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113-464: It is considered one of the most arduous one-day cycling events in the world because of its length and demanding course. The most successful rider with five victories is Belgian rider Eddy Merckx , trailed by Italian Moreno Argentin in the 1980s and Spaniard Alejandro Valverde in the 2000s, who both won the race four times. Liège–Bastogne–Liège is part of the UCI World Tour competition. It

226-483: A calendar-fixture as from 1945 and began to attract some of the stars of European cycling. In 1951 the race was added to the Challenge Desgrange-Colombo , the competition that combined cycling's greatest races at the time. Swiss Ferdinand Kübler won the race in 1951 and 1952. Belgian favourite Raymond Impanis became the race's eternal runner-up, with four second places but never a victory. In

339-459: A circuit that contained two climbs. Merckx and Poulidor attacked with around seven kilometers to go, after catching the leading breakaway. The two rode to the finish together where Merckx won the sprint to the line, establishing a two-second gap between himself and Poulidor. By winning the road race, Merckx became the first rider to win the Triple Crown of Cycling , which consists of winning

452-612: A feat only previously accomplished by Alfredo Binda and Costante Girardengo . He also became the first rider to win the Giro and Vuelta in the same calendar year. The UCI Road World Championships were held in Barcelona , Spain in 1973 and contested on the Montjuich circuit. During the road race, Merckx attacked with around one hundred kilometers left. His move was marked by Freddy Maertens , Gimondi, and Ocaña. Merckx attacked on

565-466: A few years of my career, because afterwards, with that back, I never had the same feeling uphill as I had in that very first Tour of ‘69.’' Eddy Merckx in 2005 Wambst died of a fractured skull as he was being transported to a hospital. Merckx remained unconscious for 45 minutes and awoke in the operating room. He sustained a concussion , whiplash , trapped nerves in his back, a displaced pelvis , and several other cuts and bruises. He remained at

678-623: A flat stage and held off the peloton to reach the finish in Orléans almost a minute and a half before the chasing group. Merckx finished the Tour with eight stage wins and his fifth Tour de France victory, equaling the record of Anquetil. Going into the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships , Merckx anchored a squad that included Van Springel, Maertens, and De Vlaeminck. The route featured twenty-one laps of

791-456: A flat tire with around eighty kilometers left when a part of a leading group of four. After chasing for three kilometers, he caught the three other riders and the group rode into the finish together; De Vlaeminck won the day. Merckx won his fifth Liège–Bastogne–Liège by attacking several times in the closing portions of the race. Merckx's attitude while racing had changed: riders expected him to chase down attacks, which angered him. Notably, in

904-568: A flat, but Merckx responded that the year before Ocaña had done the same thing while the race was in the Alps. Merckx won the following stage, regaining the lead which he had lost after the fourth leg. During the next two major mountain stages, one to Mont Ventoux and the other to Orcières, he merely followed Ocaña's wheel. He won three more stages before crossing the finish line in Paris as the race's winner, thus completing his second Giro-Tour double in

1017-512: A half minutes to Spanish climber José Manuel Fuente after the Giro's fourth stage that contained a summit finish to Blockhaus. In the seventh stage, Fuente had attacked on the first climb of the day, the Valico di Monte Scuro. However, Fuente cracked near the top of the climb, allowing for Merckx and Pettersson to catch and pass him. Merckx gained over four minutes on Fuente and became the new race leader. He expanded his lead by two minutes through

1130-492: A lab in Rome to be tested, rather than being tested at the finish like the year before. He started the race and won the second stage, but four days later showed signs of weakness with his knee as he was dropped twice while in the mountains. However the next day, Merckx attacked on the final climb into the city of Brentonico to win the stage and take the lead. He won the stage nine individual time trial by almost two minutes over

1243-402: A late escape from a six-strong group including a faltering Eddy Merckx; three years later he won the epic contest of 1980 in torrential snowfall and glacial temperatures (see below). In the 1980s, Italian classics specialist Moreno Argentin won the race four times, narrowly missing Merckx' record. Argentin also gained three victories in the sister classic La Flèche Wallonne , earning him

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1356-422: A major break with the major race contenders, including Merckx, formed with over a hundred kilometers to go. The group finished nine minutes ahead of the peloton as Merckx came around Roger De Vlaeminck during the sprint to win the day. After a week of racing, Merckx held a lead of around a minute over the main contenders. The eighth stage saw a mountain top finish to Puy-de-Dôme . Bernard Thévenet attacked on

1469-490: A month after he turned sixteen, coming in sixth place. He rode in twelve more races before winning his first, at Petit-Enghien , on 1 October 1961. In the winter following his first victory, he trained with former racer Félicien Vervaecke at the local velodrome . Merckx won his second victory on 11 March 1962 in a kermis race. Merckx competed in 55 races during the 1962 calendar year; as he devoted more time to cycling, his grades at school began to decline. After winning

1582-590: A rainy day that featured strong winds, he attacked first on the Oude Kwaremont, but a puncture nullified any gains he was able to establish. He made a move on the Kapelmuur and was followed by a few riders. As the wind shifted from a crosswind to a headwind with close to seventy kilometers left to go, Merckx increased the pace and rode solo to victory. The seventeen days after the Tour of Flanders saw Merckx win nine times. He won Milan–San Remo by descending

