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.
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
