How to Watch Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Cycling’s Oldest Monument
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Liège–Bastogne–Liège is cycling’s “old lady”—or La Doyenne as the folks in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium, affectionately call it. Founded way back in 1892, it’s easily the oldest of the cycling’s five Monuments and one of the most difficult to win.
Created to publicize a regional French-language newspaper, the event was first run for amateurs before being made open to professionals in 1894. As Peter Cossins details in his book, The Monuments, the original plan was to run a race called Liège–Paris–Liège, something akin to Bordeaux-Paris and Paris-Brest-Paris, two popular long-distance events that were first run in 1891.
Liège–Bastogne–Liège was to be a test event for the longer race that the organizers hoped to run in the future, but those plans never materialized. A local club rider named Léon Houa took the first three editions, the first of only three riders to win the race three years in a row.
It took a while for the race to gain traction thanks to the fluctuating popularity of road racing around the turn of the 20th century (especially in Wallonia) and to World War I. But by the late-1930s, the race had established itself as a prestigious addition to any rider’s palmares, and the rest was–as they say–history.
As its name suggests, the course is fairly straightforward. It begins in the center of Liège and heads south toward Bastogne, a town made famous during WWII’s Battle of the Bulge. But the big guns in this battle usually save themselves for the ten climbs on the race’s return trip to Liège.
Despite its age, the event continues to evolve. A women’s event was added to the program in 2017, thanks largely to the popularity of the women’s Flèche Wallonne, which is run by the same organizers. The Dutch have dominated Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes, winning all but one of the event’s seven editions.
After several years of boring, predictable outcomes (mainly in the men’s race), a new finale was introduced in 2019. This brought the finish away from Ans–a suburb of Liège–and down into the center of the city. This did away with a long, uphill drag to a finish line outside of a gas station that encouraged the favorites to sit in and wait for a sprint. Now, they take more risks, using the final few climbs to attack.
Like most of the spring classics, Belgians have won more editions of the men’s event than riders from any other nation–they’ve taken 61 of the event’s 109 editions–and Belgian Eddy Merckx holds the record for the most victories by a single rider with five.
Here’s everything else you need to know about the season’s oldest Monument—and the last of this season’s Spring Classics:
The Route
The men’s race begins in the center of Liège, on the Quai des Ardennes, a boulevard on the banks of the Ourthe, a tributary of the River Meuse, and upon leaving the city, the race quickly begins its southerly route toward Bastogne. The men tackle only one climb on their way to Bastogne–the Côte de Bonnerue (2.5K at 5.9 percent)–which is probably the easiest climb of the day.
But once they turn around and start heading back north, the terrain gets tougher. By the time they pass through Vielsalm–about 105K from the finish–the race will be in full swing as the riders get set to begin a relentless set of climbs, starting with the Côte de Mont-le-Soie (1.7K at 7.9 percent) about 93K from the finish.
From here, the hills come in quick succession as the riders dig into the most jagged portion of La Doyenne’s profile. The race of attrition really begins as they take on famous climbs like the Côte de Stockeu (1K at 12.5 percent), the Côte de la Haute-Levée (2.2K at 7.5 percent), and the Col du Rosier (4.4K at 5.9 percent).
These climbs are the main reason why Liège-Bastogne-Liège is often favored by grand tour riders. They’re (usually) a bit too long for riders who excel on the short, cobbled bergs of races like the Tour of Flanders.
By the time the race crests the seventh climb of the day–the Côte de Desnié (1.6K at 8.1 percent)–with about 46.7K left to race, the leading peloton will be much smaller than it was upon leaving Bastogne, and the breakaway–if it hasn’t been caught already–will be absorbed soon.
Here, the pace will quicken even more, and teams with race favorites will start organizing themselves at the front of the peloton because the next climb–Côte de La Redoute (1.6K at 9.4 percent) usually blows the race apart. Climbing through a field alongside a highway, the steep climb will be packed with fans, and anyone wishing to have a shot at winning the race needs to make it over the top with the leaders.
From the top of La Redoute, 34K remaining in the race, with two tough climbs still to go: the Côte des Forges (1.3K at 7.8 percent) and the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons (1.3K at 11 percent), a climb added in 2008 to make the finale more challenging.
Well, it worked: the Roche-aux-Faucons (“Falcon Rock”) is a steep climb just 13K from the finish line in Liège. After cresting the summit, the road descends quickly but then begins to climb again. While not categorized, this uphill stretch of road (about 11K from the line) offers a perfect launchpad for anyone hoping to leave their companions behind. From the top of this false summit about 10K of downhill roads remain until the finish.
The 147.5K women’s race is called “Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes,” but it might as well be named “Bastogne-Liège,” because it starts in Bastogne and then follows the route that men take back to Liège, including all ten of the climbs the men cover on their return trip to the city.
Since the finale was changed in 2019, neither race has seen a particularly large group make it to the finish line together. The final hour is simply too hard, and the Redoute-Forges-Roche-aux-Faucons combo offers too many opportunities for riders to attack (or get dropped).
If there are sprints on the Quai des Ardennes, expect them to be contested by either a small breakaway–such as when Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) outsprinted four other riders to win the Monument in 2021–or something even smaller–like when the Netherlands’ Demi Vollering (SD Worx) defeated Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini in a two-up sprint at the end of last year’s women’s race.
And with all three riders taking the start Sunday, don’t be surprised if history repeats itself–twice.
