Liège-Bastogne-Liège is one of the most prestigious road cycling races in Belgium. Nicknamed La Doyenne, or The Old Lady, it’s held annually in Belgium and is the oldest of the five Monuments of professional cycling.
First held in 1892, Liège-Bastogne-Liège takes place in late April after the Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and before Giro di Lombardia.
In 2023, Liège-Bastogne-Liège will be held on Sunday, 23rd April 2023.
The distance of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2022 was 257.1km (159.7 mi). The distance slightly varies yearly due to minor course changes but generally remains between 250km (155.3 mi) and 260km (161.6mi).
Liège-Bastogne-Liège route
Liège-Bastogne-Liège starts and finishes in the Belgian town of Liège, near the Dutch and German borders. The race goes south towards Bastogne (100km, 62 mi) and turns back north and towards Liège.
The route includes many steep climbs that come in quick succession. This makes it hard for the riders to recover for the next climb.
The longest Liège-Bastogne-Liège was in 1998 at 268.5km (166.8 mi). The shortest Liège-Bastogne-Liège was in 1946 at 205km (127.4 mi).
Past Liège-Bastogne-Liège winners
The winner of the 2022 Liège-Bastogne-Liège was Remco Evenepoel. He would win the Vuelta Espana and Road World Championship later in 2022.
Eddy Merckx holds the record with the most Liège-Bastogne-Liège wins with five (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975), followed by Moreno Argentin (1985, 1986, 1987, 1991) and Alejandro Valverde (2006, 2008, 2015, 2017).
Frans Schoubben and Germain Derycke shared the win in 1957.
The table below lists all the past Liège-Bastogne-Liège winners and their winning times.
| Year | Winner | Winning time |
|---|---|---|
| 1892 | Léon Houa | 10hr 48′ 36″ |
| 1893 | Léon Houa | 10hr 42′ |
| 1894 | Léon Houa | 8hr 52′ 5″ |
| 1908 | André Trousselier | 8hr 12′ 9″ |
| 1909 | Victor Fastre | 8hr 21′ |
| 1911 | Joseph Van Daele | 8hr 10′ 22″ |
| 1912 | Omer Verschoore | 8hr 35′ |
| 1913 | Maurice Moritz | 7hr 23′ |
| 1919 | Léon Devos | 9hr 20′ 30″ |
| 1920 | Léon Scieur | 7hr 46′ |
| 1921 | Louis Mottiat | 7hr 23′ |
| 1922 | Louis Mottiat | 7hr 27′ 30″ |
| 1923 | René Vermandel | 7hr 25′ 15″ |
| 1924 | René Vermandel | 8hr 14′ |
| 1925 | Georges Ronsse | 7hr 52′ |
| 1926 | Dieudonné Smets | 7hr 48′ 30″ |
| 1927 | Maurits Raes | 8hr 15′ 39″ |
| 1928 | Ernest Mottard | 7hr 17′ |
| 1929 | Alfons Schepers | 8hr 45′ 25″ |
| 1930 | Herman Buse | 8hr 25′ |
| 1931 | Alfons Schepers | 7hr 23′ 26″ |
| 1932 | Marcel Houyoux | 6hr 32′ 2″ |
| 1933 | François Gardier | 6hr 5′ 24″ |
| 1934 | Theo Herckenrath | 6hr 1′ 30″ |
| 1935 | Alfons Schepers | 6hr 37′ 18″ |
| 1936 | Albert Beckaert | 5hr 51′ |
| 1937 | Eloi Meulenberg | 5hr 49′ 30″ |
| 1938 | Alfons Deloor | 5hr 41′ 41″ |
| 1939 | Albert Ritserveldt | 5hr 39′ |
| 1943 | Richard Depoorter | 5hr 52′ |
| 1945 | Jean Engels | 6hr 21′ 11″ |
| 1946 | Prosper Depredomme | 6hr 2′ 50″ |
| 1947 | Richard Depoorter | 6hr 28′ |
| 1948 | Maurice Mollin | 5hr 52′ |
| 1949 | Camille Danguillaume | 6hr 57′ 40″ |
