The climbs of Liège-Bastogne-Liège

What sets Liège-Bastogne-Liège apart from the Cobbled Classics? Simple: La Doyenne is made for the mountain specialists

The peloton in the 2014 Liege - Bastogne - Liege. Photo: Graham Watson

(Image credit: Watson)

The cobbled Classics have their secteurs pavé and their bergs. Paris-Roubaix has its gruelling cobbles and combative racing. However, the oldest Classic of them all is set apart by the amount of climbing the riders must conquer if they are to have any hope of victory when they finally return to Liège.

Three-time Vuelta a España winner and former Hour Record holder Tony Rominger once added up all the changes in altitude in Liège and reckoned the total came to something like a solid Alpine stage of the Tour de France.

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