la Redoute, Côte des Forges and the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons.
The men's race is set to take on a massive 259.1km that includes 11 categorised climbs along the way to the finish in Liège.
With the serious climbing beginning at around 160km into the race, staying safe and being well placed are vital. A rider isn't going to win a race in the first 100 miles but could definitely lose it if they're not careful.
The women's edition of the race sees the riders take on a much shorter route of just 140.9km and is just Bastogne-Liège than the full Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
However, this does not mean the race will be easier. Seven categorised climbs are on the menu for the peloton to tackle including the Rosier, Redoute and Roche-aux-Faucons before finishing in the same place as the men back in Liège.
Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2021 start list
Deceuninck - Quick-Step
ALAPHILIPPE Julian
ALMEIDA João
HONORÉ Mikkel
VANSEVENANT Mauri
SERRY Pieter
DEVENYNS Dries
KNOX James
Team Jumbo-Visma
ROGLIČ Primož
VINGEGAARD Jonas
OOMEN Sam
HOFSTEDE Lennard
GESINK Robert
PFINGSTON Christoph
MARTENS Paul
UAE Team Emirates
POGAČAR Tadej
HIRSCHI Marc
FORMOLO Davide
COSTA Rui
LAENGEN Vegard Stake
DE LA CRUZ David
MCNULTY Brandon
Lotto-Soudal
GILBERT Philippe
WELLENS Tim
VANHOUCKE Harm
MONIQUET Sylvain
GOOSSENS Kobe
GRIGNARD Sébastien
Cofidis
MARTIN Guillaume
PEREZ Anthony
GESCHKE Simon
HERRADA Jesús
BARCELÓ Fernando
ROCHAS Rémy
FERNÁNDEZ Rubén
Trek-Segafredo
MOLLEMA Bauke
RIES Michel
SKUJINS Toms
EG Niklas
KAMP Alexander
CONCI Nicola
BERNARD Julien
Ineos Grenadiers
PIDCOCK Tom
CARAPAZ Richard
KWIATKOWSKI Michał
YATES Adam
GOŁAŚ Michał
GEOGHEGAN HART Tao
ROWE Luke
Groupama-FDJ
GAUDU David
MADOUAS Valentin
MOLARD Rudy
LADAGNOUS MAtthieu
ARMIRAIL Bruno
BONNET William
Team BikeExchange
CHAVES Esteban
MATTHEWS Michael
STANNARD Rob
KANGERT Tanel
BOOKWALTER Brent
JUUL-JENSEN Chris
NIEVE Mikel
Israel Start-Up Nation
WOODS Michael
NEILANDS Krists
IMPEY Daryl
BOIVIN Guillaume
HOLLENSTEIN Reto
SAGIV Guy
GOLDSTEIN Omer
Astana-Premier Tech
FUGLSANG Jakob
LUTSENKO Alexey
HOULE Hugo
BATTISTELLA Samuele
FRAILE Omar
ARANBURU Alexander
SÁNCHEZ Luis León
Bahrain Victorious
TEUNS Dylan
MOHORIČ Matej
POELS Wout
HAIG Jack
CAPECCHI Eros
PADUN Mark
HALLER Marco
Bora-Hansgrohe
SCHACHMANN Max
SCHELLING Ide
KONRAD Patrick
KÄMNA Lennard
KELDERMAN Wilco
BENEDETTI Cesare
FABBRO Matteo
Ag2r-Citroën Team
COSNEFROY Benoît
CHAMPOUSSIN Clément
PARET-PEINTRE Aurélien
GODON Dorian
SCHÄR Michael
VAN AVERMAET Greg
GALLOPIN Tony
Team DSM
VERMAERKE Kevin
BENOOT Tiesj
LEKNESSUND Andreas
HAMILTON Chris
DONOVAN Mark
ARNDT Nikias
TUSVELD Martijn
Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
VLIEGEN Loïc
HERMANS Quinten
LAMMERTINK Maurits
BAKELANTS Jan
ROTA Lorenzo
DE WINTER Ludwig
VAN MELSEN Kévin
Movistar Team
VALVERDE Alejandro
MAS Lluís
SERRANO Gonzalo
VERONA Carlos
JORGENSON Matteo
MAS Enric
ARCAS Jorge
Team Qhubeka-Assos
CLARKE Simon
HENAO Sergio
ARU Fabio
ARMÉE Sander
POWER Robert
POZZOVIVO Domenico
BENNETT Sean
EF Education-Nippo
HIGUITA Sergio
VALGREN Michael
CARR Simon
CAICEDO Jonathan Klever
NAKANE Hideto
HOWES Alex
