2012 Liège - Bastogne - Liège



steve

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Aug 12, 2001
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Liège - Bastogne - Liège Spring classics season concludes in appropriate fashion Sunday with the drama and intensity that come with a battle between the sport’s top climbers.

The oldest classic of them all dates backing to 1892. Liege-Bastogne-Liege is regularly said to be the toughest classic of the lot due to its climbs, which are consistently longer than the other races and many of them coming in the second half of the race.



The Important Climbs km Name Distance Slope 57.7 Côte de Ny' 1.8 km 5.7 % 82.0 Côte de la Roche-en-Ardenne 2.8 km 4.9 % 128.0 Côte de Saint-Roch 0.8 km 12.0 % 172.0 Côte de Wanne 2.7 km 7.0 % 178.5 Côte de Stockeu 1.1 km 10.5 % 184.0 Côte de la Haute-Levée 3.4 km 6.0 % 196.5 Côte du Rosier 4.0 km 5.9 % 209.0 Côte de la Vecquée 3.1 km 5.9 % 226.5 Côte de la Redoute 2.1 km 8.4 % 241.5 Côte de la Roche aux Faucons 1.5 km 9.9 % 255.5 Côte de Saint-Nicolas 1.0 km 11.1 %
The 2012 Route
Download the PDF Profile

