Liège–Bastogne–Liège Stats
Historical stats
– The first edition took place in 1892 and was won by Leon Houa
– Eddy Merckx holds the record for the most victories: 5, between 1969 and 1975
– The same Merckx has the most podiums: 7
– Belgium leads the nations standings, with 59 wins, followed by Italy (12) and Switzerland (10)
– Seven riders have won both Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège in the same season: Moreno Argentin, Philippe Gilbert Ferdi Kubler, Eddy Merckx, Stan Ockers, Davide Rebellin and Alejandro Valverde
– No U23 winner went on to take the victory as a pro
– Four cyclists from outside of Europe nabbed the win: Simon Gerrans (Australia), Tyler Hamilton (U.S.A.), Maxim Iglinskiy (Kazahstan) and Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazahstan)
– Since Bernard Hinault (1980), no other reigning Tour de France champion has won the Belgian Monument
– Moreno Argentin, in 1987, was the last rainbow jersey wearer to finish first
– Biggest winning margin was recorded in 1893, when Leon Houa came home half an hour ahead of his fellow countryman, Michel Borisowski
– The inaugural edition had 33 riders at the start, with only 17 of them getting to the finish
– Besides Belgium, only Italy got to place three cyclists on the podium, at the 2005 edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège
– The race has been affected by snow in 1919, 1957 and 1980
– Until 1973, ten editions have finished on the Stade Vélodrome de Rocourt, a 40 000-seat arena
– Since 1992, the race ends in Ans, a suburb of Liège
– Longest dry spell without a Belgian victory was between 2000 and 2011
– In 1957, the win was awarded to two riders: Germain Derycke and Frans Schoubben
– Youngest ever winner is Victor Fastre (18 years and 362 days); oldest one is Alexandr Vinokourov (36 years and 221 days)
– Davide Rebellin is the rider with the most editions completed, 14
2016 stats
– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will line-up for the 102nd edition
– Only one of these teams hasn’t scored a victory this season: Giant-Alpecin
– The course is 253-km long and includes ten categorized climbs
– Three former winners are at the start of the race: Simon Gerrans, Daniel Martin and Alejandro Valverde
– The cyclists who will ride the 2016 edition have won a combined total of 11 Monuments, 2 world titles, 6 Grand Tours and more than 90 Grand Tour stages
– Of the riders who are at the start, Joaquim Rodriguez has the most participations: 13
– France is the country with the most riders in the race – 38 – followed by Belgium (26) and the Netherlands (18)
– Alejandro Valverde can become the first rider in 18 years to claim back-to-back victories
– Laurens De Plus (20 years) is the youngest rider who will line-up in Liège, while Haimar Zubeldia is the oldest one (39 years)
– Liège–Bastogne–Liège marks 1827 days since the last win of the hosts in this event
– Five winners of the U23 race will ride the 102nd edition: Jan Bakelants, Guillaume Martin, Anthony Turgis, Michael Valgren and Tosh Van der Sande
– 11 neo-pros will make their debut in a Monument at “La Doyenne”: Koen Bouwman, Lilian Calmejane, Jeremy Cornu, Laurens De Plus, Odd Christian Eiking, Sindre Lunke, Guillaume Martin, Sam Oomen, Antwan Tolhoek, Alexey Vermeulen and Loic Vliegen
Cafe Roubaix 