Liège - Bastogne - Liège

Liège - Bastogne - Liège start list Pro Team Astana 1 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) 2 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) 3 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) 4 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) 5 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) 6 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) 7 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) 8 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Katusha Team 11 Joaquím Rodríguez Oliver (Spa) 12 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) 13 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) 14 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) 15 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) 16 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) 17 Yury Trofimov (Rus) 18 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Movistar Team 21 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) 22 Rui Costa (Por) 23 José Vicente Garcia Acosta (Spa) 24 Beñat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) 25 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) 26 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) 27 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) 29 Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Team RadioShack 31 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) 32 Matthew Busche (USA) 33 Philip Deignan (Irl) 34 Ben Hermans (Bel) 35 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) 36 Nelson Oliveira (Por) 37 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) 38 Haimar Zubeldia Aguirre (Spa) HTC-Highroad 41 Tony Martin (Ger) 42 Michael Albasini (Swi) 43 Matthew Brammeier (Irl) 44 Caleb Fairly (USA) 45 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) 46 Craig Lewis (USA) 47 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) 48 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) Rabobank Cycling Team 51 Robert Gesink (Ned) 52 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) 53 Juan Manuel Gárate Cepa (Spa) 54 Paul Martens (Ger) 55 Bauke Mollema (Ned) 56 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) 57 Bram Tankink (Ned) 58 Laurens ten Dam (Ned) Team Garmin-Cervelo 61 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) 62 Thomas Danielson (USA) 63 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) 64 Daniel Martin (Irl) 65 Cameron Meyer (Aus) 66 Peter Stetina (USA) 67 Christian Vande Velde (USA) 68 Matthew Wilson (Aus) Leopard Trek 71 Andy Schleck (Lux) 72 Stefan Denifl (Aut) 73 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) 74 Anders Lund Den (Den) 75 Maxime Monfort (Bel) 76 Fränk Schleck (Lux) 77 Jens Voigt (Ger) 78 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) BMC Racing Team 81 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) 82 Mathias Frank (Swi) 83 Martin Kohler (Swi) 84 Jeffry Louder (USA) 85 Amaël Moinard (Fra) 86 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) 87 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) 88 Simon Zahner (Swi) Sky Procycling 91 Simon Gerrans (Aus) 92 Kjell Carlström (Fin) 93 Steven Cummings (GBr) 94 Christian Knees (Ger) 95 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) 96 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) 97 Rigoberto Uran (Col) 98 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto 101 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) 102 Jan Bakelants (Bel) 103 Francis De Greef (Bel) 104 Gert Dockx (Bel) 105 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) 106 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) 107 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) 108 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Lampre - ISD 111 Damiano Cunego (Ita) 113 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) 114 David Loosli (Swi) 115 Manuele Mori (Ita) 116 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) 117 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) 118 Diego Ulissi (Ukn) 119 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Quickstep Cycling Team 121 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) 122 Dario Cataldo (Ita) 123 Dries Devenyns (Bel) 124 Addy Engels (Ned) 125 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) 126 Francesco Reda (Ita) 127 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) 128 Julien Vermote (Bel) Saxo Bank Sungard 131 Nick Nuyens (Bel) 132 Mads Christensen (Den) 133 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) 134 Rafal Majka (Pol) 135 Luke Roberts (Aus) 136 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) 137 Nicki Sörensen (Den) 138 Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas-Cannondale 141 Ivan Basso (Ita) 142 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) 143 Eros Capecchi (Ita) 144 Damiano Caruso (Ita) 145 Dominique Nerz (Ger) 146 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) 147 Maciej Paterski (Pol) 148 Simone Ponzi (Ita) Euskaltel-Euskadi 151 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) 152 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) 153 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) 154 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) 155 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) 157 Ivan Murillo Velasco (Spa) 158 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) 159 Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale 161 Nicolas Roche (Irl) 162 Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) 163 Mickaël Chérel (Fra) 164 John Gadret (Fra) 165 Biel Kadri (Fra) 166 David Lelay (Fra) 167 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) 168 Christophe Riblon (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 171 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) 172 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) 173 Stijn Devolder (Bel) 174 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) 175 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) 176 Björn Leukemans (Bel) 177 Marco Marcato (Ita) 178 Wout Poels (Ned) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 181 Rein Taaramae (Est) 182 Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) 183 Rémi Cusin (Fra) 184 Julien El Farès (Fra) 185 Tony Gallopin (Fra) 186 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) 187 David Moncoutie (Fra) 188 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Skil - Shimano 191 Roy Curvers (Ned) 192 Thomas Damuseau (Fra) 193 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) 194 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) 195 Simon Geschke (Ger) 196 Thierry Huppond (Fra) 197 Cheng Ji (Chn) 198 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) FDJ 201 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) 202 Mickael Delage (Fra) 203 Arnaud Gerard (Fra) 204 Anthony Geslin (Fra) 205 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) 206 Gianni Meersman (Bel) 207 Cédric Pineau (Fra) 208 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Landbouwkrediet 211 Bert De Waele (Bel) 212 Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) 213 Davy Commeyne (Bel) 214 Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) 215 Matti Helminen (Fin) 216 Reinier Honig (Ned) 217 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) 218 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Saur - Sojasun 221 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) 222 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) 223 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) 225 Laurent Mangel (Fra) 226 Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) 227 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) 228 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) 229 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Veranda's Willems - Accent 231 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) 232 Dieter Cappelle (Bel) 233 Thomas Degand (Bel) 234 Gregory Habeaux (Bel) 236 Sven Van Den Houtte (Bel) 237 Arnoud van Groen (Ned) 238 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 241 Sander Armee (Bel) 242 Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) 243 Johan Coenen (Bel) 244 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) 245 Pieter Jacobs (Bel) 246 Pieter Serry (Bel) 247 Geert Steurs (Bel) 248 Preben Van Hecke (Bel)

