Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2020 [FULL RACE] (ladies)

October 4, 2020

Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2020 – Bastogne – Liège : 135 km

Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) will return to defend her title at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes on October 4. Having lost the rainbow jersey to compatriot Anna van der Breggen at the World Championships last weekend, she will instead toe the start line wearing the European Champion’s jersey. The race is normally the finale to the Ardennes Classics in April, however, this year it will be held on October 4 as part of the post-COVID-19 late-season Women’s WorldTour calendar. Van Vleuten is still recovering from a fractured wrist sustained in a crash at the Giro Rosa. After successful surgery and a fitted brace, she was cleared by doctors at the Dutch federation to start the World Championships where she secured the silver medal. Although she skipped Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, she will start Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) has won Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes. Part of a nine-rider front group that went clear with over 50km to go, Deignan went clear on the Côte de La Redoute 30km from the finish, opening a gap of almost a minute.

On the last climb, the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, Grace Brown (Mitchelton-Scott) dropped the rest of the group to chase Deignan, but she never came closer than 10 seconds and ultimately finished in second place. Deignan’s teammate Ellen van Dijk anticipated the sprint to take third place.

“I think the nicest thing about this team is that we are allowed to race on instinct and not to fear failure”, explained Deignan after the race. “I thought, I need to be over La Redoute before Anna [van der Breggen] and Annemiek [van Vleuten] and Elisa [Longo Borghini]. So I just raced on instinct.”

Reflecting on the final where Brown came closer and closer, Deignan said: “It was really horrible. In the end, I decided to try to chase the motorbikes in front of me rather than think about her behind me, because mentally it is just cracking you when you think like that. I knew that she would descend faster than me, so I was just praying the line would come quicker.”

How it unfolded

It was an early morning start for the women’s peloton in Bastogne. They rolled out on the 135km course to Liège in the cold and rain, though the rain stopped during the race and the sun came out eventually.

Helped by a strong tailwind, the pace was very high, and there was no breakaway for a long time until a group of eight riders went clear shortly before the Côte de la Vecquée. Amy Pieters (Boels Dolmans), Juliette Labous (Team Sunweb), Hannah Barnes (Canyon-SRAM), Deignan, Van Dijk, Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv), Katrine Aalerud (Movistar Team) and Marlen Reusser (Équipe Paule Ka) quickly gained a one-minute advantage, and Brown bridged to the front on the Vecquée climb.

These nine riders entered the Côte de La Redoute 1:30 minutes ahead of the peloton. Halfway up, Deignan accelerated and dropped the rest of the group, cresting the top solo about 30 seconds ahead.

Further behind, Demi Vollering (Parkhotel Valkenburg) set the pace and made several attacks to fracture the peloton. Only Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope), Liane Lippert (Team Sunweb), and Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) able to follow Vollering all the way to the top, though more riders joined from behind in the following kilometres.

20km from the finish, Deignan was almost a minute ahead of the first chase group where there was no real cooperation and Van Dijk chased down any attacks. 2:20 minutes behind the leader, Uttrup Ludwig was driving the second chase group of about 20 riders.

On the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, Brown attacked from the chase group to go after Deignan on her own. The 28-year-old Australian was 32 second behind at the top of the climb and threw herself into the descent into Liège. She had Deignan in sight several times on the twisty run-in but could not close the gap completely, finishing as runner-up nine seconds behind Deignan who could celebrate her third one-day race victory of the season and resume the lead of the UCI Women’s WorldTour.

