BiciRace.com :: 2006 Liège-Bastogne-Liège

2006 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Report

Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Belgium

23 April, 262K

Alejandro Valverde is Big-Time

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Alejandro Valverde is Big-Time, photo: ASO

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears), like Argentin and Rebellin before, has taken the Wallonne-Liège double by winning a drag race up the Côte de Ans in front of Paolo Bettini (Quick-Step) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital). In the finale of the 92nd Liège-Bastogne-Liège the Spaniard was assisted by the driving force of Joaquím Rodríguez to overcome the likes of Simoni, Sinkewitz, Boogerd, Perdiguero, Basso and Schleck. The 25 year-old has pounded his fist down, marking his name, Alejandro Valverde, as one of cycling's elite.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège is one of cycling's grandest Classics, taking in numerous côtes on the U-shaped parcours: Leaving Ans (outside of Liège), south to Bastogne and back north to Liège. It is on this northern return where the côtes become the hardest and thus, the most famous. In the day's finale the riders hit the Côte de la Redoute (-37K), Côte de Sprimont (-31K), Côte de Sart-Tilman (-16K), Côte de Saint-Nicolas (-7K) and the small, but important Côte de Ans in the final 1100 meters.

Huge Early Escape of 26, photo: ASO

Fantastic weather greeted the riders on the departure of Ans, and perhaps this helped spur on such a large escape group. At kilometer 34 Pierrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom) and Serge Pauwels (Chocolade Jacques) went free, quickly joined by a group of 24: Marcos Serrano (Liberty), Jens Voigt (CSC), Michael Rogers, Steffen Wesemann (T-Mobile), Juan Antonio Flecha, Alexandr Kolobnev (Rabobank), Torsten Hiekmann (Gerolsteiner), Addy Engels (Quick-Step), Salvatore Commesso (Lampre), Jurgen Van den Broeck (Discovery), Christophe Brandt (Davitamon), José Vicente Garcia, Nicolas Portal (Caisse d'Epargne), Luis Pérez (Cofidis), Rémi Pauriol (Crédit Agricole), Unai Etxebarria (Euskaltel), Arkaitz Durán (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas), Stéphane Goubert (AG2R), Maarten Wynants (Jacques), Bert De Waele, Steven Kleynen, Jean-Paul Simon (Landbouwkrediet) and Ryan Cox (Barloworld).

Wallonne Tifosi on the Côte de Saint-Roch, photo: ASO

By 50K (-212K) the escapees had nearly 7' in hand, which they kept to the Côte de la Roche-en-Ardenne. By Bastogne the gap had shrunk, but only slightly, to 5'45".

Phonak and Milram, two squads who missed out, were doing the majority of the work to bring the escape back. Sure enough the legs of the escapees started to wear and the group splinted, until there was only Wesemann holding on to a small gap, but he too was brought back by -50K. The race was now ON.

Lampre, CSC and T-Mobile were the principle teams leading the peloton to the Côte de la Redoute at -37K. On Redoute Ivan Basso (Team CSC) moved to the front, quickly marked by favorites Bettini and Valverde. Then Cunego put in a dig that spit several riders off the rear and gained the attention of all the favorites.

Rodríguez & Boogerd Escape, photo: ASO

Over the top of Redoute, Chris Horner (Davitamon-Lotto) made his presence known and further refined the selection leading to the Côte de Sprimont. The côte marked an important move: Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears) launched and was followed by Dutch hopeful Michael Boogerd (Rabobank). The duo held a small advantage of around 30" on the long drag to the start of the Côte de Sart-Tilman (-16K). Behind the Spanish-Dutch escape the chase group was thinned to about 25 riders, of which were Valverde, Bettini, Horner, Alexander Vinokourov, Jörg Jaksche (Liberty Seguros-Würth), Patrik Sinkewitz, Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile), Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas), Fränk Schleck, Basso, Karsten Kroon (Team CSC), Cunego, Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital), Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Igor Astarloa (Barloworld).

