{"id":48444,"title":"Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge guide 2026","description":"Rijden's guide to the 2026 edition of Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge - The oldest and some say the hardest of cycling's five Monuments. We've got the route, timings and climbs for both the women's and men's races as well as details of the favourites including Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering.\nWant to watch Liege-Bastogne-Liege on TV? We've got the broadcasters and times for the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and USA.","content":"<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rijden.uk\/use-of-cookies-and-disclaimer\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>How we use cookies on the Rijden website<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p><strong>Published in<\/strong><span style=\"font-family:Roboto, sans-serif;\">: <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rijden.uk\/cobbles-and-classics-stories\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>COBBLES &amp; CLASSICS<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p><em>Last updated: 13 April 2026<\/em><\/p><p><strong>Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday, 26 April 2026<\/strong><\/p><p>The oldest and some say the hardest of cycling's Monuments runs relatively true to its name. Since it first began in 1892, when Queen Victoria still reigned in the UK, the race has traced its way from Li\u00e8ge (or nearby Ans), down to Bastogne and back.<\/p><p style=\"text-align:center;\"><img src=\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/jfhh1uca8o4l6i4cxh3xfaxh1jwcrna5vsov6vu52uj4gzmq.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=auto\" alt=\"Former winner of Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, Remco Evenepoel. Image: Rijden\" title=\"Former winner of Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, Remco Evenepoel. Image: Rijden\" \/><em>Former winner of Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, Remco Evenepoel. Image: Rijden<\/em><\/p><p>The route is punctuated with difficult climbs as the race threads its way through the Ardennes. The hilly nature of the course makes it ideal for Grand Tour winners and contenders.<\/p><p>Previous victors include Tadej Poga\u010dar and Remco Evenepoel. Going further back, they include Sean Kelly, Moreno Argentin, Bernard Hinault, and obviously Eddy Merckx.<\/p><p>The women's edition began in 2017 and, being half the distance of the men's version, starts in Bastogne. Unsurprisingly, the Dutch have dominated, although Australian Grace Brown was the winner in 2024 and Mauritian Kim Le Court in 2025.<\/p><p><strong>Did you know?<\/strong>: Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge is often known as <em>La Doyenne<\/em> - The Old Lady.<\/p><p><strong>Start<\/strong>: Li\u00e8ge, Wallonia, Belgium<\/p><p><strong>Travel time from Calais by car<\/strong><span style=\"font-family:Roboto, sans-serif;\">: 3:30<\/span><\/p><p><strong>Status<\/strong>: UCI WorldTour Men's one-day &amp; UCI Women\u2019s WorldTour one-day<\/p><p><strong>Men\u2019s race:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><p>Start: 08:45 CET (TBC) Sunday, 26 April 2026, Li\u00e8ge<\/p><\/li><li><p>259.5 km<\/p><\/li><li><p>Finish: around 16:07 CET (earliest) (TBC), Li\u00e8ge<\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>Website: <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liege-bastogne-liege.be\/fr\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>https:\/\/www.liege-bastogne-liege.be\/fr<\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/li><\/ul><ul><li><p><strong>Related sportive<\/strong>:<strong> <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/lblchallenge.be\/en\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>https:\/\/lblchallenge.be\/en\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p><\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Women\u2019s race<\/strong>:<\/p><ul><li><p>Start: 13:45 CET (TBC) Sunday, 26 April 2026, Bastogne<\/p><\/li><li><p>156 km<\/p><\/li><li><p>Finish: around 17:40 CET (earliest) (TBC), Li\u00e8ge<\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>Website: <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.liege-bastogne-liege-femmes.be\/en\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>https:\/\/www.liege-bastogne-liege-femmes.be\/en\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/li><\/ul><hr \/><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/gift-ideas-for-cyclists\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u><img src=\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/g1tje1qhmyqbzvppzllgjccsbydchyrkuelfsehopbf2lwal.jpg.jpg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"T-shirts for cyclists by Rijden\" title=\"T-shirts for cyclists by Rijden\" \/><\/u><\/a><\/p><hr \/><h2 style=\"text-align:center;\">Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge on TV<\/h2><p style=\"text-align:center;\"><strong>To be updated when the TV schedules and broadcasters are known.<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>Paywall TV coverage (geo-restricted)<\/strong>:<\/p><ul><li><p>HBO Max \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Men 11:30 UK time<\/p><\/li><li><p>HBO Max \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Women 15:40 UK time<\/p><p><\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><strong>\u2764 Free TV coverage (geo-restricted):<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nos.nl\/live\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>NOS <\/strong><\/a>\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf1 Men 13:10 CET<\/p><\/li><li><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nos.nl\/live\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>NOS <\/strong><\/a>\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf1 Women 16:40 CET<\/p><\/li><li><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/ondemand\/cycling\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>SBS<\/strong><\/a> \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa Men 11:10 UK time<\/p><\/li><li><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/ondemand\/cycling\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>SBS<\/strong><\/a> \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa Women 15:40 UK time<\/p><\/li><li><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/auvio.rtbf.be\/widget\/18990\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>RTBF Auvio<\/strong><\/a> \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddea Men 11:30 CET<\/p><\/li><li><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/auvio.rtbf.be\/widget\/18990\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>RTBF Auvio<\/strong><\/a> \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddea Women 16:50 CET<\/p><\/li><\/ul><hr \/><p><strong>READ MORE<\/strong><span style=\"font-family:Roboto, sans-serif;\">: <\/span><em>Read our <\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rijden.uk\/cyclings-monuments\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>guide to cycling\u2019s Monuments<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em> to find out what they are, when they take place this year, how you can watch them and more.<\/em><\/p><p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/cyclings-monuments\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u><img src=\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ocz7ru3mid7n7o23d2iikvohslro6y97vxfiy6pkaqful349.jpg.jpg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Guide to cycling's Monuments\" title=\"Guide to cycling's Monuments\" \/><\/u><\/a><\/p><hr \/><h2 style=\"text-align:center;\">Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge route: Men<\/h2><p><strong>Start: <\/strong>Li\u00e8ge<\/p><p><strong>The route<\/strong>: From Li\u00e8ge, the race heads almost due south towards Bastogne, which is reached after only 97 km. Whilst the outbound trek is certainly not flat, the return leg meanders its way north to take in the severest climbs before arriving back in Li\u00e8ge.