Liège-Bastogne-Liège Preview

victorponf
victorponf Posts: 1,187
edited April 2012 in Pro race
All about of Liege (favourites, route, history...)

http://www.revistadesdelacuneta.com

44562d5e69e30bbcea89cb5f22dcef60o.jpg
If you like Flandes, Roubaix or Eroica, you would like GP Canal de Castilla, www.gpcanaldecastilla.com

Comments

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,243
    Not much love for this race.

    How do people think it will play out?

    2010 was a good 'un.

    2011 less so.
  • Not much love for this race.

    How do people think it will play out?

    2010 was a good 'un.

    2011 less so.

    Frank Schleck to prove he's once again the strongest in the race and finish 12th :lol:
  • Nobody excited about Liege? It can't be that dull, can it? OK, last year was a bit rubbish, but then doesn't that mean that this year HAS to be exciting? I hope so, looking forward to it!

    So what's gonna happen? BMC doing alot of work and not winning? Probably. The Schlecks having an epic fail? Maybe. Think we could see a suprise winner this year. Gilbert not riding well, Valverde being a bit invisable to, maybe time for another domestique to come good with a cheeky attack from a long way out! Maybe a 100km plus epic attack with the bunch frantically chasing back to try and catch him before the finish. Maybe some bad weather as well, even some snow! Come on, fingers crossed everyone!
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,348
    AS I mentioned in PTP I'm being forced, against my will, to look at Tulips all weekend so I'm sulking and not paying any attention to it!
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    I think this is a pretty open race. You can make a good case for as many as 20 riders. I feel the race this year will reward the bold.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • ddraver wrote:
    AS I mentioned in PTP I'm being forced, against my will, to look at Tulips all weekend so I'm sulking and not paying any attention to it!

    Tulips? What are you a man or a small rodent on a bike? Oh, yeah, sorry... :oops:
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,243
    RichN95 wrote:
    I think this is a pretty open race. You can make a good case for as many as 20 riders. I feel the race this year will reward the bold.


    I wrote a load of stuff but it all got deleted by accident. So here's a smaller summary.

    1) Don't know what to make of Liege. Everyone/everything tells me it's big but I never get the vibe through the TV or beforehand. I just don't feel it.

    2) I recon Amstel is a better indicator than Fleche for form given it's 250km - as long as you take into account poor bike handlers will suffer plenty more in Amstel than Liege > with the exception of J-Rod, who I think genuinely suffered in the Amstel chill.

    3) Also, is there a pattern or rhythm to this race? I don't think I'/ve paid enough attention to them over the years to notice if there is - certainly can't think of one. With the monuments before you have a good idea about what's what and where. Anyone got any insight?

    So, to win? J-Rod goes to the line with Gilbert and possibly Cunego if he's recovered and does them over in a longer sprint.
  • Moomaloid
    Moomaloid Posts: 2,040
    Last 2 years the decisive attacks have gone on the same part of the course too. Both times from the Schlecks i believe... and both times to fail miserably... :lol:
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,243
    Moomaloid wrote:
    Last 2 years the decisive attacks have gone on the same part of the course too. Both times from the Schlecks i believe... and both times to fail miserably... :lol:

    Where about is that?
  • Moomaloid wrote:
    Last 2 years the decisive attacks have gone on the same part of the course too. Both times from the Schlecks i believe... and both times to fail miserably... :lol:

    Where about is that?

    Côte de la Roche aux Faucons innit! Make it three years in a row, it's where Andy Schleck attacked when he won the race in 2009.
  • I wrote a load of stuff but it all got deleted by accident. So here's a smaller summary.

    Yeah, I do that all the time. :D
    1) Don't know what to make of Liege. Everyone/everything tells me it's big but I never get the vibe through the TV or beforehand. I just don't feel it.

    Maybe you need to go and see the race. I reckon it's the course that makes it and I don't think you can really see just how tough the climbs are from the TV. It's like I don't think people get just how bad the pave is in Roubaix, you need to ride it. Same for Liege I reckon.
  • Looks like showers for tomorrow...

    http://uk.weather.com/weather/tomorrow-Liege-BEXX0011

    Gilbert will be happy!
    “I would have preferred if it was even colder and wetter again, because I perform better in difficult conditions,” Gilbert said, according to dhnet.be. “I thought that the weather would play more of a role at Flèche on Wednesday, because it was cold at Amstel.”

    Flèche Wallonne winner Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) confessed to struggling to cope with the colder temperatures at Amstel Gold Race, and Gilbert is hopeful that the weather might tip the balance towards him this weekend.

    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/weather ... ogne-liege
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    “It´s definitely my favorite race, even more than World Championships or big stage races,” he explained. “I don´t know why, but since I was a child I considered this ´Ardennes Classic races´ week the season´s climax. Especially ´Liege-Bastogne-Liege" – that has always been my dream: a dream I went close many times, a dream I may have fulfilled before if I was the leader of a team.

    “For example, in 2006, I was in a breakaway with Michael Boogerd: if I helped him in the escape, I think I could win because I was faster in these kind of sprints. Instead, my orders were to help Alejandro Valverde: so I didn´t help the Dutch rider, Valverde reached us and in the end he won. Anyways, now I´m the leader, and I can do my best in order to win.”

    -Rodriguez.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    Looks like showers for tomorrow...

    http://uk.weather.com/weather/tomorrow-Liege-BEXX0011

    Gilbert will be happy!
    “I would have preferred if it was even colder and wetter again, because I perform better in difficult conditions,” Gilbert said, according to dhnet.be. “I thought that the weather would play more of a role at Flèche on Wednesday, because it was cold at Amstel.”

    Flèche Wallonne winner Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) confessed to struggling to cope with the colder temperatures at Amstel Gold Race, and Gilbert is hopeful that the weather might tip the balance towards him this weekend.

    http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/weather ... ogne-liege

    The forecast for tomorrow is for heavy rain. Warmer than for Amstel, but with a stiff southerly breeze (force 3 - 4) We have had hailstones this evening and the prediction is worse for tomorrow.
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • pottssteve wrote:
    The forecast for tomorrow is for heavy rain. Warmer than for Amstel, but with a stiff southerly breeze (force 3 - 4) We have had hailstones this evening and the prediction is worse for tomorrow.

    :D