Recent Winners
2011 Philippe Gilbert (Bel)
2010 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) 2009 Andy Schleck (Lux) 2008 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) 2007 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) 2006 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) 2005 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) 2004 Davide Rebellin (Ita) 2003 Tyler Hamilton (USA) 2002 Paolo Bettini (Ita) 2001 Oscar Camenzind (Swi) 2000 Paolo Bettini (Ita) 1999 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) 2012 Start List
BMC Racing Team 1 Philippe Gilbert (Bel)
2 Brent Bookwalter (USA)
3 Martin Kohler (Swi)
4 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel)
5 Amaël Moinard (Fra)
6 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita)
7 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel)
8 Tejay Van Garderen (USA)
9 Yannick Eijssen (Bel)
10 Michael Schär (Swi)
RadioShack-Nissan 11 Fränk Schleck (Lux)
12 Jan Bakelants (Bel)
13 Laurent Didier (Lux)
14 Ben Hermans (Bel)
15 Christopher Horner (USA)
16 Maxime Monfort (Bel)
17 Andy Schleck (Lux)
18 Jens Voigt (Ger)
19 Joost Posthuma (Ned)
20 Oliver Zaugg (Swi)
Pro Team Astana 21 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita)
22 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz)
23 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita)
24 Andriy Grivko (Ukr)
25 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz)
26 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro)
27 Evgeni Petrov (Rus)
28 Simone Ponzi (Ita)
29 Tanel Kangert (Est)
30 Roman Kreuziger (Cze)
Omega Pharma - QuickStep 31 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra)
32 Matt Brammeier (Irl)
33 Dario Cataldo (Ita)
34 Kevin De Weert (Bel)
35 Dries Devenyns (Bel)
36 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol)
37 Serge Pauwels (Bel)
38 Jérôme Pineau (Fra)
39 Martin Velits (Svk)
40 Julien Vermote (Bel)
Katusha Team 41 Joaquím Rodríguez Oliver (Spa)
42 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa)
43 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa)
44 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa)
45 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa)
46 Yury Trofimov (Rus)
47 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa)
48 Eduard Vorganov (Rus)
49 Pavel Brutt (Rus)
50 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita)
Liquigas-Cannondale 51 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita)
52 Stefano Agostini (Ita)
53 Federico Canuti (Ita)
54 Damiano Caruso (Ita)
55 Moreno Moser (Ita)
56 Dominique Nerz (Ger)
57 Maciej Paterski (Pol)
58 Daniele Ratto (Ita)
59 Valerio Agnoli (Ita)
60 Eros Capecchi (Ita)
Sky Procycling 61 Rigoberto Uran (Col)
62 Davide Appollonio (Ita)
63 Sergio Henao Montoya (Col)
64 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe)
65 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor)
66 Salvatore Puccio (Ita)
67 Luke Rowe (GBr)
68 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa)
69 Peter Kennaugh (GBr)
70 Ben Swift (GBr)
GreenEdge Cycling Team 71 Simon Gerrans (Aus)
72 Michael Albasini (Swi)
73 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn)
74 Simon Clarke (Aus)
75 Daryl Impey (RSA)
76 Christian Meier (Can)
77 Travis Meyer (Aus)
78 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus)
79 Jens Keukeleire (Bel)
80 Jens Mouris (Ned)
Euskaltel-Euskadi 81 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa)
82 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa)
83 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa)
84 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa)
85 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa)
86 Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa)
87 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa)
88 Romain Sicard (Fra)
89 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa)
90 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa)
Movistar Team 91 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa)
92 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por)
93 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa)
94 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr)
95 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa)
96 Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa)
97 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa)
98 Giovanni Visconti (Ita)
Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 101 Marco Marcato (Ita)
102 Matteo Carrara (Ita)
103 Stijn Devolder (Bel)
104 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned)
105 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb)
106 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol)
107 Wout Poels (Ned)