<\/p><p><strong>Finish<\/strong>: Li\u00e8ge<\/p><p><strong>The climbs<\/strong>:<\/p><ul><li><p>259.5 km Li\u00e8ge<\/p><\/li><li><p>176.0 km C\u00f4te de Saint-Roch<\/p><\/li><li><p>127.5 km Col de Haussire (st\u00e8le Claudy Criquielion)<\/p><\/li><li><p>89.0 km C\u00f4te de Wanne<\/p><\/li><li><p>82.5 km C\u00f4te de Stockeu (st\u00e8le Eddy Merckx)<\/p><\/li><li><p>78.0 km C\u00f4te de la Haute-Lev\u00e9e<\/p><\/li><li><p>63.5 km Col du Rosier<\/p><\/li><li><p>51.0 km Col du Maquisard<\/p><\/li><li><p>47.0 km C\u00f4te de Desni\u00e9<\/p><\/li><li><p>34.5 km C\u00f4te de La Redoute<\/p><\/li><li><p>23.5 km C\u00f4te des Forges<\/p><\/li><li><p>13.5 km C\u00f4te de la Roche-aux-Faucons<\/p><\/li><li><p>0 km Finish Li\u00e8ge<\/p><\/li><\/ul><hr \/><p><strong>Did you know? <\/strong>The original course is supposed to have been chosen to allow the officials to travel by train from Li\u00e8ge to Bastogne. There, they could check the riders had actually reached the turn, then they (the officials, not the riders) could hop back on the train.<\/p><hr \/><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/gift-ideas-for-cyclists\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u><img src=\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/14sp6mdiqtajfgv1wqqtee5xlktez7msh0dfsikuqubrqb4h.jpg.jpg?w=1140&amp;v=2\" alt=\"Coffee cups for cyclists by Rijden\" title=\"Coffee cups for cyclists by Rijden\" \/><\/u><\/a><\/p><hr \/><p style=\"text-align:center;\"><img src=\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/yim8nxkekiphhgerirn6beocywro5nbmel1yvgxyjfy1izgw.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=auto\" alt=\"Route map for 2026 men's Liege-Bastogne-Liege\" title=\"Route map for 2026 men's Liege-Bastogne-Liege\" \/><em>Men\u2019s Liege-Bastogne-Liege route. \u00a9 ASO<\/em><\/p><hr \/><h2 style=\"text-align:center;\">Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge favourites: Men<\/h2><h3 style=\"text-align:center;\"><strong>Top favourites:<\/strong><\/h3><p><strong>Last year<\/strong>: The race was won by defending champion Tadej Poga\u010dar, who finished more than a minute ahead of Giulio Ciccone and Ben Healy.<\/p><p><strong>Big favourites<\/strong>: TBC<\/p><p><strong>Prediction<\/strong>: TBC<\/p><h3 style=\"text-align:center;\">The rest<\/h3><p>Who else can win? We\u2019ve rated the chances of all the serious challengers below.<\/p><ul><li><p><strong>TBC<\/strong><\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><\/p><h3 style=\"text-align:center;\">Who else to look out for<\/h3><p><strong>TBC<\/strong><\/p><hr \/><h3 style=\"text-align:center;\">Men's Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge odds<\/h3><p>The latest odds for Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge:<\/p><ul><li><p>TBC<\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><\/p><p>Rijden has no connection with any bookmakers mentioned, and this information should not be considered as a recommendation to bet.<\/p><hr \/><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/keep-in-touch\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u><img src=\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/zvo0cwrtqnudssj0tuo0nrq9f98gqb0zbkypihppvap3h5hx.png.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=auto\" alt=\"Subscribe to Rijden's free email newsletter\" title=\"Subscribe to Rijden's free email newsletter\" \/><\/u><\/a><\/p><hr \/><h2 style=\"text-align:center;\">Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge route: Women<\/h2><p><strong>Start: <\/strong>Bastogne<\/p><p><strong>The route<\/strong>: The women's race is half the distance of the men's. It skips out the trek to Bastogne, and most of the route north is identical to the men's race, including on its way all the key climbs.<\/p><p><strong>Finish<\/strong>: Li\u00e8ge<\/p><p><strong>The climbs<\/strong>:<\/p><ul><li><p>156 km Bastogne<\/p><\/li><li><p>127. 127,0 km Col de Haussi\u00e8re (st\u00e8le Claudy Criquielion)<\/p><\/li><li><p>88.0 km C\u00f4te de Wanne<\/p><\/li><li><p>81.5 km C\u00f4te de Stockeu (st\u00e8le Eddy Merckx)<\/p><\/li><li><p>77.0 km C\u00f4te de la Haute-Lev\u00e9e<\/p><\/li><li><p>60.0 km Col du Rosier<\/p><\/li><li><p>50.5 km Col du Maquisard<\/p><\/li><li><p>46.5 km C\u00f4te de Desni\u00e9<\/p><\/li><li><p>33.5 km C\u00f4te de la Redoute<\/p><\/li><li><p>23.0 km C\u00f4te des Forges<\/p><\/li><li><p>13.0 km C\u00f4te de la Roche-aux-Faucons<\/p><\/li><li><p>0 km Finish<\/p><\/li><\/ul><hr \/><p style=\"text-align:center;\"><img src=\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/sgm3umddvmdbsmgt35eut4kxwalgaxsymbj9ws0hjfac9tz1.