| 1950 | Prosper Depredomme | 7hr 25′ 25″ |
| 1951 | Ferdy Kübler | 5hr 41′ 1″ |
| 1952 | Ferdy Kübler | 6hr 28′ 8″ |
| 1953 | Alois De Hertog | 6hr 53′ 51″ |
| 1954 | Marcel Enzer | 6hr 56′ 16″ |
| 1955 | Stan Ockers | 6hr 50′ 58″ |
| 1956 | Fred De Bruyne | 7hr 3′ 45″ |
| 1957 | Frans Schoubben & Germain Derycke | 7hr 24′ 56″ |
| 1958 | Fred De Bruyne | 6hr 56′ |
| 1959 | Fred De Bruyne | 6hr 45′ 30″ |
| 1960 | Albertus Geldermans | 6hr 40′ 23″ |
| 1961 | Rik Van Looy | 6hr 44′ 34″ |
| 1962 | Joseph Planckaert | 6hr 55′ 56″ |
| 1963 | Frans Melckenbeek | 6hr 22′ 28″ |
| 1964 | Willy Blocklant | 7hr 6′ 9″ |
| 1965 | Carmine Preziosi | 7hr 1′ 4″ |
| 1966 | Jacques Anquetil | 6hr 59′ 45″ |
| 1967 | Walter Godefroot | 7hr 7′ |
| 1968 | Valère van Sweefelt | 7hr 22′ |
| 1969 | Eddy Merckx | 6hr 50′ |
| 1970 | Roger De Vlaeminck | 7hr 2′ |
| 1971 | Eddy Merckx | 6hr 57′ |
| 1972 | Eddy Merckx | 6hr 33′ |
| 1973 | Eddy Merckx | 6hr 13′ 55″ |
| 1974 | Georges Pintens | 6hr 23′ |
| 1975 | Eddy Merckx | 6hr 27′ |
| 1976 | Joseph Bruyère | 6hr 31′ |
| 1977 | Bernard Hinault | 6hr 28′ |
| 1978 | Joseph Bruyère | 6hr 37′ 42″ |
| 1979 | Didi Thurau | 6hr 35′ |
| 1980 | Bernard Hinault | 7hr 1′ 42″ |
| 1981 | Josef Fuchs | 6hr 54′ |
| 1982 | Silvano Contini | 6hr 56′ |
| 1983 | Steven Rooks | 6hr 44′ 12″ |
| 1984 | Sean Kelly | 6hr 47′ 31″ |
| 1985 | Moreno Argentin | 6hr 37′ |
| 1986 | Moreno Argentin | 6hr 41′ 21″ |
| 1987 | Moreno Argentin | 6hr 40′ |
| 1988 | Adri Van der Poel | 6hr 42′ |
| 1989 | Sean Kelly | 7hr 23′ 40″ |
| 1990 | Eric Van Lancker | 7hr 10′ |
| 1991 | Moreno Argentin | 7hr 15′ |
| 1992 | Dirk de Wolf | 7hr 18′ 6″ |
| 1993 | Rolf Sørensen | 7hr 14′ 8″ |
| 1994 | Evgeni Berzin | 7hr 16′ 30″ |
| 1995 | Mauro Gianetti | 6hr 38′ 25″ |
| 1996 | Pascal Richard | 6hr 58′ 2″ |
| 1997 | Michele Bartoli | 7hr 19′ 28″ |
| 1998 | Michele Bartoli | 6hr 37′ 29″ |
| 1999 | Frank Vandenbroucke | 6hr 25′ 36″ |
| 2000 | Paolo Bettini | 6hr 28′ 32″ |
| 2001 | Oscar Camenzind | 6hr 42′ 38″ |
| 2002 | Paolo Bettini | 6hr 39′ 44″ |
| 2003 | Tyler Hamilton | 6hr 28′ 50″ |
| 2004 | Davide Rebellin | 6hr 20′ 9″ |
| 2005 | Alexandre Vinokourov | 6hr 29′ 9″ |
| 2006 | Alejandro Valverde | 6hr 21′ 32″ |
| 2007 | Danilo Di Luca | 6hr 37′ 24″ |
| 2008 | Alejandro Valverde | 6hr 44′ 4″ |
| 2009 | Andy Schleck | 6hr 34′ 32″ |
| 2010 | Alexandre Vinokourov | 6hr 37′ 48″ |
| 2011 | Philippe Gilbert | 6hr 13′ 18″ |
| 2012 | Maxim Iglinskiy | 6hr 43′ 52″ |
| 2013 | Daniel Martin | 6hr 38′ 7″ |
| 2014 | Simon Gerrans | 6hr 37′ 43″ |
| 2015 | Alejandro Valverde | 6hr 14′ 20″ |
| 2016 | Wouter Poels | 6hr 24′ 29″ |
| 2017 | Alejandro Valverde | 6hr 24′ 27″ |
| 2018 | Bob Jungels | 6hr 24′ 44″ |
| 2019 | Jakob Fuglsang | 6hr 37′ 37″ |
| 2020 | Primoz Roglic | 6hr 32′ 2″ |
| 2021 | Tadej Pogacar | 6hr 39′ 26″ |
| 2022 | Remco Evenepoel | 6hr 12′ 38″ |
| 2023 | Remco Evenepoel | 6hr 15′ 49″ |
Biggest winning margin at Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Léon Houa holds the biggest winning margin. He won by 30 minutes in 1893 and 22 minutes in 1892.
Since 2000, the biggest winning margin was 1′ 17″ by Andy Schleck, with Joaquin Rodriguez taking second place.
The table below shows the 10 biggest winning margins at the Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
| Year | Winner | Winning time | Winning margin | Second place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893 | Léon Houa | 10hr 42′ | 30′ | Michel Borisowski |
| 1892 | Léon Houa | 10hr 48′ 36″ | 22′ | Léon Lhoest |
| 1928 | Ernest Mottard | 7hr 17′ | 12′ | Maurice Raes |
| 1980 | Bernard Hinault | 7hr 1′ 42″ | 9′ 24′” | Hennie Kuiper |
| 1894 | Léon Houa | 8hr 52′ 5″ | 7′ | Louis Rasquinet |
| 1953 | Alois De Hertog | 6hr 53′ 51″ | 5′ 3′” | Marcel Diot |
| 1966 | Jacques Anquetil 6hr 59min 45sec | 6hr 59′ 45″ | 4′ 53′” | Victor Van Schil |
| 1976 | Joseph Bruyère | 6hr 31′ | 4′ 40′” | Freddy Maertens |
| 1972 | Eddy Merckx | 6hr 33′ | 2′ 40″ | Willy Schepers |
| 1954 | Marcel Enzer | 6hr 56′ 16″ | 2′ 40′” | Raymond Impanis |
| 1933 | François Gardier | 6hr 5′ 24″ | 2′ 16′” | Roger Dewolf |
| 1960 | Albertus Geldermans | 6hr 40′ 23″ | 2′ 1′” | Pierre Everaert |
Fastest Liège-Bastogne-Liège average speed
The fastest Liège-Bastogne-Liège was in 2022, won by Remco Evenepoel with an average speed of 41.397/h (25.723mph).
| Year | Winner | Winning time | Avg. speed (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Remco Evenepoel | 6hr 12′ 38″ | 41.397 |
| 2006 | Alejandro Valverde | 6hr 21′ 32″ | 41.202 |
| 1999 | Frank Vandenbroucke | 6hr 25′ 36″ | 41.079 |
| 2011 | Philippe Gilbert | 6hr 13′ 18″ | 41.066 |
| 2004 | Davide Rebellin | 6hr 20′ 9″ | 40.878 |
| 2000 | Paolo Bettini | 6hr 28′ 32″ | 40.768 |
| 2015 | Alejandro Valverde | 6hr 14′ 20″ | 40.552 |
| 2018 | Bob Jungels | 6hr 24′ 44″ | 40.314 |
| 2017 | Alejandro Valverde | 6hr 24′ 27″ | 40.265 |
| 2005 | Alexandre Vinokourov | 6hr 29′ 9″ | 40.087 |
Slowest Liège-Bastogne-Liège average speed
The slowest Liège-Bastogne-Liège was in 1892, by Léon Houa, who won with an average speed of 23.32km/h (14.49mph).
| Year | Winner | Winning time | Avg. speed (km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1892 | Léon Houa | 10hr 48′ 36″ | 23.32 |
| 1893 | Léon Houa | 10hr 42′ | 23.36 |
| 1894 | Léon Houa | 8hr 52′ 5″ | 25.15 |
| 1919 | Léon Devos | 9hr 20′ 30″ | 25.37 |
| 1929 | Alfons Schepers | 8hr 45′ 25″ | 26.28 |
| 1922 | Louis Mottiat | 7hr 27′ 30″ | 26.87 |
| 1930 | Herman Buse | 8hr 25′ | 27.45 |
| 1927 | Maurits Raes | 8hr 15′ 39″ | 27.96 |
| 1909 | Victor Fastre | 8hr 21′ | 28.14 |
| 1921 | Louis Mottiat | 7hr 23′ | 28.31 |
Alex Lee is the founder and editor-at-large of Mr. Mamil. Coming from a professional engineering background, he breaks down technical cycling nuances into an easy-to-understand and digestible format here.
He has been riding road bikes actively for the past 12 years and started racing competitively in the senior category during the summer recently.