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, 1980 and 2016
– 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
2017 stats
– 25 teams (18 World Tour and 7 Pro Continental) will line-up for the 103nd edition
– Three of these teams are winless this season: Aqua Blue Sport, Roompot and Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
– The course is 258-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 2017 edition have won a combined total of 9 Monuments, 2 world titles and more than 70 Grand Tour stages
– Of the riders who are at the start, Samuel Sanchez and Bram Tankink have the most participations: 13
– France is the country with the most riders in the race, 34
– Ben O’Connor (21 years) is the youngest rider who will line-up in Liège, while Angel Vicioso is the oldest one (40 years)
– Liège–Bastogne–Liège marks 2181 days since the last win of the hosts in the event
– Three winners of the U23 race will ride the 103nd edition: Grega Bole, Guillaume Martin and Tosh Van der Sande
– 16 neo-pros will make their debut in a Monument at “La Doyenne”: Martijn Budding, Kevin Deltombe, Thomas Deruette, Fabien Doubey, Lennard Hofstede, Enric Mas, Jeroen Meijers, Remy Mertz, Xandro Meurisse, Ben O’Connor, Dan Pearson, Dimitri Peyskens, Oscar Riesebeek, Ludovic Robeet, Nikita Stalnov and Antoine Warnier
Cafe Roubaix 