1695-450: A select group at the finish. The route of Liège–Bastogne–Liège crosses the two eastern Walloon provinces, Liège and Luxembourg , from north to south and back. Its distance is more or less fixed at 250–260 km. The race starts in the center of Liège , after which the course follows a straightforward 95 km (59 mi) route southwards to Bastogne , and a winding 163 km (101 mi) route back to Liège. The second half of

1808-524: A specialist of the Ardennes races, finished second two years in a row but failed to win the Doyenne . In 1999 , Bartoli sought a third consecutive win, but his effort was thwarted by young Belgian Frank Vandenbroucke who controlled the race and stunned followers with his victory. In 2005 , Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov and German Jens Voigt broke away from the peloton 80 km from the end. Although

1921-502: A spring classic for the first time in his career, in part due to him suffering from various illnesses during the early months. Pneumonia forced him to quit racing for a month and forced him to enter the Giro d'Italia in poor form. He lost time early in the race to Fuente, who took the race's first mountainous stage. Merckx gained time on Fuente in the race's only time trial. Merckx attacked from two hundred kilometers out two days later in

2034-411: A stage that was plagued by horrendous weather. Fuente lost ten minutes to Merckx, who became the race leader. The twentieth stage had a summit finish to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Fuente and Gianbattista Baronchelli attacked on the climb, while Merckx was unable to match their accelerations. He finished the stage only to see his lead shrink to twelve seconds over Baronchelli. He held on to that lead until

2147-544: A unique streak of classics victories in a span of ten days. Gilbert had previously won the Brabantse Pijl , Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne , thus achieving a historic quadruple of victories in the hilly classics of April. Gilbert beat Luxembourg brothers Fränck and Andy Schleck in a sprint of three. Active riders are in italic . In 2017, Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes in the UCI Women's World Tour

2260-420: Is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an unequalled eleven Grand Tours (five Tours de France , five Giros d'Italia , and a Vuelta a España ), all five Monuments , setting the hour record , three World Championships , every major one-day race other than Paris–Tours , and extensive victories on

2373-514: Is the Côte de La Redoute , the 2.0 km climb in Aywaille at an average gradient of 8.9% with slopes of over 20%. For a long time in the 1980s and 1990s La Redoute, at ca. 40 km from the finish, was the breaking point of the race and often the place where decisive breakaways were launched. In recent years the climb seems to have lost that particular role, as many riders are able to keep up with

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2486-613: Is the concluding race of the Ardennes Classics series, which includes the Amstel Gold Race (not technically in the Ardennes, but treated as part of the series) and La Flèche Wallonne ('The Walloon Arrow'). Both Liège and La Fleche are organised by French owner Amaury Sport Organisation , which also organises the Tour de France and Paris–Roubaix . It generally marks the end of the entire spring classics season, as

2599-475: The Col du Tourmalet . Merckx shifted into a large gear, attacked, and went on to cross the summit with a 45-second advantage. Despite orders to wait for the chasing riders, Merckx increased his efforts. He rode over the Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque , increasing the gap to eight minutes. With close to fifty kilometers to go, Merckx began to suffer hypoglycemia and rode the rest of the stage in severe pain. At

2712-519: The Giro di Lombardia ) and the only one to have won them all at least twice. Merckx was successful on the road and also on the track, as well as in the large stage races and one-day races. He is almost universally regarded as the greatest and most successful rider in the history of cycling. Since Merckx's retirement from the sport on 18 May 1978, he has remained active in the cycling world. He began his own bicycle brand, Eddy Merckx Cycles , in 1980 and its bicycles were used by several professional teams in

2825-517: The Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the Critérium du Dauphiné , both of which he won. The Tour de France began with a team time trial that Merckx's team won, giving him the lead. The next day's racing was split into three parts. Merckx lost the lead after stage 1b, but regained it after stage 1c due to a time bonus that he earned from winning an intermediate sprint. During the second stage,

2938-502: The Milan–San Remo a year later, after switching to Peugeot–BP–Michelin . After the 1967 season, Merckx moved to Faema , and won the Giro d'Italia , his first Grand Tour victory. Four times between 1970 and 1974 Merckx completed a Grand Tour double. His final double also coincided with winning the elite men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships to make him the first rider to accomplish cycling's Triple Crown . Merckx broke

3051-576: The Pesant Club Liégois , all Belgians and most of them from Liège, took the start. Only 17 finished. The course halfway turn point was the train station in Bastogne, chosen because of its convenience for race officials. Some tired riders abandoned the race in Bastogne and took the train back to Spa. Léon Houa , a Liège native, won the race after 10 hours and 48 minutes on the bike. The second-place finisher, Léon Lhoest, came in at 22 minutes,

3164-455: The Pyrenees with the first stage, into Luchon , being plagued by heavy thunderstorms that severely handicapped vision. On the descent of the Col de Menté , Merckx crashed on a left bend. Ocaña, who was trailing, crashed into the same bend and Zoetemelk collided with him. Merckx fell again on the descent and took the race lead as Ocaña was forced to retire from the race due to injuries from

3277-611: The Super Prestige , successor of the Desgrange-Colombo competition and early precursor of the UCI World Tour , making the Ardennes Classic one of the main cycling events of the year. In 1969 began the era of cycling icon Eddy Merckx , who gained five victories, three of which consecutive, and a total of seven podium finishes. The 1971 race was run in appalling conditions, with snow and cold ravaging

