2022 Liège-Bastogne-Liège Race Preview
The details of this year's 2022 Liège-Bastogne-Liège are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The oldest of cycling's five monuments heads into its 108th edition with the usual mix of anticipation and uncertainty that only the Ardennes can provide. Liège-Bastogne-Liège, known affectionately as La Doyenne, winds its way through the forested hills of eastern Belgium, and this year's route covers around 257 kilometres from the city of Liège down to the turnaround point in Bastogne before climbing back north to the finish on the Rue Rouveroy in Liège itself.
The race's closing sequence of climbs remains as brutal as ever. The Côte de Saint-Nicolas, the Côte de Ans, and the approach to the final finish will once again separate the true classics men from those who have burned their matches too early. The cumulative fatigue of a long spring campaign means that form and freshness on the day are just as important as raw talent.
Tadej Pogačar arrives as the man everyone is watching. The Slovenian phenomenon from UAE Team Emirates has been in extraordinary form throughout the spring, having already won the Tour of Flanders in dominant fashion. A victory here would complete a remarkable week and confirm his status as the most complete rider in the world at this moment. His ability to accelerate repeatedly on steep gradients makes him ideally suited to the Ardennes style of racing.
Defending champion Primož Roglič will be highly motivated after a difficult spring. The Jumbo-Visma leader knows this race intimately and has the climbing legs and punching power to contest any finish that comes down to a select group on the final ascents. His experience and tactical intelligence should not be underestimated.
Remco Evenepoel comes into this race with enormous confidence following his victory at Liège last year and his win at the Vuelta a España. The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider is on home roads in a sense and his ability to ride a long, sustained tempo up the closing climbs gives him a genuine chance of defending his title from 2021.
David Gaudu has been one of the revelations of the 2022 spring season and arrives at La Doyenne with momentum and form on his side. The Groupama-FDJ climber has the legs for this kind of race and could be an outside threat if the race comes down to a smaller group late on.
Aleksandr Vlasov, Quinten Hermans, and Michael Woods all represent interesting options for teams looking to disrupt the established hierarchy, while veterans like Julian Alaphilippe will want to show that their best form in the Ardennes is still available to them.
Weather and tactics will play their usual roles. If the race is aggressive from the Côte de la Redoute onwards, the field will thin quickly. If it remains conservative, a large group could still be together entering the final kilometres, and the sprint from a reduced bunch tends to favour those with a quicker finishing kick.
All roads point toward a fascinating contest between Pogačar and the challengers who will need to be at their very best to deny him what would be a stunning monument victory to cap an already brilliant spring.
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