Liberty led the thrust near the university at the base of the Côte de Sart-Tilman (-16K). The Spanish squadra was setting up affairs for 2005 Liège winner Vinokourov but the Kazakh never launched. Instead it was Il Grillo Livornese to put in a blast near the summit. Bettini's move opened up a large gap, but the following fast descent nullified his move.

Cunego Drives, photo: Lampre-Fondital

The elite gruppo jammed it down the slope, near 90Kph, over the river, past the Liège Standard stadium and to the foot of the final biggie, the Côte de Saint-Nicolas (-7K). Attacks were made by Kashechkin and then Perdiguero, which reeled in the Boogerd-Rodríguez duo but failed in making any significant selection. We had ourselves a large group heading down the final descent, into Liège, before the start of the run up the Côte de Ans.

The Côte de Ans is only 1100 meters in length, but it was where the final battle of the 92nd Liège-Bastogne-Liège was to be waged. Valverde had the ace up his sleeve in the form of Rodriguez. The Spaniard, now back into the main gruppo, sat on the front of the action and led the race to its conclusion.

Spoils of Victory for the Green Bullet, photo: ASO

Boogerd dug, followed by Basso and Cunego, but none of them had the power to go clear. Sinkewitz took over at -200m, behind was Valverde, Bettini and Cunego. The Green Bullet opened up his superior sprint on the right, leaving behind the Italians to finish second and third, respectively. Another coup for Valverde, after Wednesday's Flèche Wallonne, confirming what many had been saying about him for the past few years... "The kid has the goods!"

Basso: "It was good test... I am content... I believe that the team went strong, it is too bad we did not win. I have good sensations before the Giro d'Italia. Liège was a good race for the Giro. Of the Giro favorites it was Cunego who appears in great form. ... "

"I studied my Giro rivals... It was good training for the Giro," said the 2004 Giro champion. "I am calm with my teammates. They were always taking me to the front. I am satisfied, and with a good morale for the Giro. I have such great trust in my teammates. The morale is great, especially after Giro del Trentino win."

"I thought for a bit that I could have a chance, but Bettini and Valverde are very fast. The race was a good signal. Simoni, Basso and Di Luca, all of the Giro contenders were there, but all seem at the same level."

Bettini: "Liège went well considering I did the last 40K practically solo without teammates..."