3390-488: The Tour de France . He won the race's second stage after he attacked with one kilometer to go. The twelfth stage was marred by rainy weather and featured the climbs of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo for the stage finish. By the time Merckx had reached the penultimate climb, there was a six-man group at the front of the race with a nine-minute advantage. Merckx attacked and was able to get a sizable distance between himself and

3503-413: The Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix , the most important cobbled classics ; in the former he crashed and in the latter he had a punctured tire. At the 1966 UCI Road World Championships he finished twelfth in the road race after suffering a cramp in the closing kilometers. He finished the 1966 season with a total of 20 wins, including his first stage race win at the Tour of Morbihan. Merckx opened

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3616-403: The 1967 campaign with two stage victories at the Giro di Sardegna . He followed these successes by entering Paris–Nice where he won the second stage and took the race lead. Two stages later, a teammate, Tom Simpson , attacked with several other riders on a climb and was nearly 20 minutes ahead of Merckx, who remained in a group behind. Merckx attacked two days later on a climb 70 km into

3729-609: The 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Merckx coached the Belgian national cycling team for eleven years, stopping in 1996. He helped start and organize the Tour of Qatar from its start in 2002 until its final edition in 2016. He also assisted in running the Tour of Oman , before a disagreement with the organizers led him to step away in 2017. Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx was born in Meensel-Kiezegem , Brabant , Belgium on 17 June 1945 to Jules Merckx and Jenny Pittomvils. Merckx

3842-427: The 21st to prepare for his attempt, but two days were lost due to rain. His attempt started at 8:46 am local time and saw him finish the first ten kilometers twenty-eight seconds faster than the record pace. However, Merckx started off too fast and began to fade as the attempt wore on. He eventually was able to recover and posted a distance of 49.431 km (31 mi), breaking the world record. After finishing he

3955-910: The Belgian amateur road race title, Merckx declined an offer from his school's headmaster to have his exams postponed, and dropped out of school. He finished the season with 23 victories to his name. Merckx won the amateur road race at the 1964 UCI Road World Championships in Sallanches , France. The following month, he came twelfth in the individual road race at the Tokyo Olympics . Merckx remained an amateur until April 1965, and finished his amateur career with eighty wins to his credit. Merckx turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Rik Van Looy 's Belgian team, Solo–Superia . He won his first race in Vilvoorde , beating Emile Daems . On 1 August, Merckx finished second in

4068-521: The Belgian national championships, which qualified him for the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships . Raphaël Géminiani , the manager of the Bic cycling team, approached Merckx at the event and offered him 2,500 francs a month to join the team the following season. Merckx chose to sign; however, since he was a minor the contract was invalid. After finishing the road race in 29th position, Merckx returned to Belgium and discussed his plans for

4181-563: The Catalan Week, Merckx lost his super domestique Bruyère, who had helped Merckx to victory in years past many times, to a broken leg. Two days following the Catalan Week, Merckx participated in the Tour of Flanders . He launched an attack with eighty kilometers to go, with only Frans Verbeeck being able to match his acceleration. Verbeeck was dropped as the race reached five kilometers remaining, allowing Merckx to take his third Tour of Flanders victory. In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx suffered

4294-562: The Côte de Saint-Nicolas has been removed from the route, and the decisive climbs are once again the Côte de la Redoute, Côte des Forges and Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons. Course changes are frequent from year to year. Climbs are sometimes cut or others included. These are the climbs in recent editions: The weather in April is often unpredictable and the race has repeatedly been affected by harsh weather conditions. In 1919, 1957, 1980, and 2016 there

4407-642: The Milan–San Remo, Merckx worked with his teammates in a seven-man breakaway to set up a final attack on the Poggio. Merckx's attack succeeded and he won his fourth edition of the race. Six days later, he won the Omloop Het Volk . After winning the Tour of Belgium again, Merckx headed into the major spring classics. During the Tour of Flanders, Merckx's rivals worked against him to prevent him from winning. A week later, he suffered five flat tires during

4520-567: The Paris–Roubaix. The Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held in cold and rain conditions. After attacking ninety kilometers from the finish, Merckx caught the leaders on the road and passed them. He rode solo until around three kilometers to go when Georges Pintens caught him. Merckx and Pintens rode to the finish together, where Merckx won the two-man sprint. Instead of racing the Giro d'Italia, Merckx elected to enter two shorter stages races in France,

4633-488: The Poggio at high speed. Merckx saw victory again in mid-April at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège when he attacked with 70 kilometers remaining. He began the Giro d'Italia on 16 May, stating that he wished to ride less aggressively than the year before in order to save energy for the Tour de France . Merckx had won four of the race's stages and held the race lead going into the sixteenth day of racing. However, before

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4746-515: The Pyrenees, Merckx led Ocaña by fifty-one seconds. The general classification favorites were riding together as the race hit the Col d'Aubisque in the seventh leg. Ocaña punctured on the climb, allowing for the other riders to attack. Ocaña chased after the group but crashed into a wall on the descent and went on to lose almost two minutes to Merckx. Merckx was criticized for attacking while Ocaña had

4859-537: The Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year. It was also his third world title, becoming the third rider to ever be world champion three times, after Binda and Rik Van Steenbergen . With victories at Milan–San Remo and Amstel Gold Race , Merckx opened the 1975 season in good form, also winning the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme . In

