|
|
|
|
|
Lige-bastogne-lige Lige-Bastogne-Lige, often called "La Doyenne", is one of the 5 "monuments", the oldest road cycling race. The first edition was run in 1890, but this was just for amateur riders, the first race for professionals took place in 1894 when Leon Houa (who had won that 1890 race as an amateur) triumphed. It is run in Belgium from the city of Lige to Bastogne and back. The race follows a fairly straightforward 95 km route from Lige to Bastogne, and a winding 163 route back to Lige. The second half contains most of the climbs in the race, such as the Stoceu, Haute-Levee, La Redoute, Saint-Nicolas and the Col de Forges before finishing in the northern Lige suburb of Ans. The Lige-Bastogne-Lige race was part of the Union Cycliste Internationale World Cup race series, and now part of the new UCI ProTour. It is also part of the Belgian Ardennes Classics series of races, which include the Fleche-Wallone. Notable winners include 5-time winner Belgian Eddy Merckx, 4-time winner Italian Moreno Argentin, 2-time winner Italian Paolo Bettini, and first-time for an American Tyler Hamilton in 2003. The race course passes through a statue of Eddy Merckx, which he once commented, Don't they build statues only of dead heroes?
|
 |
|
| Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved |
|
|