Sunday’s edition of the race that our team has won three times will be the longest of the last twelve years.
Sunday marks the end of this season’s Spring Classics at the oldest Monument in the world, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a race created in 1892, more than a decade before the Tour de France. This year, “La Doyenne” follows a route largely similar to the one of 2025, which means the peloton will head south to Bastogne before returning to Liège for the most important part of the day.
The parcours will be shaped by the eleven hills and more than 4000 meters of elevation gain that are sure to play a major role in the outcome. Col du Maquisard (2.4km, 5.7%), Côte de Desiné (1.6km, 8.1%), the iconic Côte de la Redoute (1.6km, 9.4%) and Côte de La Roche-aux-Faucons (1.3km, 11%) - the last uphill test of the race, followed by a technical and tricky descent - are some of the most important hills of the race, all crammed inside the final 50 kilometers.
Steff Cras, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Maximilian Schachmann - who concluded third at the 2019 edition - 2022 Paris-Roubaix champion Dylan van Baarle, Amstel Gold Race top ten finisher Mauri Vansevenant, Louis Vervaeke, and Giro di Sardegna winner Filippo Zana will be the seven wolves taking on the 112th edition.
There are a few changes to the parcours, but overall, it’s more or less similar to the one of last year.
“We have some key points on the route, and it will be important to be well positioned the entire time, because things can change rapidly there. We have a solid team for Sunday: Mauri showed in Amstel that he is in good form, Filippo was not far from the top ten on Wednesday, which is encouraging, as this race suits him better, while Max was on the podium here in the past. This makes us confident we can aim for a good result”, explained Soudal Quick-Step sports director Geert Van Bondt.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