4972-481: The Tour de Romandie he was riding with race leader Zoetemelk as an attack occurred. Merckx refused to chase the break down, and the two lost fourteen minutes. Merckx contracted a cold and, later, tonsilitis while racing in the spring campaign. This caused him to be in poor form, forcing him to not participate in the Giro d'Italia . He then rode in the Dauphiné Libéré and was not on par with Thevenet, who won

5085-460: The Tour, Merckx had spent a large amount of his time resting and training, racing only five times. Merckx won the race's sixth stage through attacking before the leg's final major climb, the Ballon d'Alsace, and then outlasting his competitors who were able to follow him initially. During the seventeenth stage, Merckx was riding at the head of the race with several general classification contenders on

5198-403: The advice of a physician, he started the next day being barely able to ride out of the saddle, leading Ocaña to attack him several times throughout the stage. In the race's fifth leg, Merckx sprinted away from Ocaña with 150 meters to go to win the day. Merckx lost the race lead in the final stage to Raymond Poulidor and finished in second place overall. Two days removed from Paris–Nice, Merckx

5311-412: The classic. In 1972 the finish moved to Verviers , 15 km from Liège, but because of fans' protest, this was a one-year occasion. The edition was again won by Merckx. In 1975 The Cannibal sealed his fifth and final victory, making him the sole record-holder of La Doyenne . French cycling great, Bernard Hinault won the race twice, both times in harrowing weather conditions. In 1977 Hinault made

5424-496: The closing kilometers and holding off the chasing peloton. He put five minutes into Poulidor, his main rival, after dropping him on the Col du Galibier . The next day, on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, Merckx rode to limit his losses after suffering several attacks from other general classification riders, including Poulidor, Vicente López Carril and Gonzalo Aja . He expanded his lead through several stage victories afterward, including one where he attacked with ten kilometers to go in

5537-523: The course contains numerous climbs, such as the Stockeu, Haute-Levée, La Redoute , and the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, before finishing in Liège. In the final 15 km of the race, the course makes a remarkable transition from the meadowy and agrarian landscapes in the Ardennes to the post-industrial urban scenery of Liège. Until 1991, the race finished in Liège's city center. In 1992, the finish moved to

5650-503: The crash. Merckx declined to wear the yellow jersey the following day out of respect for Ocaña. He won two more stages and the general, points, and combination classifications when the race finished in Paris. Seven weeks following the Tour, Merckx entered the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Mendrisio , Switzerland. The route for the day was rather hilly and consisted of several circuits. Merckx

5763-416: The end of the stage, Merckx told the journalists "I hope I have done enough now for you to consider me a worthy winner." Merckx finished the race with six stage victories to his credit, along with the general, points, mountains, and combination classifications, and the award for most aggressive rider. His next major race was the two-day race, Paris–Luxembourg . Merckx was down fifty-four seconds going into

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5876-471: The escape seemed unlikely to stay away in modern cycling, the two riders made it to the finish ahead of the peloton, with Vinokourov beating Voigt in the sprint. Other memorable editions were the races of 2009 and 2010. In 2009 , young Luxembourger Andy Schleck produced a solo breakaway to beat a strong field and win the race. In 2010 , Alexander Vinokourov concluded his second victory by outsprinting his breakaway companion Alexander Kolobnev . The victory

5989-466: The final lap, but was reeled in by the three riders. It came down to a sprint between the four, of which Merckx came in last and Gimondi in first. Following the road race, Merckx won his first Paris–Brussels and Grand Prix des Nations . He won both legs of À travers Lausanne , as well as the Giro di Lombardia, but a doping positive disqualified him. He closed the season with over fifty victories to his credit. The 1974 season saw Merckx fail to win

6102-549: The finish but the climbing continues after a short descent off of La Roche, with the final uphill topping out approximately 10.5 km from the finish line. Liège–Bastogne–Liège is considered one of the most arduous one-day races in the world because of its length and succession of steep climbs. Every edition, about a dozen climbs – ranging in length, gradient and difficulty – are addressed, offering opportunities to attack. The British magazine Cycling Weekly stated: Four-times winner Moreno Argentin said: The most iconic hill

6215-400: The finish line where Merckx was able to out-sprint Jan Janssen for first place. In doing so, he became the third rider to win the world road race amateur and professional titles. By winning the race he earned the right to wear the rainbow jersey as world champion. Merckx's first victory with his new team came in a stage win at the Giro di Sardegna. At Paris–Nice, he was forced to quit

6328-449: The first winner of the Tour de France , finished fourth. After the inaugural three editions, the race was not organized for another 14 years, after which it was sometimes open only to amateurs and semi-professionals. The race was resumed in 1908, with a start and finish in Liège for the first time. It was won by Frenchman André Trousselier . In 1909 the winner, Eugène Charlier , was disqualified because he had changed bikes. Victor Fastre

6441-555: The forested hills in the Ardennes , but located in the middle of the industrial suburbs of Liège along the Meuse river. In 2016 , the organisers inserted the 600 m cobbled Côte de la Rue Naniot following the Côte de Saint-Nicolas, but preceding the finish in Ans. This turned out to be a one-off, however, as the race has not used the climb since. Since the finish returned to Liège in 2019 ,

