Liège-Bastogne-Liège match-up: Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel finally meet again
Demi Vollering returns to defend her women's title on the same day
The oldest Monument returns to herald an end to the Classics this weekend, with the men’s and women’s races interestingly poised. The finalé to the Ardennes races is traditionally one for the climbers, with 11 categorised climbs for the men, and 10 for the women.
Injury has robbed Liège-Bastogne-Liège of a potential hat-trick of victories for Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), the rider who has won the men’s race for the last two seasons, but a fascinating matchup between Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) is to be expected, in what will be their first meeting since Milan-San Remo.
Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) will look to defend her crown, after she won all three hilly Classics – the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège – last season. However, she will be met with a fierce array of challengers, including Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), the Tour of Flanders champion, who won Brabantse Pijl last week.
Van der Poel, the world champion, comes into La Doyenne off the back of historic exploits at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, where he became the first man in rainbow bands to win both in the same season. His tilt at Liège will be just his second attempt at the race, and although he finished sixth before in 2020, the race will be a test of his climbing ability, and probably at the very edge of races he could win.
Were he to triumph, though, he would become the first man to win four out of the five Monuments since Philippe Gilbert, who never quite managed to complete the set.
The women’s race appears set to be a clash between the two super-teams of the peloton, SD Worx-Protime and Lidl-Trek, who have traded blows between them at the biggest races this season. The race has only ever been won by Dutchwomen, aside from Lizzie Deignan in 2020, since its inception.
Both races now finish in the centre of Liège, rather than concluded on a final climb in Ans, which lends itself to a solo rider. The women’s race begins in Bastogne, but has grown 10km in length this year; with more climbing added, the women's edition is tougher than ever. It also takes place after the men’s race, for the first time.
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Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2024: contenders
Tadej Pogačar
UAE Team Emirates
*****
Tadej Pogačar had a productive March, winning four stages and the overall at the Volta a Catalunya in dominant fashion. He has not raced since then, but this does not normally hold him back – at his first race of the season, he won after attacking from 82km out. It is hard to look past the Slovenian, especially in the absence of Remco Evenepoel.
Tom Pidcock
Ineos Grenadiers
***
After winning the Amstel Gold Race last weekend, Pidcock has turned into a genuine contender for Liège, especially if Pogačar doesn’t dominate. The 24-year-old was the ‘best of the rest’ last year at Liège behind Evenepoel. He does not appear hampered by the crash which took him out of Itzulia Basque Country pre-race.
Benoît Cosnefroy
Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale
***
The winner of Brabantse Pijl last week is clearly in top form, and so should not be discounted for Liège. He has the tenacity to hang on, and a sprint to finish it off, although he has never finished higher than 18th. An outside bet.
Demi Vollering
SD Worx-Protime
*****
Seems weird to say, but Demi Vollering is yet to win a race in 2024. The Tour de France Femmes champion - and defending Liège winner - has not been far from the top, finishing third at Strade Bianche, eighth at the Tour of Flanders and second at Brabantse Pijl, but will hope for more at a race she has won twice before.
Elisa Longo Borghini
Lidl-Trek
*****
Such is the Italian’s focus in this block of racing that she skipped Paris-Roubaix - a race she has won before – to stay safe for the Ardennes. Longo Borghini won Brabantse Pijl last week by dropping Vollering, and will hope to do exactly the same on Sunday. Her season is already complete, with victory at the Tour of Flanders, but she will want to keep winning.
