
Liège-Bastogne-Liège: how a cycling coach understands La Doyenne
Liège-Bastogne-Liège resembles a very long medium-mountain stage more than a traditional classic. Its mix of short climbs and relentless rolling terrain creates significant fatigue over more than six hours of racing. As a result, winners are not pure power riders but athletes with high durability, strong VO2max, high FTP and excellent watts per kilo in 2 to 10 minute efforts. This article analyses the route, elevation density and recent winners to explain why Liège favours fast climbers and light all-rounders.