6554-562: The four-man sprint to the finish. His next victory came in La Flèche Wallonne after he missed out on an early break, caught up to it, and attacked from it to win the race. On 20 May, he started the Giro d'Italia , his first Grand Tour . He won the twelfth and fourteenth stages en route to finishing ninth in the general classification. He signed with Faema on 2 September for ten years worth 400,000 Belgian francs. He chose to switch over in order to be in complete control over

6667-515: The general classification, along with three stages. On 1 April, Merckx won the Gent–Wevelgem , followed by the Tour of Belgium – where he braved a snowy stage and followed the day up with a victory in the final time trial to secure the title – and Paris–Roubaix . In Paris–Roubaix, Merckx was battling a cold as the race began in heavy rain. He attacked thirty-one kilometers from the finish and went on to win by five minutes and twenty-one seconds,

6780-453: The group he left before he stopped to change his wheel in order to slow down due to orders from his team manager. Merckx got back on his bike and caught the leading breakaway and rode past it to the finish, where he won the stage and took the race lead. Merckx went on to win the race, along with the points classification and mountains classification . In the Volta a Catalunya , Merckx took

6893-535: The hospital for a week before returning to Belgium. He spent six weeks in bed before beginning to race again in October. Merckx later stated that he "was never the same again" after the crash. He would constantly adjust the height of his seat during races to help ease the pain. Merckx entered the 1970 campaign nursing a case of mild tendonitis in his knee . His first major victory came in Paris–Nice where he won

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7006-444: The hour record in October 1972, extending the record by almost 800 metres. He acquired the nickname " The Cannibal ", suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career. He is one of only three riders to have won all five 'Monuments' ( Milan–San Remo , Tour of Flanders , Paris–Roubaix , Liège–Bastogne–Liège , and

7119-530: The industrial suburb of Ans , on the northwestern side of the city. The steep Côte de Saint-Nicolas was included in the final kilometres, along with a final climb to the finish in Ans . The move implied profound changes to the character of the race, as climbers with a strong uphill-sprint in recent years often wait until the final stretches to launch their ultimate attack. The route usually has some minor changes every year, with some climbs skipped and others added, but

7232-515: The largest margin of victory in the history of the race. The next weekend, Merckx attempted to race for teammate Joseph Bruyère in La Flèche Wallonne; however, Bruyère was unable to keep pace with the leading riders, leaving Merckx to take the victory. After the scandal at the previous year's Giro d'Italia, Merckx was unwilling to return to the race in 1970 . His entry to the race was contingent upon all doping controls being sent to

7345-628: The late 1950s Fred De Bruyne won the race three times in his first three participations, equalling the former record of Houa and Schepers . In 1957 two riders were declared winner. Germain Derijcke was first over the finish line, but he had crossed a closed level crossing . Derijcke had won by a three-minute lead and judges felt he had not gained that much time from illegally crossing the railway, thereby not disqualifying him. Officials compromised to promote second-place rider Frans Schoubben to first as well. In 1959 Liège–Bastogne–Liège became part of

7458-518: The late 1990s, Italians Michele Bartoli and Paolo Bettini continued a tradition of Italian victories in La Doyenne, with two wins each. In 1997 , Bartoli and Laurent Jalabert made a decisive breakaway on the climb of La Redoute , 40 km from the finish. Both riders worked together and Bartoli broke away from the Frenchman on the steep slopes in the final kilometer of the race. Jalabert,

7571-582: The latter in which he won some local boxing tournaments. He even played lawn tennis for the local junior team. However, Merckx claimed he knew he wanted to be a cyclist at the age of four and that his first memory was a crash on his bike when he was the same age. Merckx began riding a bike at the age of three or four and would ride to school every day, beginning at age eight. Merckx would imitate his cycling idol Stan Ockers with his friends when they rode bikes together. In summer 1961, Merckx bought his first racing license and competed in his first official race

7684-426: The lead. The following day Merckx lost eight minutes to Ocaña after a poor showing due to stomach pains and indigestion. At the start of the eleventh stage, Merckx, three teammates, and a couple of others formed a breakaway. Merckx's group finished two minutes in front of the peloton that was led by Ocaña's Bic team. After winning the ensuing time trial, Merckx took back eleven more seconds on Ocaña. The race entered

7797-407: The lower slopes and Merckx was unable to counter. Joop Zoetemelk and Luis Ocaña went with Thévenet and wound up gaining fifteen seconds on Merckx. On the descent of the Col du Cucheron during the race's ninth leg, Merckx's tire punctured, prompting Ocaña to attack with Zoetemelk, Thévenet, and Gösta Pettersson . The group of four finished a minute and a half ahead of Merckx, giving Zoetemelk

7910-466: The main field as the race entered the final climb of the Poggio . He attacked on the climb and reduced the field to a group of eleven, himself included. Merckx was advised by his manager to hold off on sprinting full-out to the finish line until as late as possible. At the end of the race, three other riders approached the line with him, and Merckx beat them in the sprint. In the following weeks, he raced