Liège - Bastogne - Liège News Stories

Gerrans' plan to isolate brilliant Belgian Simon Gerrans has fought elbow-to-elbow with Philippe Gilbert in the finales of the past two one-day classics in Europe. The Australian Tour de France stage winner has tried to take Gilbert on and - like many - has been left in the victorious Belgian's wake and scrapping for podium finishes. But as Gerrans readies for the last one-day spring classic of the year, the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race in the hilly Ardennes of Belgium on Sunday, he is adamant that there is still a way to beat the classy in-form Gilbert who is poised to snare a rare treble if he wins the 255.5-kilometre race. For the climbers, Liege-Bastogne-Liege - the fourth of cycling's five ''monuments'', with the fifth being October's Tour of Lombardy in Italy - is a precursor to the Tour of Romandy in Switzerland from next Tuesday to Sunday and the May 7-21 Giro d'Italia. Link: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/gerrans-plan-to-isolate-brilliant-belgian-20110422-1drc8.html Vinokourov rules out coalition to beat Gilbert Defending champion Alexandre Vinokourov has ruled out a concerted effort in the peloton to stop race favourite Philippe Gilbert from winning Liege-Bastogne-Liege. However the Kazakh said he would not turn the Belgian down if prompted to go on the attack late in the 255.5 km epic. "If he goes, I'm not going to sit in his wheel. I will ride with him and at the end may the best man win," said Vinokourov, who is set to compete in his final edition of 'La Doyenne' as he heads towards retirement. Link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hXaE_WaQsBVthBNLFcHpvo-XLgzQ?docId=CNG.143a0a644c39f718b9bf3627ad41e87d.31 Final Liège-Bastogne-Liège participation for Vinokourov In spite of Philippe Gilbert’s (Omega Pharma-Lotto) domination of the Ardennes classics to date, Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) claimed he was confident that a third win in his final Liège-Bastogne-Liège participation was within his reach. Vinokourov, who won last year, emphasized that his bond with Gilbert could help both riders in the finale, and he also expressed his desire to get the Belgian into his Astana team. Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/final-liege-bastogne-liege-participation-for-vinokourov Gilbert not our only Liege rival: cyclist Schleck Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck said he won't have a fixation on Belgian rival Philippe Gilbert when Liege-Bastogne-Liege brings the spring classics season to an end Sunday. Gilbert lines up for the 255.5 km race with a rare chance of securing a Grand Slam of victories in the tough 'Ardennes Classics' after his Fleche Wallonne win on Wednesday followed victory at the Amstel Gold race a week ago. The Ardennes triple has been achieved only once before, by Italian Davide Rebellin, in 2004. Link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gU1mFRkZqedp4VaBaQpV-gThfrwA?docId=CNG.318cd832fb27826ef578afac8e0b0268.351 Monfort dreams of Liège-Bastogne-Liège suprise victory Maxime Monfort of the Leopard Trek team has been inspired by the recent race scenarios at the 2011 Spring Classics. Even though he is "just" a domestique to Fränk and Andy Schleck at the upcoming Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Belgian has ideas of his own that could perfectly fit into the overall race strategy of his team. "Of course I'm ambitious for Liège," the climber told the Gazet van Antwerpen. "But more for my team Leopard than for myself, which is logical considering that the Schlecks are part of my squad." Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/monfort-dreams-of-liege-bastogne-liege-suprise-victory What's eating Gilbert Great? Forget Easter eggs this Sunday: Belgium's Philippe Gilbert hopes to serve himself a fourth course of succulent Ardennes pate with victory in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. And an unprecedented fourth Belgian classics win in two weeks would be sweet as chocolate for Phil Gil, who admitted after his imperious taming of the Mur de Huy in last weekend's Fleche-Wallonne that his excellent form is beginning to surprise even him. Link: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blog/blazin-saddles/article/1628/ Gilbert hungry for win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège After racking up three wins in a row in the last two weeks, Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) is the top favourite for the win in cycling's fourth Monument of the season, Liège-Bastogne-Liège. On Friday afternoon, a relaxed Gilbert talked with the international press in the team's hotel in Maastricht, The Netherlands. Gilbert said he wouldn't mind trading all of his earlier wins for a first win in Liège. Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gilbert-hungry-for-win-at-liege-bastogne-liege Schlecks racing to win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Leopard Trek team leaders Fränk and Andy Schleck have played down the idea that Liège-Bastogne-Liège is a race between just them and Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) but made it clear they are determined to try stop the Belgian completing a rare Ardennes hat-trick. Facing a string of questions about if and how they can beat Gilbert, the two came close to losing their patience during a press conference in their hotel overlooking the Spa Francorchamps motor racing circuit. Link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/schlecks-racing-to-win-at-liege-bastogne-liege

naivety, romanticism or sportmanship ?
with these words starts one of the L'Equipe articles after the race, concerning the way that the Schlecks cooperated with Gilbert and didn't race for him to lose,
as usual we have seen a truly great cycling spring this year and everybody can take his lessons on the different ways to approach important races and their outcomes,