Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2016 [FULL RACE]

April 24, 2016

Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2016– Liège – Ans – 253 km

Liège–Bastogne–Liège, often called La Doyenne (“The Old Lady”), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium. First run in 1892, it is one of the five Monuments of the European professional road cycling calendar, usually coming as the last of the spring classics. It is held annually in late April, in the Ardennes region of Belgium, from Liège to Bastogne and back.

The snow fell heavily in the Ardennes at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, invoking memories of Bernaud Hinault’s iconic 1980 victory and even causing the race to be re-routed, but Wout Poels rode through the blizzard to put an end to Team Sky’s long wait for a Monument victory.

The Dutchman followed Michael Albasini’s (Orica-GreenEdge) move up the Côte de la Rue Naniot, the new steep cobbled climb introduced to shake up the race’s finale, and held him off in the sprint. Former world champion Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) finished a close third having been part of the move, while Samuel Sanchez (BMC), the fourth member of the group, was unable to produce a sprint and finished a distant fourth.

“I still can’t believe it,” said Poels, who became only the fifth Dutchman to win La Doyenne, and the first since Adri Van Der Poel 28 years ago. “The conditions were really difficult today and at the end we were all really tired.”

For all the talk of Alejandro Valverde’s overwhelming favourite status, and for all the work his Movistar teammates subjected themselves to on the front of the bunch, the defending champion couldn’t manage to make the top 10. It was a similar story for Etixx-QuickStep; they had strength in numbers and drove a fierce pace going into the final 25km, but last year’s runner up and Julian Alaphilippe finished in the main group with Valverde, while 2013 winner Dan Martin struggled on the final climb and ended up nearly two minutes down.

It was a trying day for the riders, who repeatedly encountered mini snow storms all along the route as the weather forecasts proved true to their word. The situation was at its worst halfway along the trip out from Liège to Bastogne, with many teams posting photos of the roads covered in a blanket of snow as their car made their way out to the feed zone. An hour into the race, the organisers made the decision to alter the route and took riders off the planned course after 45 kilometres, eventually linking back up with it at kilometre 75. Given that they were back on course ahead of the first of the day’s 10 climbs, the change did little to shape the complexion of the race, and only 5km were lost from the total distance, which became 248km.

A break of eight enjoyed a few hours out front, while a fairly contained race was ridden back in the bunch. There were eight climbs in the last 80km but it wasn’t until after the fourth one, the famous Côte de La Redoute, had been crested that the race was really ignited.

The utterly miserable conditions took their toll and while crashes took out Tony Gallopin and Rafal Majka, it was largely down to who kept themselves warm, well fed, and most comfortable. Poels’ relatively slow sprint and the fact that Albasini was unable to get near to coming round him demonstrated how exacting the day had been.

How it unfolded

The leaden drops of rain that fell as the peloton gathered at the Place Saint-Lambert for the start of Liège-Bastogne-Liège prefigured what they would face on the long road south. Word had already reached Liege of early morning snowfall in the Ardennes, and shortly after rolling out of the City of the Prince-Bishops, it was announced that the race would be re-routed to avoid the most treacherous roads ahead of the day’s first climb, the Côte de la Roche-en-Ardenne, knocking five kilometres off the overall distance.

By that point, the day’s early break had established itself, with Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff), Paolo Tiralongo (Astana), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Cesare Benedetti (Bora-Argon 18), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Alessandro De Marchi (BMC) and Jeremy Roy (FDJ) slipping off the front inside the opening 15 kilometres of racing. The seven combined well together to cover 42 kilometres in the first hour and build up a lead of 8:45 over a main peloton where most of the contenders were all but unrecognisable beneath capes, snoods and jackets.

Etixx-QuickStep was the first team to take matters in hand at the head of the bunch, working to stabilise the break’s advantage, and they were later joined on the front by Alejandro Valverde’s Movistar guard. Their combined efforts chipped away at the break’s lead over the Saint-Roch – the roadsides on the climb lighter of Luxembourg fans than during the Schleck brothers’ heyday – and by the Côte de Wanne with 84 kilometres remaining, the gap was less unwieldy 4 minutes.

The only real frisson on the Haut-Levée was a banal crash involving Chris Froome, but the Sky rider unclipped before falling into the verge and quickly re-joined the peloton. On reaching the second feed at Stavelot shortly afterwards, however, the race was again buffeted by driving snow. Though, mercifully, it was not sticking to the ground, the headwind and grim conditions underlined that this was to be a war of attrition.

Movistar’s pace-making brought the leaders back to within two minutes on the Col du Rosier, where the snow was replaced by steady rain and where Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie) decided to counter-attack from the peloton, and he was still giving chase alone over the Col du Rosier. At the front, meanwhile, De Marchi fragmented the unity of the leading group by attacking near the summit. 48.5 kilometres from home, De Marchi, De Gendt and Edet had a lead of 1:50 over the peloton.

The endgame

Race organisers introduced the Rue Naniot, a 600-metre cobbled climb with an average gradient of 11% in a bid to discourage riders from playing a waiting game, and it duly produced the race-winning attack. There was, however, the suggestion that its presence softened the impact of the previous climbs, with the favourites riding conservatively and sending teammates up the road instead.

There was next to no movement in the bunch on the Côte de La Redoute, once a key flashpoint of the race, but the race was ignited on the 15km run to the Côte de La Roche-aux-Faucons, the third last climb. Andriy Grivko (Astana) went on the attack while Etixx-QuickStep drove a fearsome pace on the downhill that saw Edet and De Marchi, the last remnants of the breakaway, swallowed up.