Kasia Niewiadoma
Canyon-SRAM
****
So often the nearly-woman of racing, Niewiadoma once again finished on the podium of a big race with second at the Tour of Flanders at the end of March, before going on to claim her first win in five years at La Flèche Wallonne. The Pole is targeting Ardennes week, and if she picks the right time to attack, she might finally take that Monument win that she craves.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2024: men's start list
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
COSNEFROY Benoît
GALL Felix
RETAILLEAU Valentin
PRODHOMME Nicolas
BERTHET Clément
ARMIRAIL Bruno
LAPEIRA Paul
Alpecin-Deceuninck
KRAGH ANDERSEN Søren
VAN DER POEL Mathieu
HERMANS Quinten
LAURANCE Axel
RIESEBEEK Oscar
VAN TRICHT Stan
VERGALLITO Luca
Arkéa-B&B Hotels
VAUQUELIN Kévin
CHAMPOUSSIN Clément
HUYS Laurens
DELAPLACE Anthony
RIES Michel
BARRÉ Louis
GUGLIELMI Simon
Astana Qazaqstan Team
SCARONI Christian
BATTISTELLA Samuele
FORTUNATO Lorenzo
LUTSENKO Alexey
CHARMIG Anthon
CHZHAN Igor
VELASCO Simone
Bahrain-Victorious
POELS Wout
BUITRAGO Santiago
ARASHIRO Yukiya
BILBAO Pello
RAJOVIĆ Dušan
TIBERI Antonio
WIŚNIOWSKI Łukasz
BORA-Hansgrohe
JUNGELS Bob
ALEOTTI Giovanni
VLASOV Aleksandr
HINDLEY Jai
ADRIÀ Roger
KOCH Jonas
SOBRERO Matteo
Cofidis
MARTIN Guillaume
FERNÁNDEZ Rubén
HERRADA Jesús
IZAGIRRE Gorka
IZAGIRRE Ion
MARIAULT Axel
PEREZ Anthony
EF Education-EasyPost
CARAPAZ Richard
HEALY Ben
HONORÉ Mikkel Frølich
RYAN Archie
SHAW James
SWEENY Harry
URÁN Rigoberto
Groupama-FDJ
PACHER Quentin
RUSSO Clément
GERMANI Lorenzo
MADOUAS Valentin
ROCHAS Rémy
GRÉGOIRE Romain
GAUDU David
INEOS Grenadiers
PIDCOCK Thomas
KWIATKOWSKI Michał
BERNAL Egan
BERNAL Egan
DE PLUS Laurens
FRAILE Omar
HAYTER Ethan
RIVERA Brandon Smith
Intermarché-Wanty
ROTA Lorenzo
ZIMMERMANN Georg
KUYPERS Gerben
BUSATTO Francesco
CALMEJANE Lilian
COLLEONI Kevin
TAARAMÄE Rein
Team Visma-Lease a Bike
BENOOT Tiesj
TULETT Ben
VADER Milan
VALTER Attila
VAN BELLE Loe
VAN DER SANDE Tosh
VAN DIJKE Mick
Lidl-Trek
SKJELMOSE Mattias
MOLLEMA Bauke
BAGIOLI Andrea
BERNARD Julien
KONRAD Patrick
OOMEN Sam
SKUJIŅŠ Toms
Movistar Team
ARANBURU Alex
FORMOLO Davide
ROMEO Iván
LAZKANO Oier
CANAL Carlos
BARTA Will
ARCAS Jorge
Soudal Quick-Step
VERVAEKE Louis
LECERF William Junior
GELDERS Gil
KNOX James
SERRY Pieter
VANSEVENANT Mauri
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
BARDET Romain
COMBAUD Romain
DINHAM Matthew
HAMILTON Chris
LEIJNSE Enzo
TUSVELD Martijn
VERMAERKE Kevin
Team Jayco AlUla
MATTHEWS Michael
YATES Simon
MAAS Jan
SCHMID Mauro
DE PRETTO Davide
FOLDAGER Anders
ZANA Filippo
UAE Team Emirates
ULISSI Diego
POGAČAR Tadej
NOVAK Domen
HIRSCHI Marc
FISHER-BLACK Finn
BAX Sjoerd
ALMEIDA João
Bingoal WB
VAN BOVEN Luca
MEENS Johan
DE TIER Floris
MATTHYS Louka
VAN DER BEKEN Aaron
VILLA Giacomo
VLIEGEN Loïc
Equipo Kern Pharma
BRUSTENGA Marc
COBO Iván
GALVÁN Francisco
LÓPEZ Jordi
RETEGI Mikel
RUIZ Ibon
VAN DER TUUK Danny
Israel-PremierTech
WILLIAMS Stephen
TEUNS Dylan
BENNETT George
CLARKE Simon
GEE Derek
FUGLSANG Jakob
SCHULTZ Nick
Lotto Dstny
KRON Andreas
VAN GILS Maxim
MONIQUET Sylvain
CURRIE Logan
DRIZNERS Jarrad
PAASSCHENS Mathijs
GREGAARD Jonas
Team Flanders-Baloise
BONNEU Kamiel
VANDENSTORME Dylan
CRAPS Lars
CLYNHENS Toon
DEWEIRDT Siebe
MARIS Elias
VAN HEMELEN Vincent
TotalEnergies
BURGAUDEAU Mathieu
