 |
 |
| |
Scarcely was the finishing line crossed last year when the controversy flared up. How was it conceivably possible for sixty or more riders to be grouped at the foot of Saint-Nicolas, at only six kilometres from the finish of a race as demanding as the Liège-Bastogne-Liège? Eddy Merckx, the Liè-Bastogne-Liège recordman and five times winner of the event, used all of his weighty influence to argue in favour of a modification of the route in order to see the oldest race in cycling, the “Doyenne”, resume its highly selective status. It is true that we were a long way from the magnificent rides in the heart of the Ardennes, or the 1980 epic performance of Bernard Hinault, ploughing a triumphant path through the snow for more than eighty kilometres, and beating Hennie Kuiper, the closest of his pursuers, by more than nine minutes!
And yet, if the 2004 episode of the great Liège drama left observers hungry for more, the same could not be said of the final podium. Indeed, Boogerd and Vinokourov, two figures of reference, stood either side of Davide Rebellin on the podium; in this way the Italian rider put the finishing touches to his eight day golden run of major victory and claimed a first triple win triumphing in the Amstel Gold Race, the Flèche Wallonne and the Liège-Bastogne-Liège! Without yielding to pressure – a revision of the route seemed essential to us too – and following minutely detailed reconnaissance undertaken in perfect harmony with the directors of the Liège Royal Pesant Club, headed by the President Bolland, we have opted for a revitalised itinerary, which will delight those nostalgic for the 1970's. On the programme, a hillier downward swoop towards Bastogne via Roche-en-Ardenne for starters, followed by the return of a famous threesome – Wanne, Stockeu, Haute Levée! Three legendary climbs, in the space of fifteen kilometres, which we hope will fire the imagination of the most daring. These modifications to the route should filter the pack of riders well before the final difficulties. They will in any case give us the occasion to test the truth of the proverb: “the organisers propose, but the riders dispose.”
|
| |
Jean-Marie Leblanc |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