Carlos Betancur, amazingly opting for bare legs over leg warmers, then attacked on the approach to the Côte de Saint-Nicholas, before Grivko tried his luck again and Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) also got involved. When they hit the climb, Betancur made another move and the pace was such that Vincenzo Nibali and Simon Gerrans were both dropped.

Bardet attacked over the top of the climb, and then Diego Rosa and Ilnur Zakarin went on the offensive, but a group of around 25 riders would be together jotling for position as they hit the Rue Naniot. About halfway up the 600-metre climb, Albasini surged and the steep gradients took their toll, with gaps appearing among the main group.

Valverde was left in the middle of the group as Sanchez, Costa and Poels proved the only ones who could stay on terms with Albasini. With most riders shorn of teammates, a concerted chase never materialised and, as the road kicked up again into Ans, it became clear the group of four had done enough to earn the right to fight for the victory.

Poels was the first to go, and he led into the final left-hand bend. Albasini looked in a good position on the Dutchman’s wheel but Poels hung on impressively to seal the biggest win of his career.

Results :
1 Wouter Poels (Ned) Team Sky 6:24:29
2 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge
3 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Lampre – Merida
4 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) BMC Racing Team 0:00:04
5 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha 0:00:09
6 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:00:11
7 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff Team 0:00:12
8 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Team Katusha
9 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
10 Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team
11 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
12 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
13 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
14 Michael Valgren (Den) Tinkoff Team
15 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Argon 18
16 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team
17 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team
18 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
19 Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data
20 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky
21 Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
22 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
23 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step
24 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre – Merida 0:00:40
25 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
26 Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
27 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Astana Pro Team
28 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team
29 Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:47
30 Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:18
31 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Lampre – Merida 0:01:29
32 Huub Duyn (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
33 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
34 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
35 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
36 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky
37 Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:01:41
38 Toms Skujins (Lat) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:01:51
39 Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:01:53
40 Floris De Tier (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
41 Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling
42 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Dimension Data
43 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff Team 0:01:56
44 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky
45 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
46 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
47 Daniel Martin (Irl) Etixx – Quick-Step
48 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
49 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
50 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Movistar Team 0:02:01
51 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:02:21
52 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
53 Merhawi Kudus Ghebremedhin (Eri) Dimension Data 0:02:22
54 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:02:35
55 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre – Merida 0:02:40
56 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-GreenEdge 0:02:49
57 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ 0:02:51
58 David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Etixx – Quick-Step
59 Gaetan Bille (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
60 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:00
61 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:03:11
62 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:39
63 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:04:02
64 Pieter Weening (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton 0:04:17
65 Loic Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:04:33
66 Steve Morabito (Swi) FDJ
67 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-GreenEdge
68 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
69 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Team Sky 0:04:38
70 Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre – Merida 0:05:27
71 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
72 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ
73 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
74 Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ
75 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ
76 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
77 Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
78 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
79 Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
80 Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
81 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Tinkoff Team
82 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky
83 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky
84 Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
85 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo
86 José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Bora-Argon 18
87 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
88 Florian Vachon (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
89 Romain Sicard (Fra) Direct Energie 0:05:47
90 Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
91 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team
92 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff Team
93 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Dimension Data
94 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:06:11
95 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre – Merida 0:06:49
96 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Team Katusha 0:06:50
97 Christian Meier (Can) Orica-GreenEdge 0:07:18
98 Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team
99 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data 0:07:24
100 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
101 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Team Katusha
102 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:07:49
103 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
104 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton 0:08:01
105 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:08:17
106 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Direct Energie 0:08:19
107 Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Wanty – Groupe Gobert 0:08:31
108 Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff Team 0:08:42
109 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept 0:09:07
110 Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Bora-Argon 18 0:09:31
111 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise 0:10:31
112 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky
113 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff Team
114 Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
115 Fredrik Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-Alpecin
116 Lawrence Warbasse (USA) IAM Cycling
117 Joseph Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
118 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Movistar Team
119 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:11:35
120 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
121 Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:11:47
122 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:12:25
123 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:12:48
124 Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
125 Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team
126 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:12:53
127 Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:12:56
128 Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
129 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) IAM Cycling
130 Reinier Honig (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton 0:13:27
131 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:13:36
132 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
133 Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept 0:14:06
134 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo
135 Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
136 Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling
137 Chad Haga (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
138 Tim Declercq (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
139 Sindre Skjoestad Lunke (Nor) Team Giant-Alpecin
140 Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
141 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
142 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) IAM Cycling
143 Paul Voss (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
144 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Team Katusha
145 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Argon 18
146 Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha
147 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
148 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
149 David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling
150 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:14:42
151 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:14:44
152 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
153 Caleb Fairly (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin
154 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ
DNF Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx – Quick-Step
DNF Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha
DNF Rein Taaramae (Est) Team Katusha
DNF Valerio Conti (Ita) Lampre – Merida
DNF Mario Jorge Faria Da Costa (Por) Lampre – Merida
DNF Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Team
DNF Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spa) Dimension Data
DNF Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Dimension Data
DNF Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
DNF Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge
DNF Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Mark Mcnally (GBr) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Marinus Cornelis Minnaard (Ned) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert
DNF Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
DNF Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Gregor Muhlberger (Aut) Bora-Argon 18
DNF Dominik Nerz (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
DNF Jarlinson Pantano Gomez (Col) IAM Cycling
DNF Clement Chevrier (Fra) IAM Cycling
DNF Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) IAM Cycling
DNF Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Jeremy Cornu (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
DNF Michel Kreder (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
DNF Nick Van Der Lijke (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton
DNF Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ
DNF Kévin Reza (Fra) FDJ
DNF Sander Helven (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Jens Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
DNF Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Julien Loubet (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept