Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes is an annual road bicycle racing event in the Ardennes region of Belgium, Belgium, held in late April. It is part of the UCI Women's World Tour. The equivalent men's race is a cycling monument. Liege is one of three men's Monuments with an equivalent current women's race, along with Paris–Roubaix Femmes and Tour of Flanders for Women.
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Late April |
| Region | Wallonia, Belgium |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI Women's World Tour (since 2017) |
| Type | One-day race |
| Organiser | ASO |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 2017 |
| Editions | 8 (as of 2024) |
| First winner |  Anna van der Breggen (NED) |
| Most wins | Anna van der Breggen (NED) Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) Demi Vollering (NED) (2 wins) |
| Most recent |  Grace Brown (AUS) |
History edit
The men's race was first held in 1892, making it the oldest of the five monuments of the European professional road cycling calendar.[1] The inaugural women's race was held in 2017, and was won by Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen.[2]
The race generally marks the end of the entire spring classics season, as the one-day races give way to longer stage races; Liége is followed in the women's calendar by La Vuelta Femenina.
With the reboot of the Amstel Gold Race for Women and the creation of a women's Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2017, the women's season has the same trio of Ardennes classics as the men's. Both races are held on Sundays mid-April, in addition to La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, which has been on the women's calendar since 1998.[3]
Route edit
The race is approximately half the distance of the men's event – around 130 to 140 kilometres – starting in Bastogne, from where it heads north to finish in Liège. The route has generally used the same route as the men's race into Liège – using climbs such as Côte de La Redoute, Côte des Forges and Côte de la Roche aux Faucons.[1][4] Since 2019, the race has finished in Liège, and therefore Côte de Saint-Nicolas has been omitted. The parcours, with its multiple short, hard climbs, is seen as friendlier terrain for general classification riders and climbers than the gravelled and cobbled classics of early spring.[1]
Winners edit
Wins per country edit
| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 6 | Netherlands
|
| 1 | Australia United Kingdom
|
References edit
- ^ a b c "Liège-Bastogne-Liège: All you need to know about the oldest Monument". Rouleur. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ^ "Van der Breggen wins the first ever Liege-Bastogne-Liege Femmes". cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Women's teams gear up for historic first Ardennes triple New Amstel Gold and Liège-Bastogne-Liège races bring fresh spark to the Classics". Cyclingnews. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- ^ "The race - Bastogne > Liège - Liège Bastogne Liège Femmes 2022". www.liege-bastogne-liege-femmes.be. Retrieved 2022-04-29.