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Liège-Bastogne-Liège was contested for the first time in 1892, which makes it the oldest of the 5 monuments, so the nickname of La Doyenne (The Old Lady) is fully justified. After two months of intense activity, Liège-Bastogne-Liège brings the Spring Classics season to a close as the peloton turns its sights on stage races, especially the Giro d'Italia, which starts on May 6.

Men's race route and favorites

As its name suggests, Liège-Bastogne-Liège starts and finishes in the town of Liège, in the Walloon region of Belgium. The terrain is full of hills and short but steep slopes up to a total of 4,150 meters of climbing, which, combined with a monumental distance of 253 km, make it a very tough race and one of the two monuments that are best suited to climbers, along with Il Lombardia. As it could not be otherwise, traditional climbs such as La Côte de la Redoute (2 km at 8.6%) or La Côte de la Roche-Aux-Faucons (1.3 km at 10.5%) will be decisive in the final part of the race.

Title holder Tadej Pogačar (1200) is the big favorite, and presumably his biggest rivals will be Julian Alaphilippe (1200) and Wout Van Aert (1200). Other usual suspects in top of the board places in La Doyenne are Michael Woods (800), David Gaudu (1000), Alejandro Valverde (800), Matej Mohorič (800), Warren Barguil (400) and Marc Hirschi (800).

Women's race route and favorites

The women's race is a carbon copy of the second half of the men's race, since the cyclists will take the start in Bastogne to go directly to Liège, adding a total of 141 km and 2,255 meters of climbing. The winner of the 2021 edition Demi Vollering (1000), and the winner of the 2019 edition Annemiek Van Vleuten (1200) start as the main favorites. Mariane Vos (1200), Elisa Longo Borghini (1000), Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (1000), Katrzyna Niewiadoma (1000), Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (1000), Lucinda Brand (1000), Mavi Garcia (800), Marta Cavalli (800) or Grace Brown (800) are other cyclists who can fight for victory.