Results: 6:21'32", 41.202 K/h
1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick-Step
3 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
4 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) T-Mobile
5 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank
6 Miguel Angel Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak
7 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
8 Chris Horner (USA) Davitamon-Lotto
9 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 0.04
10 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 0.07
11 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Liberty Seguros-Würth 0.12
12 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.24
13 David Etxebarria (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth 0.28
14 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank 0.29
15 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.31
16 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
17 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Milram
18 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC
19 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
20 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank
21 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Barloworld
22 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.45
23 Iban Mayo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.47
24 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile 0.51
25 Pedro Arreitunandia (Spa) Barloworld 0.57
26 Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 1.18
27 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Crédit Agricole 1.21
28 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
29 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Fondital
30 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Liberty Seguros-Würth 1.31
31 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Cofidis
32 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas 2.13
33 Axel Merckx (Bel) Phonak 4.29
34 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 4.33
35 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Ag2R Prévoyance
36 Rubén Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
37 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel
38 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux
39 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile
40 Iker Camaño (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
41 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
42 Serge Baguet (Bel) Quick-Step
43 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick-Step
44 Jörg Jaksche (Ger) Liberty Seguros-Würth
45 Juan José Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 5.26
46 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 6.58
47 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole 7.31
48 Giampaolo Cheula (Ita) Barloworld
49 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole 9.53
50 Juan Manuel Gárate (Spa) Quick-Step 10.51
51 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC
52 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance 11.00
53 Beat Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner
54 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
55 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
56 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank
57 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Ag2R Prévoyance
58 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Agritubel
59 Walter Bénéteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
60 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank
61 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
62 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak
63 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Milram
64 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank
65 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Quick-Step
66 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
67 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française Des Jeux
68 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
69 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Cofidis
70 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
71 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Unibet.com
72 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
73 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas
74 José Azevedo (Por) Discovery Channel
75 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Crédit Agricole
76 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital
77 Thierry Marichal (Bel) Cofidis
78 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
79 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
80 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto
81 Alberto Contador Liberty Seguros-Würth
82 Ángel Vicioso (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
83 Uros Murn (Slo) Phonak
84 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Lampre-Fondital
85 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank
86 Benoît Salmon (Fra) Agritubel
87 Steve Morabito (Swi) Phonak 16.36
88 Benoît Joachim (Lux) Discovery Channel 17.25
89 Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Milram
90 Johan Coenen (Bel) Unibet.com
91 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
92 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole
93 Josep Jufré (Spa) Davitamon-Lotto
94 Antonio Colom (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
95 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
96 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas
97 Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld
98 Steven Kleynen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
99 Iñaki Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
100 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile
101 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC
102 Marcos Serrano (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
103 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick-Step
104 Matej Jurco (Svk) Milram
105 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Française Des Jeux
DNF José Antonio Redondo (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Team CSC
DNF Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC
DNF Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team CSC
DNF Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile
DNF Bernhard Kohl (Aut) T-Mobile
DNF Steffen Wesemann (Swi) T-Mobile
DNF Thomas Ziegler (Ger) T-Mobile
DNF Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank
DNF Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
DNF Thomas Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner
DNF Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner
DNF Marcus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner
DNF Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
DNF José Antonio Garrido (Spa) Quick-Step
DNF Hubert Schwab (Swi) Quick-Step
DNF Matteo Carrara (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
DNF Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Discovery Channel
DNF Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus) Discovery Channel
DNF Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) Discovery Channel
DNF Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
DNF Patrick McCarty (USA) Phonak
DNF Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak
DNF Victor Hugo Peña (Col) Phonak
DNF José Vicente Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
DNF Aitor Pérez Arrieta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
DNF Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
DNF Vicente Reynes (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
DNF Daniel Musiol (Ger) Milram
DNF Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Milram
DNF Björn Schröder (Ger) Milram
DNF Carlo Scognamiglio (Ita) Milram
DNF Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis
DNF Luis Pérez (Spa) Cofidis
DNF Anthony Charteau (Fra) Crédit Agricole
DNF Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Crédit Agricole
DNF Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Crédit Agricole
DNF Freddy Bichot (Fra) Française Des Jeux
DNF Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Française Des Jeux
DNF Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Française Des Jeux
DNF Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française Des Jeux
DNF Joseba Albizu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Andoni Aranaga (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Unai Etxebarria (Ven) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Aitor Hernández (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF José Alberto Benítez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Arkaitz Durán (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Koldo Gil (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Ángel Gómez Gómez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas
DNF Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
DNF Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Liquigas
DNF Philip Deignan (Irl) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Ag2R Prévoyance
DNF Carlos García Quesada (Spa) Unibet.com
DNF Angel Castresana Del Val (Spa) Unibet.com
DNF Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Unibet.com
DNF Matthé Pronk (Ned) Unibet.com
DNF Erwin Thijs (Bel) Unibet.com
DNF Kurt Van de Wouwer (Bel) Unibet.com
DNF Koen Barbé (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
DNF Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
DNF Jens Renders (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
DNF Wesley Van der Linden (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
DNF Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
DNF Frederik Willems (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
DNF Maarten Wynants (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen
DNF Andy Cappelle (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Jean-Claude Lebeau (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Sven Renders (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Jean-Paul Simon (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Johan Verstrepen (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
DNF Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Agritubel
DNF Aivaras Baranauskas (Ltu) Agritubel
DNF Manuel Calvente (Spa) Agritubel
DNF Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Agritubel
DNF Moisés Dueñas (Spa) Agritubel
DNF Eduardo Gonzalo (Spa) Agritubel
DNF Mauro Facci (Ita) Barloworld
DNF Tiaan Kannemeyer (RSA) Barloworld
DNF Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld
DNF Tom Southam (GBr) Barloworld