CRADDOCK Lawson
Alpecin-Fenix
TULLETT Ben
DE TIER Floris
MEURISSE Xandro
JANSSENS Jimmy
VERVAEKE Louis
WALSLEBEN Philipp
VERGAERDE Otto
Team Arkéa-Samsic
BARGUIL Warren
ROS Diego
RIOU Alan
OWSIAN Łukasz
LEDANOIS Kévin
GUERNALEC Thibault
PICHON Laurent
Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces-Wallonie Bruxelles
VANENDERT Jelle
MERTZ Rémy
PAASSCHENS Mathijs
MOLLY Kenny
HUYS Laurens
PEYSKENS Dimitri
WIRTGEN Luc
Total Direct Energie
LATOUR Pierre
DOUBEY Fabien
SIMON Julien
BURGAUDEAU Metthieu
GRELLIER Fabien
GAILLARD Marlon
FERRON Valentin
Gazprom-RusVelo
KREUZIGER Roman
ROVNY Ivan
STRAKHOV Dmitry
VELASCO Simone
CHERNETSKI Sergei
ZAKARIN Ilnur
SHALUNOV Evgeny
Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
VANHOOF Ward
VERWILST Aaron
MERTENS Julian
SPRENGERS Thomas
HERREHODTS Rune
VAN POUKE Aaron
APERS Ruben
Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2021 start list
Trek-Segafredo
VAN ANROOIJ Shirin
LONGO-BORGHINI Elisa
WILES Tayler
BRAND Lucinda
HANSON Lauretta
Movistar Team
VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek
AALERUD Katrine
MARTIN Sara
PATIÑO Paula Andrea
THOMAS Leah
RODRÍGUEZ Gloria
SD Worx
VAN DER BREGGEN Anna
VAN DEN BROEK-BLAAK Chantal
VOLLERING Demi
MOOLMAN-PASIO Ashleigh
CECCHINI Elena
FISHER-BLACK Niamh
Canyon-SRAM Racing
NIEWIADOMA Kasia
CHABBEY Elise
BARNES Hannah
CROMWELL Tiffany
HARVEY Mikayla
AMIALIUSIK Alena
Liv Racing
PALADIN Soraya
DEMEY Valerie
ROOIJAKKERS Pauliena
KOREVAAR Jeanne
STULTIENS Sabrina
JASKULSKA Marta
Team BikeExchange
SPRATT Amanda
TENNIGLO Moniek
SANTESTEBAN Ane
WILLIAMS Georgia
KENNEDY Lucy
ENSING Janneke
Alé-BTC-Ljubljana
REUSSER Marlen
GARCÍA Mavi
WRIGHT Sophie
GUDERZO Tatiana
PATUELLI Alessia
CHURSINA Anastasiia
FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
LUDWIG Cecile Uttrup
FAHLIN Emilia
BORGLI Stine
CHAPMAN Brodie
MUZIC Évita
CAVALLI Marta
Team Jumbo-Visma
VOS Marianna
HENDERSON Anna
KOSTER Anouska
BEEKHUIS Teuntje
MARKUS Riejanne
VAN DE VELDE Julie
Team DSM (team DNS due to Covid-19 positives)
LABOUS Juliette
LIPPERT Liane
MACKAIJ Floortje
OLAUSSON Wilma
KIRSCHMANN Leah
PEPERKAMP Esmée
Ceratizit-WNT
MAGNALDI Eirca
LACH Marta
TEUTENBERG Lea Lin
VIECELI Lara
HAMMES Kathrin
ASENCIO Laura
A.R. Monex Women's Pro Cycling Team
SIERRA Arlenis
NOVOLODSKAIA Maria
MERINO Eider
RAGUSA Katia
SALAZAR Lizbeth Yareli
MILIAEVA Mariia
Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
STEPHENS Lauren
FAULKNER Kristen
ERATH Tanja
KESSLER Nina
NEWSOM Emily
STEPHENS Lauren
YONAMINE Eri
Lotto-Soudal
BRAAM Danique
NILSSON Hanna
VANDER SANDE Elise
VANDENBULCKE Jesse
MEERTENS Lone
Parkhotel-Valkenburg (DNS due to Covid-19 positives)
Valcar-Travel & Service
MAGRI Silvia
ARZUFFI Alice Maria
GASPARRINI Eleonora Camilla
MALCOTTI Barbara
PIERGIOVANNI Federica Damiana
POLLICINI Silvia
Bepink
ZANARDI Silvia
ALESSIO Camilla
CANVELLI Vania
DRUMMOND Michaela
HAJKOVA Marketa
QUAGLIOTTO Nadia
Team Arkéa
BECKER Charlotte
LEVENEZ Sandra
ALLIN Pauline
KERBAOL Cedrine
FOUQUENET Amandine
RICHIOUD Greta
Drops-Le Col s/b Tempur
LOWDEN Joscelin
CHRISTMAS Dani
CHRISTIAN Anna
TACEY April
TOWERS Alice
PENTON Sara
Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire Cycling Team