8023-806: The more prestigious event of the two Ardennes Classics, showing how prestige and importance of a race can sometimes change over time. At one time, Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège were run on successive days known as Le Weekend Ardennais , with Liège–Bastogne–Liège organized on Saturday and the Flèche Wallonne on Sunday. Only seven riders have won both races in the same year: Spaniard Alejandro Valverde three times (2006, 2015 and 2017), Swiss Ferdinand Kübler twice (in 1951 and 1952), Belgians Stan Ockers (1955), Eddy Merckx (1972), and Philippe Gilbert (2011) and Italians Moreno Argentin (1991) and Davide Rebellin (2004). In 2011 Belgian Philippe Gilbert won Liège–Bastogne–Liège, completing

8136-466: The nearly 70 races he entered. In March 1966, Merckx entered his first major stage race as a professional rider, the Paris–Nice . He took the race lead for a single stage before losing it to Jacques Anquetil and eventually coming in fourth overall. Milan–San Remo , his first participation in one of cycling's Monuments, was the next event on the calendar for Merckx. There, he succeeded in staying with

8249-438: The next day's leg as well. Merckx's primary competitor, Fuente, lost a significant amount of time during the second stage. He won the eighth stage which featured a summit finish to Monte Carpegna despite Fuente attacking several times on the ascent. Fuente tried attacking throughout the rest of the race, but was only able to make time gains on the race's penultimate stage. Merckx won the race after leading from start to finish,

8362-637: The next season with his manager Jean Van Buggenhout . Van Buggenhout helped orchestrate a move that sent Merckx to the French-based Peugeot–BP–Michelin for 20,000 francs a month. Merckx elected to leave Solo–Superia due to the way he was treated by his teammates, in particular Van Looy. Van Looy and other teammates mocked Merckx for his various habits such as his eating, or called him names. In addition, Merckx later stated that during his time with Van Looy's team he had not been taught anything. While with Solo–Superia, he won nine races out of

8475-473: The one-day races give way to the stage races and grand tours; Liège is generally followed almost immediately by the week-long Giro d'Italia warm-up, the Tour de Romandie . The parcours, with its multiple short, hard climbs, is seen as friendlier terrain for general classification riders and climbers than the gravelled and cobbled classics of early spring. In 2017, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes

8588-501: The opening prologue of the Vuelta to take an early lead. Despite Ocaña's best efforts, Merckx won a total of six stages on his way to his only Vuelta a España title. In addition to the general classification, Merckx won the race's points classification and combination classifications . Four days after the conclusion of the Vuelta, Merckx lined up to start the Giro d'Italia. He won the opening two-man time trial with Roger Swerts and

8701-449: The other contestants; however, as they passed the riders in first position, the leading derny lost control and crashed into the wall. Wambst chose to avoid the derny by going below it, but the leader's derny came back down and collided with Wambst, while Merckx's pedal caught one of the dernies. The two riders landed head first onto the track. ‘’Blois was the worst experience of my career. Here I could have been dead. The accident cost me

8814-406: The pace on the climb and race favourites often wait until the last stages of the race to make a break. In modern cycling, as in many bike races, the decisive stretches have evolved towards the final climbs of the day. The Côte de Saint-Nicolas is the last categorized climb of the race, with the top at 6 km from the finish in Ans. It is a precipitous and atypical climb because it is not part of

8927-400: The peloton. Merckx gained one of his most memorable victories. The Belgian attacked in solo at 92 kilometers from the finish and soon had a five-minute advantage over his pursuiters. In a rare display, he suffered a sudden fatigue near the end and was joined by Georges Pintens . Pintens failed to distance a tired Merckx, and Merckx managed to outsprint his fellow Belgian to his second victory in

9040-637: The process. After initially planning to attempt to break the hour record in August, Merckx decided to make the attempt in October after taking a ten-day hiatus from criterium racing to heal and prepare. The attempt took place on 25 October in Mexico City , Mexico at the outdoor track Agustin Melgar . Mexico was chosen due to the higher altitude as this led to less air resistance. He arrived in Mexico on

9153-416: The race due to a knee injury he sustained during the event. He failed to win his third consecutive Milan–San Remo and missed out at the Tour of Flanders the following weekend. His next victory came at Paris–Roubaix when he bested Herman Van Springel in a race that was plagued by poor weather and several punctures to the competing riders. At the behest of his team, Merckx raced the Giro d'Italia instead of

9266-468: The race lead from Gimondi in the race's time trial stage and won the event as a whole. He finished the season with 32 wins in the 129 races he entered. Merckx opened the 1969 season with victories at the Vuelta a Levante and the Paris–Nice overall, as well as stages in each of the races. On 30 March 1969 Merckx earned his first major victory of the 1969 calendar with his win at the Tour of Flanders . On

9379-410: The race's conclusion, winning his fifth Giro d'Italia. Three days following his victory at the Giro, Merckx started the Tour de Suisse. He won the race's prologue and rode conservatively for the rest of the race. He took the final leg, an individual time trial, to seal his overall victory. After finishing the race, Merckx had a sebaceous cyst removed on 22 June. Five days following the surgery, he

9492-438: The same calendar year. Faema folded at the end of the 1970 season causing Merckx and several of his teammates to move to another Italian team, Molteni . The first major victory for Merckx came in the Giro di Sardegna, which he secured after attacking on his own and riding solo through the rain to win the race's final stage. He followed that with his third consecutive Paris–Nice victory, a race he led from start to finish. In

