Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026 Preview | Everything you need to know about the men's La Doyenne

Thursday, 23 April 2026 at 11:11

Blink at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in late February and before you know it, we're already at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The final race of the unofficial 2026 spring cycling season. And it's one with plenty to talk about beforehand, as this IDL Pro Cycling preview shows. Strap yourself in!

The two young men who have shared the last five editions between them, Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, will line up to do battle A direct duel between the two has been rare. Last season Evenepoel could not follow Pogačar, 2026 is not 2025. In the Belgian Ardennes on Sunday, we may yet be treated to a real spectacle. Throw young French hopeful Paul Seixas into the mix, fresh from dominating La Flèche Wallonne, plus a string of outsiders, and you have a recipe for a great race.

Recent winners Liège-Bastogne-Liège

2025 Tadej Pogacar
2024 Tadej Pogacar
2023 Remco Evenepoel
2022 Remco Evenepoel
2021 Tadej Pogacar
2020 Primoz Roglic
2019 Jakob Fuglsang
2018 Bob Jungels
2017 Alejandro Valverde
2016 Wout Poels

Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026: Route, weather and times

The route of La Doyenne has changed little, though this year it is almost ten kilometres longer: 259 kilometres in total. The riders depart from Place Saint-Lambert — where the team presentation will also be held on Saturday — at 10 a.m., heading into the province of Luxembourg.

From there the route moves smoothly onto the more familiar stretches we have come to know from previous editions, with the steep Côte de Saint-Roch (1.0 km at 11.2%) sitting in something of a no man's land. The biggest change in the first half is the addition of the Col de Haussire after 119 kilometres — at 3.9 km at 7.2%, that is already a significant effort.

From around 95 kilometres to go, the real action begins. Nine steep climbs will follow one another in quick succession, giving the finale of this Liège-Bastogne-Liège real bite.

After passing through Vielsalm, the riders face the Côte de Wanne (3.6 km at 5.1%), the Col de Stockeu (1.0 km at 12.5%) and the Côte de la Haute-Levée (2.2 km at 7.5%) in succession. The Stockeu in particular, with its severe gradients, can do real damage.

Fireworks on a familiar ending

Via the longest climb of the lot — the Col du Rosier (4.4 km at 5.9%) — and after passing Spa, the race heads to the Côte de Desnié (1.6 km at 8.1%). In between comes the Col du Maquisard (2.5 km at 5.3%), the only new addition compared to last year.

That addition matters too, because after the Desnie and a treacherous descent, the route arrives at the well-known Côte de la Redoute (1.6 km at 9.4%). If the race hasn't exploded by now, it almost certainly will here.

What remains? First the Col des Forges (1.3 km at 7.8%), and more importantly the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons (1.3 km at 11.0%), approximately thirteen kilometres from the finish. This is the climb — combined with the nasty drag that follows — where the decisive move is most likely to be made.

Heading back into Liège there is still some climbing to be done, but the final eight kilometres are largely downhill. The wind can play a role there, even for chasing groups.

Weather
The weather has been fine in the Low Countries in recent days, and Sunday will be no different. It may be fresh at the start in Liège, but by the time the riders return in the afternoon, the temperature will be 18°C, with a light northerly breeze and the possibility of some sunshine breaking through.

Times

Start: 9:55 a.m.

Finish: approximately 4:20 p.m.

Favorites Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026

Tadej Pogačar, Paul Seixas and Remco Evenepoel. Those are the big favourites for Liège-Bastogne-Liège — cycling's great Ardennes appointment. Each has taken a different path to get here. Pogačar has not raced in the hills yet this spring, while Seixas and Evenepoel respectively rode and won the Flèche Wallonne and Amstel Gold Race.

For Sunday, the bookmakers will still lean most heavily on Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian is virtually unbeatable when the road goes up. He begins a new block of racing here after two weeks of rest, a block that also includes the Tour de Romandie, which starts the following Tuesday.

If we use the races of late 2025 as a benchmark, two-time winner Evenepoel comes closest to matching Pogačar's level in a race like Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Though Seixas has shown in recent weeks that at 19 years old he has taken a genuine step forward over the winter.

We should look beyond those three, however. What about Tom Pidcock, who rides for Pinarello-Q36.5 and was able to follow Pogačar at Milan-Sanremo. He is currently sharpening up for the Monument, and winning, at the Tour of the Alps, though he remains something of an unknown quantity.

Or consider Mattias Skjelmose of Lidl-Trek, who gave Evenepoel a real fight on Sunday at Amstel and also climbed very strongly at Huy. His team will also field Giulio Ciccone, who finished second in Liège last year, before he turns his focus to the Giro d'Italia.

The French contingent behind Seixas is well represented too: Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Kévin Vauquelin (INEOS Grenadiers), Pogačar's UAE teammate Benoît Cosnefroy, Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) and Clément Champoussin of XDS-Astana are all in the mix.

Other riders who have already shown good form are Flèche Wallonne podium finishers Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) and Ben Tulett of Visma | Lease a Bike. And based on consistent or potential form, Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana), Emiel Verstrynge (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X), Marco Frigo, Alessandro Pinarello (NSN) and/or Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) could also spring a surprise.

IDL Po Cycling Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026 top picks:

Top favorites: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)

Outsiders: Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ)

Longshots: Tom Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla), Emiel Verstrynge (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Kévin Vauquelin (INEOS Grenadiers) and Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost)

How to watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026 on TV?

Below you can find where to watch La Doyenne in English by country:

United Kingdom - HBO Max now carries all of the UK cycling coverage.

USA - You will need a subscription to Peacock to watch the racing in the USA.

Canada - FloBikes carries the stream for Canadian fans. Again you will need a subscription

Australia -Australian fans can watch both the men's and women's races for free on SBS on Demand
In Europe, viewers can catch all the action on Eurosport

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