108 Lieuwe Westra (Ned)
109 Pim Ligthart (Ned)
110 Rob Ruijgh (Ned)
Saur - Sojasun 111 Julien Simon (Fra)
112 Anthony Delaplace (Fra)
113 Brice Feillu (Fra)
114 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra)
115 David Lelay (Fra)
116 Laurent Mangel (Fra)
117 Jean-Marc Marino (Fra)
118 Yannick Talabardon (Fra)
119 Jeremie Galland (Fra)
120 Maxime Méderel (Fra)
Rabobank Cycling Team 121 Robert Gesink (Ned)
122 Lars Boom (Ned)
123 Stef Clement (Ned)
124 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned)
125 Paul Martens (Ger)
126 Bauke Mollema (Ned)
127 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa)
128 Laurens ten Dam (Ned)
129 Matti Breschel (Den)
130 Tom Slagter (Ned)
Team Europcar 131 Thomas Voeckler (Fra)
132 Franck Bouyer (Fra)
133 Anthony Charteau (Fra)
134 Cyril Gautier (Fra)
135 Vincent Jérôme (Fra)
136 Davide Malacarne (Ita)
137 Kevin Reza (Fra)
138 Pierre Rolland (Fra)
139 Perrig Quemeneur (Fra)
Lampre - ISD 141 Damiano Cunego (Ita)
142 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita)
143 Manuele Mori (Ita)
144 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita)
145 Michele Scarponi (Ita)
146 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita)
147 Simone Stortoni (Ita)
148 Diego Ulissi (Ita)
149 Dmytro Krivtsov (Ukr)
150 Marco Marzano (Ita)
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 151 Sander Armee (Bel)
152 Laurens De Vreese (Bel)
153 Pieter Jacobs (Bel)
154 Eliot Lietaer (Bel)
155 Pieter Serry (Bel)
156 Preben Van Hecke (Bel)
157 Arthur Van Overberghe (Bel)
158 Jelle Wallays (Bel)
159 Tim Declercq (Bel)
160 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel)
AG2R La Mondiale 161 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita)
162 Maxime Bouet (Fra)
163 Mickaël Chérel (Fra)
164 Hubert Dupont (Fra)
165 Ben Gastauer (Lux)
166 Sébastien Minard (Fra)
167 Christophe Riblon (Fra)
168 Nicolas Roche (Irl)
169 Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra)
170 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra)
Argos-Shimano 171 Alexandre Geniez (Fra)
172 Thomas Damuseau (Fra)
173 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn)
174 Tom Dumoulin (Ned)
175 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger)
176 Simon Geschke (Ger)
177 Yann Huguet (Fra)
178 Matthieu Sprick (Fra)
179 Koen de Kort (Ned)
180 Patrick Gretsch (Ger)
Garmin-Barracuda 181 Ryder Hesjedal (Can)
182 Thomas Dekker (Ned)
183 Alex Howes (USA)
184 Michel Kreder (Ned)
185 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra)
186 Daniel Martin (Irl)
187 Peter Stetina (USA)
188 Fabian Wegmann (Ger)
189 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu)
190 Andrew Talansky (USA)
Landbouwkrediet-Euphony 191 Bert De Waele (Bel)
192 Koen Barbe (Bel)
193 Dirk Bellemakers (Ned)
194 Stefan Cohnen (Ned)
195 Davy Commeyne (Bel)
196 Sébastien Delfosse (Bel)
197 Gilles Devillers (Bel)
198 Reinier Honig (Ned)
199 Frédéric Amorison (Bel)
200 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel)
FDJ-Big Mat 201 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra)
202 Sandy Casar (Fra)
203 Kenny Elissonde (Fra)
204 Rémi Pauriol (Fra)
205 Anthony Roux (Fra)
206 Jérémy Roy (Fra)
207 Benoït Vaugrenard (Fra)
208 Arthur Vichot (Fra)
209 Arnaud Courteille (Fra)
210 Cédric Pineau (Fra)
Lotto Belisol Team 211 Jelle Vanendert (Bel)
212 Gaetan Bille (Bel)
213 BULGAC Brian (Ned)
214 Bart De Clercq (Bel)
215 Francis De Greef (Bel)
216 Gert Dockx (Bel)
217 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel)
218 Dennis Vanendert (Bel)
219 Maarten Neyens (Bel)
220 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel)
Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's 221 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel)
222 Oleg Chuzhda (Ukr)
223 Sjef De Wilde (Bel)
224 Gregory Habeaux (Bel)
225 Kevin Ista (Bel)
226 Arnoud van Groen (Ned)
227 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel)
228 Evert Verbist (Bel)
229 Steven Caethoven (Bel)
Team Saxo Bank 231 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den)
232 Mads Christensen (Den)
233 Karsten Kroon (Ned)
234 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por)
235 Bruno Pires (Por)
236 Nicki Sørensen (Den)
237 David Tanner (Aus)
238 Troels Ronning Vinther (Den)
239 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr)
240 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa)
Team Type 1 - Sanofi 241 Julien El Farès (Fra)
242 Julien Antomarchi (Fra)
243 Alessandro Bazzana (Ita)
244 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi)
245 Rémi Cusin (Fra)
246 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor)
247 Javier Mejías Leal (Spa)
248 Georg Preidler (Aut)
249 Daniele Callegarin (Ita)
250 William Dugan (USA)
 