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=auto\" alt=\"Women\u2019s Liege-Bastogne-Liege route. \u00a9 ASO\" title=\"Women\u2019s Liege-Bastogne-Liege route. \u00a9 ASO\" \/><em>Women\u2019s Liege-Bastogne-Liege route. \u00a9 ASO<\/em><\/p><hr \/><h2 style=\"text-align:center;\">Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge favourites: Women<\/h2><h3 style=\"text-align:center;\"><strong>Top favourites:<\/strong><\/h3><p><strong>Last year<\/strong>: Kim Le court led home a group of four in a sprint, with Puck Pieterse second and Demi Vollering third.<\/p><p><strong>Big favourites<\/strong>: TBC<\/p><p><strong>Prediction<\/strong>: TBC<\/p><h3 style=\"text-align:center;\">The rest<\/h3><p>Who else can win? We\u2019ve rated the chances of all the serious challengers below.<\/p><ul><li><p><strong>TBC<\/strong><\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><\/p><h3 style=\"text-align:center;\">Who else to look out for<\/h3><p>TBC<\/p><hr \/><h3 style=\"text-align:center;\">Women's Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge odds<\/h3><p>The latest odds for Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge:<\/p><ul><li><p>TBC<\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><\/p><p>Rijden has no connection with any bookmakers mentioned, and this information should not be considered as a recommendation to bet.<\/p><hr \/><h2 style=\"text-align:center;\">Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge weather forecast<\/h2><p>TBC<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"text-align:center;\"><em>5 February 2026, Tim Costello<\/em><\/p><p style=\"text-align:center;\"><em>All images and text are the copyright of Rijden unless stated otherwise.<\/em><\/p><hr \/><h3 style=\"text-align:center;\">NEVER MISS OUT<\/h3><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rijden.uk\/keep-in-touch\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>SUBSCRIBE<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<em>to get all our latest stories and news. We won't bombard you with special offers. We don't want to send you junk, and you don\u2019t want to receive it.<\/em><\/p><p><em>We run occasional free competitions for newsletter subscribers.<\/em><\/p><p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/keep-in-touch\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><u><img src=\"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/gcy9raamx1kekdsqaqfpbzyp3uwppoksnclm52igdgngqfrb.png.jpg?w=1140&amp;h=auto\" alt=\"Subscribe to Rijden's free email newsletter\" title=\"Subscribe to Rijden's free email newsletter\" \/><\/u><\/a><\/p>","urlTitle":"liege-bastogne-liege-guide","url":"\/blog\/liege-bastogne-liege-guide\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/liege-bastogne-liege-guide\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/rijden.uk\/blog\/liege-bastogne-liege-guide\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1744742510,"updatedAt":1776091108,"publishedAt":1776091107,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":61205,"name":"Rijden_2"},"tags":[{"id":1216,"code":"road-racing","name":"RoadRacing","url":"\/blog\/tagged\/road-racing\/"},{"id":1874,"code":"guides","name":"Guides","url":"\/blog\/tagged\/guides\/"}],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/gjdb3bzjguzfuyeexvyuodmicdmwmsyj0n0tny9uq4rudzxl.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/gjdb3bzjguzfuyeexvyuodmicdmwmsyj0n0tny9uq4rudzxl.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/gjdb3bzjguzfuyeexvyuodmicdmwmsyj0n0tny9uq4rudzxl.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge guide 2026 | Rijden","metaDescription":"Everything you need to know to enjoy Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge from the comfort of your armchair.","keyPhraseCampaignId":69336,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":9561,"title":"Guide to Belgian beer","url":"\/blog\/beer-guide-part-2\/","urlTitle":"beer-guide-part-2","division":61205,"description":"Here at Rijden, we love Belgian beer. 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