9605-521: The same location as the men's race. The route features four categorized climbs: the Côte de la Vecquée, Côte de La Redoute , Côte de la Roche aux faucons and Côte de Saint-Nicolas . The top of the last climb of Saint-Nicolas comes at 5.5 km from the finish. Eddy Merckx Grand Tours Stage races One-day races and Classics Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx ( Dutch: [ˈɛdi ˈmɛr(ə)ks] , French: [ɛdi mɛʁks] ),

9718-525: The second day and attacked eight kilometers from the finish, on the slopes of the Bereldange. Merckx rode solo to catch the leading rider Jacques Anquetil, whom he dropped with a kilometer remaining. Merckx won the stage and gained enough time on the race leader Gimondi to win the race. On 9 September, Merckx participated in a three-round omnium event at the concrete velodrome in Blois where each rider

9831-453: The second stage, he won the sixth stage after forming a breakaway with Lucien Van Impe and regained the lead. After expanding his lead in the stage nine individual time trial, Merckx won the race's first true mountain stage, stage 10, and expanded his lead to five minutes in the general classification. Merckx won three of the five stages contested within the next four days, including a summit finish to Mont Ventoux , where upon finishing he

9944-501: The second-place finisher, expanding his lead significantly. Merckx did not win another stage, but expanded his lead a little more before the race's conclusion. Before beginning the Tour, Merckx won the men's road race at the Belgian National Road Race Championships . Merckx won the Tour's opening prologue to take the race's first race leader's yellow jersey . After losing the lead following

10057-526: The seventeenth leg that finished atop the Stelvio Pass , but went on to win one more stage en route to his third victory at the Giro d'Italia. Merckx entered the Tour de France in July where a battle between him and Ocaña was expected by many. He took the opening prologue and expanded his advantage over all the other general classification contenders, except Ocaña, by at least three minutes. Going into

10170-478: The southern, French-speaking (and hillier), part of Belgium where Liège and Bastogne are located. The race had its first running for amateurs in 1892, from Spa to Bastogne and back, over a 250 km distance. As bicycles were expensive in the late 19th century, cycling was considered an exclusive sport for the wealthy, and the event was considered a "gentlemen's affair". 33 riders from the Liège cycling union and

10283-425: The stage 12a and 12b time trials, winning the former. Fuente got Merckx on his own as the two climbed together during the fourteenth stage. He and teammate Francisco Galdós attacked, leaving Merckx behind. Merckx eventually reconnected with the two on the final climb of the stage. He proceeded to attack and went on to win the stage by forty-seven seconds. He lost two minutes to Fuente due to stomach trouble during

10396-517: The stage. He was able to establish a firm advantage, but obeyed orders from his manager to wait for the chasing Simpson. Merckx won the stage, while Simpson secured his overall victory. On 18 March, Merckx started the Milan–San Remo and was seen as a 120–1 favorite to win the race. He attacked on the Capo Berta and again on the Poggio, leaving only Gianni Motta with him. The two slowed their pace and were joined by two more riders. Merckx won

10509-473: The start of the stage race director Vincenzo Torriani, along with a television camera and two writers, entered Merckx's hotel room and informed him that he had failed a doping control and was disqualified from the race, in addition to being suspended for a month. On 14 June, the cycling governing body, the FICP, overturned the month long suspension and cleared him due to the "benefit of the doubt." Before starting

10622-481: The team he was racing for. In addition, he would not have to pay for various expenses that came with racing such as wheels and tires. The next day, Merckx started the men's road race at the 1967 UCI Road World Championships in Heerlen , Netherlands. The course consisted of ten laps of a circuit. Motta attacked on the first lap and was joined by Merckx and five other riders. The group thinned to five as they reached

10735-437: The third, Louis Rasquinet, at 44 minutes. Riders kept arriving for another five hours. Houa won again the next year, over the same course, this time by a margin of a half hour. In 1894 the first race for professionals was held, and the average speed rose from 23.3 km/h (14.5 mph) to 25 km/h (16 mph). Houa concluded his third win, by seven minutes over Rasquinet. Frenchman Maurice Garin , who would later become

10848-547: The title of King of the Ardennes in his day. In 1990, the Pesant Club Liégeois partnered with the Société du Tour de France , the organizer of cycling's flagships the Tour de France and Paris–Roubaix . The partnership led to a more professional organization, resulting in a complete overhauling of the race course: the start and finish moved to different locations in Liège and five new climbs were included. In

10961-584: The track. Born in Meensel-Kiezegem , Brabant , Belgium, he grew up in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre where his parents ran a grocery store. He played several sports, but found his true passion in cycling. Merckx got his first bicycle at the age of three or four and competed in his first race in 1961. His first victory came at Petit-Enghien in October 1961. After winning eighty races as an amateur racer, he turned professional on 29 April 1965 when he signed with Solo–Superia . His first major victory came in

11074-434: The traditional finale containing the Côte de La Redoute , Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons and Côte de Saint-Nicolas was a fixture for 27 years. In 2019, the finish line moved back into the centre of Liège, with a flat run-in towards the finish. Both the Côte de Saint-Nicolas and the final climb to Ans were thereby removed from the route. The Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons is the final named climb, topping out at 13 km from

11187-415: The uphill sprint to the finish despite his derailleur shifting him to the wrong gear, forcing him to ride in a larger gear than anticipated. He became the third rider to win La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same weekend. Despite a monetary offer from race organizers for Merckx to participate in the Vuelta a España , he chose to take part in the Giro d'Italia . Merckx lost over two and