Pre-race News
Anton crashes out before Liege start Anton, who rides for the Euskaltel team of contender Samuel Sanchez -- the Olympic road race champion -- pulled out after breaking his left collarbone in a crash as the riders rode to kilometre zero, according to race officials. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/sports/289919/anton-crashes-out-before-liege-start Gilbert targets Liege cycling race defence Gilbert, who grew up in nearby Remouchamps, capped a stunning fortnight of spring racing in 2011 by securing victory in cycling's oldest one-day classic after outfoxing the Schleck brothers Andy and Frank in a three-up finish.
A year on and having switched teams from Omega-Pharma to BMC, the 29-year-old is still in the hunt for his first victory of the season. And with a handful of capable challengers biting at his heels, he will start Sunday's epic without the psychological advantage he held in 2011. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/sports/289895/gilbert-targets-liege-cycling-race-defence No room for error as Gilbert targets Liege defence Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert says there can be no room for error if he is to fight off a quality field and defend his coveted Liege-Bastogne-Liege crown on Sunday. Gilbert, who grew up in nearby Remouchamps, capped a stunning fortnight of spring racing in 2011 by securing victory in cycling's oldest one-day classic after outfoxing the Schleck brothers Andy and Frank in a three-up finish. A year on and having switched teams from Omega-Pharma to BMC, the 29-year-old is still in the hunt for his first victory of the season. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/cycling/No-room-for-error-as-Gilbert-targets-Liege-defence/articleshow/12812498.cms GreenEDGE hopes double act will steamroll Liege competition THE Australian GreenEDGE team will head into the final race of the European spring classics on Sunday with a two-pronged attack, following the strong form of Swiss Michael Albasini who placed second in Wednesday's Fleche-Wallonne in Belgium. For the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race, GreenEDGE would normally have put all their hopes in Australian Milan-San Remo winner Simon Gerrans, who skipped the Fleche-Wallonne race after Sunday's Amstel Gold Race in order to be fresh. http://www.watoday.com.au/sport/cycling/greenedge-hopes-double-act-will-steamroll-liege-competition-20120420-1xcdm.html Gilbert climbing to form in time for Liege The form of Philippe Gilbert might be on the up but the Belgian champion would welcome adverse weather conditions dampening his rivals' victory hopes in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege this weekend. The oldest one-day classic on the calendar will be held over 257.5 km on Sunday with a total of 11 short but punishing climbs set to play a key role in deciding who wins 'La Doyenne', first held in 1892. In 2011 Gilbert claimed his maiden Liege victory to seal a hat-trick of 'Ardennes Classic' wins – the Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne and Liege – and thus set his stall out for a season which has been his best to date. http://www.supersport.com/cycling/international/news/120421/Gilbert_climbing_to_form_in_time_for_Liege Cyclist Rodriguez ready to put Valverde in the shade Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez is hoping to make amends for a missed opportunity in 2006 by upstaging former teammate Alejandro Valverde to claim his maiden win at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Cycling's oldest one-day classic will be held over 257.5 km on Sunday with a total of 11 short but punishing climbs set to play a key role in deciding who wins 'La Doyenne', first held in 1892. And while all eyes will be on steadily improving Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert, Rodriguez's victory atop the steep Mur de Huy at the Fleche Wallonne semi-classic in midweek has signalled his ambitions. Already a runner-up at Liege behind Luxembourg's Andy Schleck in 2009, it is the memory of the 2006 edition that Rodriguez wants to put in the shade. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h5KLJrVmjpmRI7Om8dUf1yoOPIhg?docId=CNG.8c1646bd8290076a8875b5c78a1c2b7d.3a1 Gilbert climbing to form for Belgian race Philippe Gilbert's challengers will be hoping to captilalise on the Belgian cyclist racing without teammate Cadel Evans in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege. The form of Philippe Gilbert might be on the up but the Belgian champion would welcome adverse weather conditions dampening his rivals' victory hopes in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege this weekend. The oldest one-day classic on the calendar will be held over 257.5 km on Sunday with a total of 11 short but punishing climbs set to play a key role in deciding who wins 'La Doyenne', first held in 1892. All challengers will be hoping to capitalise on the fact Gilbert will be racing without key BMC teammate Cadel Evans of Australia, the Tour de France champion who pulled out earlier this week with a sinus problem. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1644305/Gilbert-climbing-to-form-for-Belgian-race GreenEDGE achieve Fleche Wallonne success GreenEDGE have tasted outstanding success with Swiss rider Michael Albasini second in the Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday. Albasini was without doubt the second strongest rider next to Katusha’s Spanish rider Joaquim Rodriguez. Australian rider Simon Clarke delivered him in fourth position at the bottom of Mur de Huy. Albasini showed outstanding class and grit to match accelerations from other contenders but Rodriguez’ burst of speed on the steep Huy was on the day (and any other day) unbeatable. http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/04/21/greenedge-achieve-fleche-wallonne-success/ Rodriguez ready to put ghosts of Liège past behind him Spain’s Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) – fresh off his decisive win at La Flèche Wallone – hopes to claim his maiden win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Sunday, after his missed opportunities there in 2009 and 2006. While all eyes may be on steadily improving Belgian defending champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing) at “La Doyenne” – cycling’s oldest one-day classic – Rodriguez hopes the 257.5 km on Sunday with a total of 11 short but punishing climbs will suit him better on the day. And the Spaniard’s victory atop the steep Mur de Huy Wednesday suggests he’s on great form. http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/04/news/rodriguez-ready-to-put-ghosts-of-liege-past-behind-him_214476 Improving form, other factors, could help Gilbert defend at Liège The form of Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing), after his podium finish at Wednesday’s Flèche Wallone, seems to be improving just in time for the Belgian to defend his title at Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège – the oldest classic race on the calendar, dating back to 1892. http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/04/news/improving-form-other-factors-could-help-gilbert-defend-at-liege_214460 Hesjedal signals top form with Flèche power escape Ryder Hesjedal and Lars-Petter Nordhaug played the odds today in the Flèche Wallonne, attacking long and trying to stay clear up the Mur de Huy. The idea was to ease the pressure off their teammates, but they also fancied their chances. “It’s a tough one,” Hesjedal told VeloNews. “I’ve watched this race a lot; you see someone with 30 seconds come back with the speed that they [the group] comes up. With that said, I still made it to the steepest part in front of the group, even starting with only 12 seconds.” http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/04/news/hesjedal-signals-top-form-with-fleche-power-escape_214215?utm_medium=whats-hot
 
I'll be especially interested to see how Pierre Rolland (Eurocar) performs on Sunday.

More thoughts to follow!
 
Originally Posted by limerickman .

I'll be especially interested to see how Pierre Rolland (Eurocar) performs on Sunday.

More thoughts to follow!
Obviously keen to have a go!

229
 
It was a very close finish by all accounts (I didn't see the race live as myself and my better half were away celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary).
I only got to see the race results.

Looking forward to the highlights.
 
Nibali was crushed...after a nice solo attempt.

The weather looked nasty, cold and wet.

I watched the last 90K on a crappy DSL connection, switching between French and English coverage.
 
rain and 7 or 8 degrees C I think /img/vbsmilies/smilies/frown.gif