Preview Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2023 | Pogacar and Evenepoel face off in final spring classic

In this duel between the Flemish and Slovenian, the last two winners of La Doyenne clash once again. Evenepoel won last year's edition with a powerful solo, while Pogacar was absent due to the death of his mother-in-law. The UAE-Team Emirates rider did win the 2021 edition, however, by holding off Julian Alaphilippe in a sprint with five riders.

Other major tour riders such as Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard will not be present in Liège, which is why practically all experts (both inside and outside the peloton) are hinting at a two-man battle between the two most talented tour riders of the moment.

2022 Remco Evenepoel

2021 Tadej Pogacar

2020 Primoz Roglic

2019 Jakob Fuglsang

2018 Bob Jungels

2017 Alejandro Valverde

2016 Wout Poels

2015 Alejandro Valverde

2014 Simon Gerrans

2013 Dan Martin

Not much has changed in terms of the course of Liège-Bastogne-Liège this year, but the changes that have been made can actually impact the race. However, the first change – the fact that we’re starting at Place-Saint Lambert again – does not fall into that category.

As far as the first two hundred kilometers are concerned, the majority of Liège-Bastogne-Liège remains the same. We see plenty of climbs, but after about 160 kilometers, the succession of hills begins. The Côte de Wanne (3.6 km at 5.1%), Côte de Stockeu (1 km at 12.5%, after 179.6 kilometers), Côte de la Haute-Levée (2.2 km at 7.5%), Col du Rosier (4.4 km at 5.9%) and Côte de Desnié (1.6 km at 8.1%) follow each other in quick succession.

The second change, after more than 220 kilometers of cycling, does have an impact: the riders will tackle a shortened version of the Côte de la Redoute (1.6 km at 9.4%). After a short descent, however, the riders must quickly climb towards Cornemont, while the following climb – the Côte des Forges (1.3 km at 7.8%) – is also part of the course again this year, unlike last year.

This succession of climbs also affects the entrance to the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons (1.3 km at 11%), which we will reach much faster – and with more lactic acid in our legs. All in all, the finale has become much more demanding, with the top of that last climb at fourteen kilometers from the finish.

69.7 km: Côte de la Roche-en-Ardenne (2.8 km at 6.2%)

120.9 km: Côte de Saint-Roch (1.0 km at 11.2%)

164.8 km: Côte de Mont-le-Soie (1.7 km at 7.9%)

173.1 km: Côte de Wanne (3.6 km at 5.1%)

179.6 km: Col de Stockeu (1.0 km at 12.5%)

183.8 km: Côte de la Haute-Levée (2.2 km at 7.5%)

198.1 km: Col du Rosier (4.4 km at 5.9%)

211.4 km: Côte de Desnié (1.6 km at 8.1%)

224.2 km: Côte de la Redoute (1.6 km at 9.4%)

234.8 km: Col des Forges (1.3 km at 7.8%)

243.8 km: Côte de la Roche-aux Faucons (1.3 km at 11.0%)

No, it doesn't seem like the weather will be very pleasant on Sunday. A fair amount of rain is expected in and around Liège in the afternoon – and with just 14 degrees Celsius and a strong wind from the southwest, it won't be very warm either.

Start: 10:30 a.m.

Finish: 5:00 p.m.

Well, based on everything that’s happened this spring, we can't ignore Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian won just about every race that he wanted to win and also seems to have marked Liège-Bastogne-Liège with a big red circle. His performances during the Amstel Gold Race and the Flèche Wallonne proved that there was no stopping him in those races.

However, this Sunday, there's an additional factor to consider – Remco Evenepoel, who left Teide for Wallonia in preparation for the Giro d'Italia. The world champion has set his sights on Liège and can thus make up for the poor spring of his team Soudal Quick-Step – at least in terms of classics – in one fell swoop. Just like last year. Louis Vervaeke, Julian Alaphilippe, Andrea Bagioli and Ilan Van Wilder will support him, while Pogacar relies on Diego Ulissi, Felix Grossschartner, George Bennett and Marc Hirschi.

Given this tougher finale, the remaining favorites will be in the strong climber segment. Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) demonstrated during the Flèche Wallonne that he can keep up very well, despite a recent cold, as did Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), who always performs well in Liège. And what about Trek-Segafredo teammates Mattias Skjelmose and Guilio Ciccone, who finished second and fifth in Huy?

Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost, which also has Richard Carapaz on the provisional start list) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan Team) didn't make an impression on Wednesday, but proved in the Amstel Gold Race that they can definitely compete in a tough elimination race.

Jumbo-Visma is relying on Tiesj Benoot and Attila Valter, but with Jan Tratnik and Thomas Gloag seems to be putting in two more riders coming from the Teide. The former in particular has shown during his scarce races this spring that he has taken a step forward. The other Dutch team, Team DSM, is counting on Romain Bardet, who has performed well in Huy.

Of the Walloon classics, this edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège seems to suit Enric Mas best, although he didn't perform well in Huy. The same goes for Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), who indicated after the race that he hadn't yet fully recovered from the Amstel Gold Race and is hoping for improvement in Liège.

The Belgian teams Alpecin-Deceuninck (Quinten Hermans and Søren Kragh Andersen) and Lotto Dstny (Andreas Kron and Maxim Van Gils) are bringing outsiders to the start, while AG2R Citroën (Ben O'Connor) and BORA-hansgrohe (Aleksandr Vlasov) are bringing in fresh climbers after a disappointing spring.

Finally, let’s look at the French teams. Groupama-FDJ had expected more from David Gaudu (hay fever) and Valentin Madouas (crash in the Amstel, but still finished 11th there). Cofidis saw Victor Lafay finish a strong sixth in the Flèche Wallonne and still has Guillaume Martin and Ion Izagirre as strong contenders, while Warren Barguil (Arkéa Samsic) finished in 10th place in Huy.

Top favorites: Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) Outsiders: Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost)

Longshots: Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Aleksandr Vlasov (BORA-hansgrohe), Mattias Skjelmose, Guilio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), Tiesj Benoot, Jan Tratnik (Jumbo-Visma), Enric Mas (Movistar) and Michael Woods

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The women's race starts even earlier on Sunday, so Sporza (Eén), Eurosport (on the main channel) and NOS (on NPO 1) will start their broadcasts around 11:15 a.m. for the finale of that race. After the finish, coverage will switch to the men's race, which is expected to start around 1:00 p.m.

Tom van der Salm (Twitter: @TomvanderSalm)

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