GHEKIERE Justine
VAN DEN STEEN Kelly
DE JONG Thalita
DRUYTS Lenny
Cogeas-Mettler Pro Cycling Team
BUCH Hannah
ZABALINSKAYA Olga
STIASNY Petra
GAREEVA Aigul
GALIMULLINA Iuliia
Rally Cycling
DOEBEL-HICKOK Kristabel
BRECK Holly
FRANZ Heidi
GANZAR Leigh Ann
KOPPENBURG Clara
POIDEVIN Sara
Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2021 on TV
You'll be able to watch uninterrupted coverage of the 2021 races on the Eurosport Player and the GCN+ online with Eurosport showing all the action live on TV as well in the UK.
For more information on how to stream the race as well as using VPN, check out our 'how to watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège' page to see all the links and insructions.
Liège–Bastogne–Liège previous winners
2001: Oscar Camenzind (SUI) Lampre–Daikin
2002: Paolo Bettini (ITA) Mapei–Quick-Step
2003: Tyler Hamilton (USA) Team CSC
2004: Davide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner
2005: Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) T-Mobile Team
2006: Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears
2007: Danilo Di Luca (ITA) Liquigas
2008: Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
2009: Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank
2010: Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana
2011: Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Omega Pharma–Lotto
2012: Maxim Iglinsky (KAZ) Astana
2013: Dan Martin (IRL) Garmin–Sharp
2014: Simon Gerrans (AUS) Orica–GreenEDGE
2015: Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Movistar Team
2016: Wout Poels (NED) Team Sky
2017: Alejandro Valverde (ESP) Movistar Team
2018: Bob Jungels (LUX) Quick-Step Floors
2019: Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Astana
2020: Primož Roglič (SLO) Jumbo-Visma
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes winners
2017: Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Boels Dolmans
2018: Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Boels Dolmans
2019: Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott
2020: Lizzie Deignan (GBR) Trek-Segafredo
We'll keep updating this page as more information becomes available.
Hi, I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing, tech, updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter. Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders, Calderdale, go check out the cobbled climbs!
I started watching cycling back in 2010, before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France. In fact, it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.
It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things, but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after. This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days, Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni, where I studied journalism. Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather.
After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories.
When not writing stories for the site, I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager. Maybe too regular.
My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain.
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