11300-413: The winner, was one of just 21 riders to finish the race of 174 starters. It took three weeks for proper movement to return to two fingers of his right hand. Liège–Bastogne–Liège is the concluding race of the Ardennes Classics series, which includes La Flèche Wallonne . Both are organised by ASO . The Flèche Wallonne ("Walloon Arrow"), although younger than Liège–Bastogne–Liège, was longtime considered

11413-475: The winning move when he attacked on the descent of the Intelvi Pass. During the off-season, Merckx had his displaced pelvis tended to by a doctor. Due to his non-participation in track racing over the winter, Merckx entered the 1972 campaign in poorer form than in previous years. In the Paris–Nice, Merckx broke a vertebra in a crash that occurred as the peloton was in the midst of a bunch sprint. Against

11526-413: Was a part of a five-man breakaway as the race reached five laps to go. After attacking on the second to last stage, Merckx and Gimondi reached the finish, where Merckx won the race by four bike lengths. This earned him his second rainbow jersey. He closed out the 1971 calendar with his first victory in the Giro di Lombardia . This victory meant that Merckx had won all of cycling's Monuments. Merckx made

11639-428: Was carried off and was quoted saying the pain was "very, very, very significant." An illness prevented Merckx from taking part in the Milan–San Remo at the start of the 1973 calendar. During a span of nineteen days, Merckx won four classics including Omloop Het Volk, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Paris–Roubaix. He decided to race the Vuelta a España and the Giro d'Italia , instead of racing the Tour de France . He won

11752-503: Was controversial, not only because Vinokourov had recently returned to cycling after a doping ban, but also because it was suggested he had 'bought' the victory. Swiss magazine L'Illustré published e-mail correspondence between the winner and runner-up that suggests Vinokourov paid Kolobnev €100,000 not to contest the final sprint. Both riders were later charged with bribery by Belgian authorities. In recent years, Spanish allrounder Alejandro Valverde won four times, all sprint victories of

11865-459: Was declared winner. The event was cancelled during World War I but resumed in 1919. The race was mainly won by Belgians, but started to attract more riders from Flanders , the bike-crazed northern part of Belgium, who began to dominate the event. Fleming Alfons Schepers gained three victories in the Interwar period . Liège–Bastogne–Liège had some interruptions during World War II, but was again

11978-402: Was given oxygen . Merckx won two more stages, both individual time trials, and won the Tour by over twelve minutes. He finished the Tour with eight stage victories and won the mountains and combination classifications. The eight stage wins equaled the previous record for stage wins in a single Tour de France. Merckx also became the third to accomplish the feat of winning the Giro and Tour in

12091-444: Was inaugurated and added to the UCI Women's World Tour , becoming the second of the cycling monuments to introduce a women's edition after the Tour of Flanders in 2014. In 2020 a third women's 'monument', Paris-Roubaix Femmes was added, creating a triple crown of women's monuments. Like many of cycling's classics, Liège–Bastogne–Liège was first organized by a French-Belgian newspaper ( L'Express ). The route has always stayed in

12204-548: Was inaugurated, following the example of La Flèche Wallonne Féminine and Women's Amstel Gold Race . The first Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes, run on 23 April 2017, was won by Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands. At 135.5 km, the race is approximately half the distance of the men's event. Hence, it does not start in Liège but in Bastogne , from where it heads north past Liège to finish in Ans on

12317-466: Was scheduled to begin the Tour de France . The wound was still slightly open when he began the Grand Tour and it bled throughout the race. At the Tour, Merckx won the race's prologue, giving him the first race leader's maillot jaune (English: yellow jersey ), which he lost the next day to teammate Joseph Bruyère. He won the seventh stage of the race, and regained the lead, through attacking in

12430-485: Was severe snowfall. The edition of 1980 was exceptionally hard: snow fell from the start and temperatures were near freezing point, leading commentators to call it 'Neige-Bastogne-Neige' (Snow-Bastogne-Snow). Bernard Hinault attacked with 80 km (50 mi) to go and finished nearly 10 minutes ahead. A feature published by the British magazine, Procycling in 2000, described the infamous race: Bernard Hinault,

12543-510: Was the first-born of the family. In September 1946, the family moved to Sint-Pieters-Woluwe , in Brussels , Belgium in order to take over a grocery store that had been up for lease. In May 1948, Jenny gave birth to twins: a boy, Michel, and a girl, Micheline. As a child Eddy was hyperactive and was always playing outside. Eddy was a competitive child and played several sports, including basketball , football , table tennis and boxing ,

12656-407: Was to be paced by a derny . Fernand Wambst was Merckx's pacer for the contest. After winning the first intermediate sprint of the first round, Wambst chose to slow their pace and move to the back of the race despite Merckx wanting to stay out in front for fear of an accident. Wambst wanted to pass everyone to provide a show for the crowd. The duo then increased their pace and began to pass each of

12769-435: Was victorious for the fifth time at the Milan–San Remo after he established a gap on the descent of the Poggio. In Paris–Roubaix, he crashed again, further aggravating the injury he sustained from Paris–Nice. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège by making a solo move forty-six kilometers from the finish. Three days later, in La Flèche Wallonne, Merckx was a part of a six-man leading group as the race neared its conclusion. Merckx won

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