cycling: Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Wout Poels wins memorable Doyenne

Cycling: Wouter Poels (Team Sky) won Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2016. The Dutchman beat Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEDGE) and Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) in the sprint up to Ans after a race marked by difficult weather conditions. Last year's winner and top favorite Alejandro Valverde had nothing to do with the outcome of the race.

After an extremely mild classic season, the great cold snap last night caused partly infernal conditions at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and brought back memories of the legendary Doyenne of 1980, which Bernard Hinault won in the wild snowstorm. Drivers and teams already posted countless photos of the conditions on the track on Twitter and Instagram this morning: heavy snowfall, white roads, icicles on the team bikes.

Snow on the road @LiegeBastogneL nearby Stoumont… pic.twitter.com/xX2xXw9vQi

— LottoNLJumbo Cycling (@LottoJumbo_road) 24 April 2016

#LBL It's going to be a tough race for our riders in the snow today. pic.twitter.com/GHUycPmtTc

— Team Giant-Alpecin (@GiantAlpecin) 24 April 2016

At 11:30 a.m., one hour after the start, the organizer ASO drew conclusions from the sometimes unacceptable track conditions and completely deleted a particularly critical passage at kilometer 45 from the route. In the end, the total length was only reduced by 5km and the remaining roads seemed passable. Of course, it was still cold, snow here and there: the drivers were all wrapped up tightly and the icy wind kept whipping their faces.

The fact that there were very few falls despite the conditions is all the more gratifying. Of course, the drivers took much less risk and were probably on the road with even more attention than they already had. However, even without a crash, some riders gave up in the first 100km and left the race, with a thinned-out peloton making its way to Bastogne and back to Liège.

The weather didn't have much of an impact on the course of the race itself: After a little more than ten kilometers, the first group was able to pull away. Thomas de Gendt (Lotto Soudal) and also Cesare Benedetti from the German second division Bora-Argon 18 drove in the quintet. The escapees harmonized very well and the gap grew quickly thanks to the restrained pace in the field and then leveled off consistently at just under nine minutes. In the field, the work at the front was shared, although Movistar clearly set the tone from the first meter. Etixx - Quick-Step was also regularly at the front and made its own claims clear in the form of Dan Martin and Julian Alaphilippe.

After that, the race rippled along analogously to the precipitation, which meanwhile mostly came in the form of drops, even if the lead of the escapees steadily decreased and it seemed only a matter of time before the field would be together again. Meanwhile there was a kind of changing of the guard in the field: Etixx – Quick-Step took over more and more command and the Spanish team from Movistar, which had been so dominant for a long time, held back a little more. Things were looking good for Martin and Alaphilippe. At the very top, it was all over with harmony and unity. Again and again the speed was increased by individual drivers, there was a lot of discussion and lamentation. Gradually the cohesion crumbled and the group began to break up more and more - at the 20 kilometer mark it happened and the field closed again. About 60 riders then faced the Côte de La Roche-aux-Faucons.

Carlos Betancur (Movistar) now attacked into the dominant phase of Etixx - Quick-Step and forced the Belgian team to lose important grains here. Tactically, it was an enormously entertaining phase of the race. Because even when Betancur was caught up again, the Colombian only pricked the next pin shortly afterwards on the steep Côte de Saint-Nicolas and thus increased the pace again, even if he had to stop again within a few hundred meters. The preliminary decision was then made on the new climb that was only introduced this year, the Côte de la Rue Naniot.

Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEDGE) attacked on the paved surface after his captain Simon Gerrans had to let go shortly before. Samuel Sanchez (BMC), Wout Poels (Sky) and Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) are the only ones who can follow the Swiss pro: Alejandro Valverde had lost all his helpers in the meantime and was apparently unable to hang on to Albasini's rear wheel. Even the blue jerseys from Etixx – Quick-Step were no longer visible in this crucial phase – as so often this season – despite a previous strong performance.

Albasini, Sanchez, Costa and Poels quickly agreed to work together and kept the field in check a few seconds behind them. On the final ascent to the finish in Ans, Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) tried to close the gap to the top quartet again with the last of his strength, but found his teeth breaking. Meanwhile, the four front runners fought a gripping battle for victory, which Wouter Poels was able to bring in just before Michael Albasini.

Final result Liège-Bastogne-Liège