Results :
1 Elizabeth Deignan (GBr) Trek-Segafredo Women 3:29:48
2 Grace Brown (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:00:09
3 Ellen Van Dijk (Ned) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:02:19
4 Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv
5 Amy Pieters (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
6 Hannah Barnes (GBr) Canyon-Sram Racing 0:02:21
7 Marlen Reusser (Swi) Equipe Paule Ka
8 Juliette Labous (Fra) Team Sunweb Women
9 Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Movistar Team Women 0:02:26
10 Liane Lippert (Ger) Team Sunweb Women 0:03:27
11 Demi Vollering (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg
12 Floortje Mackaij (Ned) Team Sunweb Women
13 Elise Chabbey (Swi) Equipe Paule Ka
14 Ruth Winder (USA) Trek-Segafredo Women
15 Soraya Paladin (Ita) CCC-Liv
16 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) CCC-Liv
17 Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
18 Marta Cavalli (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
19 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-Sram Racing
20 Kristen Faulkner (USA) Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
21 Mikayla Harvey (NZl) Equipe Paule Ka
22 Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
23 Margarita Victoria Garcia Cañellas (Spa) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
24 Chantal Van den Broek-Blaak (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
25 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:03:33
26 Anna Van der Breggen (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 0:03:35
27 Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) Equipe Paule Ka 0:03:38
28 Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:03:40
29 Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Astana Women’s Team 0:04:12
30 Eugenia Bujak (Slo) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
31 Lauren Stephens (USA) Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
32 Jelena Eric (Srb) Movistar Team Women
33 Katia Ragusa (Ita) Astana Women’s Team
34 Sandra Levenez (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
35 Urska Pintar (Slo) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
36 Lucy Kennedy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women
37 Christine Majerus (Lux) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 0:04:28
38 Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:04:38
39 Alison Jackson (Can) Team Sunweb Women 0:05:52
40 Teuntje Beekhuis (Ned) Lotto Soudal Ladies 0:06:53
41 Leah Kirchmann (Can) Team Sunweb Women 0:08:39
42 Evita Muzic (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
43 Anastasiia Chursina (Rus) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:08:59
44 Maria Novolodskaya (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro
45 Diana Klimova (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro 0:09:30
46 Nancy Van der Burg (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg
47 Rossella Ratto (Ita) Chevalmeire
48 Hannah Ludwig (Ger) Canyon-Sram Racing
49 Kathrin Hammes (Ger) Ceratizit-WNT Pro
50 Paula Andrea Patiño Bedoya (Col) Movistar Team Women
51 Lara Vieceli (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro
52 Vita Heine (Nor) Hitec Products-Birk Sport 0:10:51
53 Sara Van de Vel (Bel) Ciclotel
54 Gloria Rodriguez Sanchez (Spa) Movistar Team Women 0:11:03
55 Nina Kessler (Ned) Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
56 Brodie Chapman (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
DNF Georgia Williams (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott Women
DNF Alexis Ryan (USA) Canyon-Sram Racing
DNF Elena Cecchini (Ita) Canyon-Sram Racing
DNF Hanna Nilsson (Swe) Parkhotel Valkenburg
DNF Anouska Koster (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg
DNF Romy Kasper (Ger) Parkhotel Valkenburg
DNF Nina Buijsman (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg
DNF Eva Buurman (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
DNF Janneke Ensing (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott Women
DNF Jessica Allen (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women
DNF Victorie Guilman (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
DNF Wilma Olausson (Swe) Team Sunweb Women
DNF Kim De Baat (Bel) Ciclotel
DNF Omer Shapira (Isr) Canyon-Sram Racing
DNF Alice Coutinho (Fra) Charente-Maritime Women Cycling
DNF Noemie Abgrall (Fra) Charente-Maritime Women Cycling
DNF Coralie Demay (Fra) Charente-Maritime Women Cycling
DNF Kelly Van den Steen (Bel) Chevalmeire
DNF Demmy Druyts (Bel) Chevalmeire
DNF Souyris Manon (Fra) Charente-Maritime Women Cycling
DNF Valeriya Kononenko (Ukr) Ciclotel
DNF Gjøs Martine (Nor) Hitec Products-Birk Sport
DNF Olha Kulynych (Ukr) Ciclotel
DNF Lucie Jounier (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Amandine Fouquenet (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Léa Curinier (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Pauline Allin (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Giulia Marchesini (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano
DNF Kirstie Van Haaften (Ned) Ciclotel
DNF Jeanne Korevaar (Ned) CCC-Liv
DNF Puck Moonen (Ned) Chevalmeire
DNF Gladys Verhulst (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Sofia Collinelli (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano
DNF Emily Newsom (USA) Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
DNF Sharlotte Lucas (NZl) Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
DNF Leah Dixon (GBr) Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank
DNF India Grangier (Fra) Charente-Maritime Women Cycling
DNF Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned) CCC-Liv
DNF Letizia Borghesi (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano
DNF Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) CCC-Liv
DNF Anna Plichta (Pol) Trek-Segafredo Women
DNF Karol-Ann Canuel (Can) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
DNF Lucy Van der Haar (GBr) Hitec Products-Birk Sport
DNF Ingrid Lorvik (Nor) Hitec Products-Birk Sport
DNF Mieke Kröger (Ger) Hitec Products-Birk Sport
DNF Blanca Liliana Moreno Canchon (Col) Astana Women’s Team
DNF Laura Asencio (Fra) Ceratizit-WNT Pro
DNF Carmela Cipriani (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano
DNF Julie Van de Velde (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies
DNF Nikola Noskova (Cze) Bigla-Katusha
DNF Vigie Margaux (Fra) Valcar-Travel & Service
DNF Silvia Pollicini (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
DNF Federica Piergiovanni (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
DNF Danielle Christmas (GBr) Lotto Soudal Ladies
DNF Sarah Rijkes (Aut) Ceratizit-WNT Pro
DNF Arianna Fidanza (Ita) Lotto Soudal Ladies
DNF Erica Magnaldi (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro
DNF Lourdes Oyarbide Jimenez (Spa) Movistar Team Women
DNF Alicia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Movistar Team Women
DNF Marta Bastianelli (Ita) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
DNF Jade Wiel (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
DNF Lauren Kitchen (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
DNF Vittoria Guazzini (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
DNF Nicole Hanselmann (Swi) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
DNF Tayler Wiles (USA) Trek-Segafredo Women
DNF Rasa Leleivyte (Ltu) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano
DNF Marieke Van Witzenburg (Ned) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
DNF Van Eynde Fien (Bel)
DNF Christina Schweinberger (Aut) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
DNF Danique Braam (Ned) Lotto Soudal Ladies
DNF Mieke Docx (Bel) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
DNF Anastasia Carbonari (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano
DNF Shekel Olga (Ukr) Astana Women’s Team
DNF Francesca Pattaro (Ita) Astana Women’s Team
DNF Noemi Rüegg (Swi) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro
DNF Aigul Gareeva (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro
DNF Iuliia Galimullina (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro
DNF Annabel Fisher (GBr) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro
DNF Lone Meertens (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies
DNF Kathrin Schweinberger (Aut) Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
DNS Julie Leth (Den) Ceratizit-WNT Pro