Who are the bookies' favourites to win Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2022?
The bookmakers have picked their favourites to win the Monument on Sunday
Cycling's oldest Monument gets underway on Sunday April 24 with Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and there are a host of big names expected to battle it out for honours over the 257.1km course.
The concluding race of the Ardennes Classics season, Liège–Bastogne–Liège is regarded as one of cycling's most difficult one-day races, due to the considerable length and demanding course. With the race this year just one week after Paris-Roubaix and only a few days following La Flèche Wallonne, this Monument is a constant war of attrition against the challenging climbs.
The start list includes reigning champion Tadej Pogačar and four-time winner Alejandro Valverde, but are there any other riders considered by the bookies as favourites to win the 2022 edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège?
Oddschecker shows Tadej Pogačar as the favourite to retain his Liège–Bastogne–Liège title this year, despite failing to finish in the top-10 on Wednesday at Flèche Wallonne. His performances so far this season show he has the capability to win the biggest races, and his race-winning experience could prove invaluable on the steep slopes of the Ardennes.
Pogačar's 10/3 odds reflect his ability, and nous in this race. The Slovenian won last year in a final sprint, pipping Julian Alaphilippe to the line to take the first Monument triumph of his career.
In fact, it is the Frenchman the bookies have as the second favourite, with Alaphilippe priced at 8/1. Despite having only managed one win in 2022, a stage victory on the Tour of the Basque Country, Alaphilippe's fourth at Flèche Wallonne gives reason for his low price.
The world champion has a history of strong performances at Liège too, finishing in the top-five on four occasions, and him still being without a win in the event offers an added bit of motivation.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Third-favourite to win on Sunday is Matej Mohorič, at 14/1. The Slovenian has performed consistently well in recent weeks, following his hugely impressive win at Milan-San Remo in mid-March.
Mohorič ended up in fifth-place at Paris-Roubaix last weekend, too, and certainly has the potential to deliver a strong showing heading up the many climbs of Sunday's Monument.
Meanwhile, four-time winner and Ardennes master Alejandro Valverde comes in as the bookies' fourth-favourite rider to win, racing in his last-ever edition of the event. A second-place finish on Wednesday at Flèche Wallonne proved the 41-year-old is still capable of what we have become so accustomed to over the years, and Valverde will no doubt want to replicate past efforts in the forthcoming race.
At 16/1 he is certainly worth a punt, and with his 42nd birthday on Monday, a Monument win could be the perfect present for him.
La Flèche Wallonne winner Dylan Teuns produced a convincingly strong performance on the climb up the Mur de Huy as he beat Valverde to first place. The Bahrain-Victorious executed clever tactics on Wednesday to conserve his energy for the decisive attack of the race, and he will have to manufacture a similar situation for himself at Liège.
Odds of 18/1 for Teuns makes him the bookmakers' fifth favourite to win, showing he has the potential to win if he can physically and mentally recover in time from his exploits winning Wednesday's Classic.
Marc Hirschi comes in at 22/1, and will likely have to play second-fiddle to team leader Pogačar in the race. He could cause an upset though, and having finished second in 2020, Hirschi might take any available opportunity to go one better this time around.
Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock and Michael Woods are all priced at 28/1, while Tiesj Benoot takes the final spot in the list of top-10 favourites for Liège–Bastogne–Liège, at 33/1.
LIÈGE-BASTOGNE-LIÈGE 2022 ODDS (WINNER - ODDSCHECKER
Tadej Pogačar (Svn) UAE Team Emirates @ 10/3
Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl @ 8/1
Matej Mohorič (Svn) Bahrain-Victorious @ 14/1
Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar @ 16/1
Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Victorious @ 18/1
Marc Hirschi (Sui) UAE Team Emirates @ 22/1
Benoît Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R Citroën @ 28/1
Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers @ 28/1
Michael Woods (Can) Israel-Premier Tech @ 28/1
Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Jumbo-Visma @ 33/1
All odds correct at the time of publication
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Ryan is a staff writer for Cycling Weekly, having joined the team in September 2021. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before making his way to cycling. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer.
-
'I was in hospital six weeks ago': 80-year-old Brit wins three world titles
Former Olympian track cyclist Geoff Cooke trains up to 300 miles a week
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Still safe to cycle — BBC 'really, really sorry' for misleading hurricane force wind predictions
A glitch on the BBC Weather app and site suggested some rather unusual weather in the UK on Thursday
By Adam Becket Published
-
Was this the best women’s Classics campaign ever?
Every race seemed to go down to the wire, with little in the way of control or domination. It could hardly have been better
By Adam Becket Published
-
Primož Roglič to miss Liège-Bastogne-Liège in order to recover for Tour de France
Slovenian was caught up in the horror crash on stage four of Itzulia Basque country
By Adam Becket Published
-
Five things we learned from Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2023
The curtain has come down on the Spring Classics. Here are our takeaways from the final instalment
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Remco Evenepoel cruises to second successive Liège-Bastogne-Liège win
Evenepoel becomes the first rider since Italian Michele Bartoli in 1998 to defend La Doyenne
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Demi Vollering wins women's Liège-Bastogne-Liège to complete historic Ardennes Triple
The SD Worx rider beat Trek-Segaredo's Elisa Longo Borghini in a finish line sprint
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
CW Live: Updates from Liège-Bastogne-Liège as Remco Evenepoel defends title; Demi Vollering wins women's race to complete historic Ardennes Treble; Tadej Pogačar crashes out and suffers fractures
Follow live updates Liège-Bastogne-Liège as Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogačar face off in the men's race
By Chris Marshall-Bell Last updated
-
SD Worx and Tadej Pogačar seem unstoppable: Five things we learned from the Amstel Gold Race
Ben Healy has his breakout moment, Annemiek van Vleuten fades and Tom Pidcock is back but not at Pogačar's level
By Adam Becket Published
-
Lizzie Deignan to return to racing at Flèche Wallonne, is a possibility for Liège–Bastogne–Liège
Trek-Segafredo finalise roster for Wednesday's Ardennes Classic, with Deignan returning for the first time since 2021
By Tom Thewlis Published