How to Watch
If you live in the United States and subscribed to NBC’s Peacock Premium streaming service ($5.99/month) before the Tour de France or Paris-Roubaix–and you didn’t cancel your subscription–then you also get access to Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, and any other race covered by NBC and its partners. (If you’re looking for ad-free coverage, you’ll need a subscription to Peacock Premium Plus, which runs $11.99 a month.)
The Peacock app is available on Amazon Fire TV, Android and AndroidTV devices, Chromecast, Google platforms, iOS devices, PlayStation 4 and 5, Roku, Xbox devices, VIZIO SmartCast TVs, and LG Smart TVs. You can also watch the race online via the Peacock website.
If you’re in Canada, FloBikes ($30/month) is the only legal way to watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with both the men’s and women’s races available live and on-demand on FloBikes.com, the FloSports IOS app, and the FloSports app for Amazon FireTV, Roku, and Apple TV.
If their website is accurate, Peacock will stream much of both races, beginning with the men’s race at 5:35 a.m. EDT. We won’t be watching that early. Instead, we’ll probably tune in around 9:00 a.m. EDT, at which point the men should be cresting the Col du Rosier and about 35 minutes from the base of La Redoute.
Peacock’s coverage of the women’s race is expected to begin at about 7:30 a.m. EDT, which is when the event begins in Bastogne. We’re planning to watch the men’s race through to the finish–at about 10:30 a.m. EDT–and then switch over to the women’s race, which should be hitting the climb just before La Redoute, the Côte de Desnié. We’ll stay with the women’s race until its expected finishing time, around 11:45 a.m. EDT.
What Happened Last Year
In the men’s race, an expected showdown between Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)–who won Liège-Bastogne-Liège–and Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step)–the defending champion–never materialized after the Slovenian crashed out of the race and broke his wrist while the peloton was heading to Bastogne.
His absence left Evenepoel free to dominate the race for a second year in a row. Wearing the rainbow jersey as the sport’s reigning world champion, the Belgian rode away from Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) with about 30K left to race and time-trialed his way to an impressive solo victory. Pidcock held on to finish second, and Colombia’s Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) took third.
Unfortunately, Evenepoel won’t be back to try and become the fourth rider to win the race a third year in a row, as he was one of the victims of a terrible crash in Stage 4 at Itzulia Basque Country two weeks ago. The Belgian broke his collarbone, ending his sprint campaign.
An hour or so later, the Netherlands’ Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx) outsprinted Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes and–after winning the previous Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race and Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne–complete the “Ardennes Triptych”.
Longo Borghini attacked on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons with about 14K left to race, and Vollering was smart to cover the move–especially after the work her teammates had done to set her up for the victory.
The duo worked well together on the run-in to the finish, where Vollering took her third victory in eight days, putting the finishing touches on an incredible spring in which she also won Strade Bianche and Dwars door Vlaanderen and took second in the Tour of Flanders. Vollering’s Swiss teammate, Marlen Reusser, finished third.
Riders to Watch
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)
With Evenepoel missing the race, this year’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège is Pogačar’s race to lose. The Slovenian hasn’t raced much this season as he’s preparing to try and become the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same season. But when he has raced he’s been dominant: in nine race days, he’s won five times and only finished outside the top-3 twice. Fresh from a block of altitude training, this will be his last race before the Giro, and he’s looking to make a big statement.
Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers)
Pidcock’s had an up-and-down season so far but seems to be hitting his stride after winning Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race. Second last year, he knows the course well, has the perfect build for these types of climbs, and his team is one of the deepest and most talented in the race. If there’s an upset–and Pogačar doesn’t win–don’t be surprised if it’s Pidcock who takes the top step of the podium.
Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx-Protime)
Vollering’s been in the news a lot lately as it was announced just before the Tour of Flanders that she’s leaving SD Worx-Protime this off-season, making her one of the most sought-after free agents in years. The defending champion, she could certainly up her asking price (she’s rumored to be close to signing with FDJ-Suez) with another victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, and certainly has the legs–she was second in Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne–and the team she needs–for now–to do it.
Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek)
Longo Borghini has finished 5th, 3rd, and 2nd in La Doyenne, but has never won the event, a gaping hole on the resume of one of the best classics riders in the history of women’s cycling. She clearly wants to change that: after winning the Tour of Flanders three weeks ago she opted to skip Paris-Roubaix–as the defending champion–so that she could focus on the Ardennes. It seems to have worked: she won last Wednesday’s Brabantse Pijl, was fifth in the Amstel Gold Race, and took third in this Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne. If her team races as cohesively–and as aggressively–as it did in the cobbled classics, it has the firepower it needs to overcome Vollering and SD Worx-Protime.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing)
Despite her immense talent and aggressive riding style, Niewiadoma has often found herself playing second or third fiddle to riders like Vollering and Longo Borghini in the classics. But she finally got the better of her rivals in Wednesday’s cold and rainy Flèche Wallonne, attacking on the final ascent of the super-steep Mur de Huy to defeat them both and score the biggest one-day victory of her career.
She’s picked her moments so far this spring and has raced sparingly so as to be as fresh as possible for her targeted events. That worked at the Tour of Flanders–she took second–and it worked even better on Wednesday. Now, she has her sights set firmly on Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, where she’s hoping for one moment of greatness.
Other Riders to Watch
Benoît Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Tiesj Benoot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek), Ashleigh Moolman (AG Insurance-Soudal Team), Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx-Protime).
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