Our squad is ready for one of the season’s most prestigious one-day races.
Sunday brings the fourth and final Monument of the spring, the 254.5km Liège–Bastogne–Liège – one of the climbers’ best opportunities to add a major one-day race to their palmares. The route will be an up-and-down one the entire day, with the riders having to tackle eleven ascents before the final flat kilometers taking them to the center of Liège, where the 110th edition will conclude.
Côte de la Redoute (1.6km, 9.4%), Côte des Forges (1.3km, 7.8%) and Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons (1.3km, 11%) – the last of these coming just 13 kilometers from the line – will be the hills where the race promises to get tougher, paving the way for the big and potentially decisive moves of the day.
Soudal Quick-Step – a three-time winner of “La Doyenne” – comes to the start of the oldest Monument in the world with James Knox, Fausto Masnada, making his first outing since Tirreno-Adriatico, Pieter Serry, Mauri Vansevenant and Louis Vervaeke, who will be joined by neo-pros Gil Gelders and William Junior Lecerf, the latter a stage winner at the Tour du Rwanda and runner-up at the AlUla Tour this year.
“We are without our two leaders for this race, but we have confidence in this young and motivated group. We come to the start with a plan and we are ready to go out there and fight for a good result. The weather won’t be kind on Sunday and could end up playing a big role, but we are determined to give our best before concluding our spring classics campaign”, said sports director Klaas Lodewyck.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