VUILLERMOZ Alexis
JEGAT Jordan
DOUBEY Fabien
GRELLIER Fabien
JOUSSEAUME Alan
OURSELIN Paul
Uno-X Mobility
JOHANNESSEN Tobias Halland
LEKNESSUND Andreas
URIANSTAD BUGGE Martin
EIKING Odd Christian
JOHANNESSEN Anders Halland
KULSET Johannes
HOLTER Ådne
Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2024: women's start list
AG Insurance-Soudal Team
GHEKIERE Justine
MOOLMAN Ashleigh
GIGANTE Sarah
MASETTI Gaia
VAN DE VELDE Julie
BOOGAARD Maaike
Canyon-SRAM Racing
CHABBEY Elise
PALADIN Soraya
BAUERNFEIND Ricarda
NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna
BRADBURY Neve
NIEDERMAIER Antonia
CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team
KERBAOL Cédrine
ARZUFFI Alice Maria
ASENCIO Laura
BERTON Nina
JASKULSKA Marta
LACH Marta
FDJ-SUEZ
ADEGEEST Loes
MUZIC Évita
CAVALLI Marta
BROWN Grace
CURINIER Léa
KRAAK Amber
Fenix-Deceuninck
KASTELIJN Yara
SCHREMPF Carina
PERKINS Flora
COUZENS Millie
ROOIJAKKERS Pauliena
MARTURANO Greta
Human Powered Health
EDWARDS Ruth
BIRIUKOVA Yuliia
MALCOTTI Barbara
CHRISTIE Henrietta
ZANARDI Silvia
RAAIJMAKERS Marit
Lidl-Trek
VAN ANROOIJ Shirin
LONGO BORGHINI Elisa
REALINI Gaia
SPRATT Amanda
VAN DIJK Ellen
BRAND Lucinda
Liv-AlUla-Jayco
GARCÍA Mavi
ŽIGART Urška
MANLY Alexandra
ANDERSSON Caroline
GÅSKJENN Ingvild
KOREVAAR Jeanne
Movistar Team
BARIL Olivia
MEIJERING Mareille
PATIÑO Paula
MARTÍN Sara
ERIĆ Jelena
STEELS Claire
Roland
PIRRONE Elena
CHRISTOFOROU Antri
EKLUND Nathalie
GRINCZER Natalie
HARTMANN Elena
KIESENHOFER Anna
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
LABOUS Juliette
BARALE Francesca
NELSON Josie
RAYER Eglantine
UIJEN Elise
VINKE Nienke
Team SD Worx-Protime
KOPECKY Lotte
VOLLERING Demi
BREDEWOLD Mischa
FISHER-BLACK Niamh
VAS Blanka
Team Visma-Lease a Bike
VAN AGT Eva
MARKUS Riejanne
VOS Marianne
GEURTS Mijntje
HENDERSON Anna
REIJNHOUT Rosita
UAE Team ADQ
PERSICO Silvia
AMIALIUSIK Alena
NEUMANOVA Tereza
CARBONARI Anastasia
HARVEY Mikayla
MAGNALDI Erica
Uno-X Mobility
KOSTER Anouska
AALERUD Katrine
ANDERSON Solbjørk Minke
BERG EDSETH Marte
OTTESTAD Mie Bjørndal
BOILARD Simone
Arkéa-B&B Hotels Women
CLAES Lotte
COLJÉ Maaike
CAVALLAR Valentina
MORICHON Anais
RYO Titia
MAHÉ Océane
Cofidis Women
BEGO Julie
LUDWIG Hannah
NOSKOVÁ Nikola
COSTON Morgane
BOULAIS Flavie
KERN Špela
EF Education-Cannondale
VALLIERES Magdeleine
EWERS Veronica
CADZOW Kim
EMOND Clara
KOPPENBURG Clara
STANNARD Elizabeth
Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi
ERASO Idoia
OSTOLAZA Usoa
QUAGLIOTTO Nadia
SANTESTEBAN Ane
SILVESTRI Debora
TOMASI Laura
Lifeplus-Wahoo
FRANZ Heidi
VAN DER WOLF Babette
GONZÁLEZ Alicia
JAMIESON Ella
KING Eluned
SÖDERQVIST Karin
Lotto-Dstny Ladies
DE KEERSMAEKER Audrey
BASTIAENSSEN Fauve
GIELKENS Esmée
VAN DE GUCHTE Quinty
VAN WERSCH Anna
BOELS Dina
St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 Women
BUNEL Marion
FAHY Camille
GUILMAN Victorie
LE MOUEL Célia
MIERMONT Dilyxine
ROUSSEL Elyne
Coop-Repsol
DALE Stine
HAUGSET Sigrid Ytterhus
JØRGENSEN Tiril
LIND Magdalene
MOHR Mari Hole
KAGEVI Stina
VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team
JANSEN Eline
SCHOENS Quinty
STULTIENS Sabrina
VANPACHTENBEKE Margot
KNIJNENBURG Anne
DEMEY Valerie
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Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
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