Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes celebrates its eighth edition and marks the youngest of the Ardennes Classics women's events. ASO launched the event for the first time in 2017, forming the triple alongside the already established Amstel Gold Race, which held its first edition in 2001 (though it was on hiatus for 13 years between 2004 and 2016) and Flèche Wallonne since 1998.
This was a historic moment for women's racing, which became even more significant when Anna van der Breggen became the first woman to win the triple crown that year, having won all three races.
Capturing victory at all the Ardennes Classics — Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège — in one season is a rare feat accomplished by only four riders in history: Davide Rebellin in 2004, Philippe Gilbert in 2011, Van der Breggen in 2017, and Demi Vollering in 2023.
No one is in the running for that accomplishment this year since Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a bike) won the Amstel Gold Race and Kasia Niewiadoma won Flèche Wallonne, but there are still a few talking points worth mentioning ahead of the event that closes out the Ardennes Classics.
Longo Borghini, Kopecky could join Deignan in Monuments record
At the moment, only three of the five races that are considered the Monuments of cycling are part of the women's international racing calendar.
RCS Sports' Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia do not offer women's races, but the peloton competes at the prestigious Women's WorldTour events Flanders' Classics Tour of Flanders and ASO's Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Only one rider has won all three, with Lizzie Deignan winning the Tour of Flanders in 2016, Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2020 and Paris-Roubaix in 2021.
This could change on Sunday if her teammate Elisa Longo Borghini or SD Worx-Protime's Lotte Kopecky triumphs in Liége.
Longo Borghini won the Tour of Flanders twice, taking her first victory in 2015 and this year. She also won Paris-Roubaix in 2022, the year after Deignan's historical inaugural win. At Liège, she has finished on the podium twice in 2021 and 2023.
The Italian Champion has made some sacrifices this season, including skipping Paris-Roubaix to focus on the Ardennes Classics, with a special goal of winning in Liege.
Kopecky might not have started her season with this goal, and perhaps it is not on her mind, but if she succeeds on Sunday, she too could join Deignan as a rider who has won all three races. This will mark her first attempt at racing Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and she will have a wildcard role on the team.
Kopecky has also won the Tour of Flanders twice, in 2022 and 2023, and she triumphed at Paris-Roubaix while wearing her World Champion's jersey just a few weeks ago, making her another contender for joining Deignan as the winner of all three Monuments.
For more information about the contenders for the 2024 Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes.
Toughest edition yet
While Flèche Wallonne was a less challenging route this year, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is one of the toughest editions ever.
"We want to make the women’s race harder every year, bringing it up to the level of the men’s,” said race director Yannick Talabardon.
The inaugural edition, at 135.5km, included four ascents, but in its eighth edition this year, ASO has included 10 gruelling climbs across the 153km course that starts in Bastogne and finishes in Liège.
The addition of the Côte de Saint-Roch is the first ascent of the day.
The organisers also said that they were able to add to the race this year because of the decision to adjust the schedule so that the women's race starts and finishes after the men's race, which means that it will be five hours later than the last year.
For more information about the route for the 2024 Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes.
Last chance
Liège-Bastogne-Liège marks the last chance for any rider who was targeting the Ardennes Classic to secure a top result, and SD Worx-Protime might be feeling this pressure.
Demi Vollering's remarkable dominance of the Ardennes Classics last year saw her win all three events and become the second woman, after Anna van der Breggen in 2017, to win the triple crown.
She will line up as the defending champion at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and is one of the contenders for the win again, especially after finishing second at Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday. Racing in support of Vollering, Lotte Kopecky finished 15th.
SD Worx-Protime also finished second at the Amstel Gold Race, where Lorena Wiebes celebrated victory too soon in the sprint against eventual winner Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Vollering finished 22nd.
Two second places in the opening rounds of the Ardennes Classics would normally be considered strong results. However, for a team that has historically been as dominant as SD Worx-Protime, they are probably not satisfied with their performances this week.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège offers the team one last chance to turn their Ardennes Classics season around. The question is will the team support Vollering or Kopecky?
“I want to win. Last year I was equally eager to win Liège, because I had a special chance to win all three Ardennes classics," said Vollering. "I think the pressure was higher last year. We have a really strong team. Together with Lotte, we can do a really nice finale.”
Wide-open racing, stronger teams
The wide-open racing during the cobbled Classics fed straight into the Ardennes Classics, which captivated cycling fans with new winners atop the podiums in each race.
Much of the early discussion was around whether SD Worx-Protime would dominate this block of the season, given their stronghold last year, but watching Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) claim their victories in the first two races showed how much depth there is across the peloton in the finals of the biggest races.
There are any number of riders who have the strength, experience, and potential to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège; and with team tactics playing a crucial role, the race is wide open.
Defending champion Vollering, Longo Borghni, Vos, and Niewiadoma are on that list, but look out for new faces in the mix. Riders like Juliette Labous (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), Evita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ) and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal), to name a few who just might surprise in Liège.
“We want to put at least one rider on the final podium. The team has come close to a nice result several times in the last few weeks," Muzic said.
"We have many cards to play and we want to play a numbers game in the final. We will race for the win."
For more information about the contenders for the 2024 Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes.
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