FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER!

February 5 th 2021 - 12:00

Competitive cycling and its organisers are moving towards equality and are taking carefully chosen but noteworthy steps towards achieving parity in terms of sporting performance. The Liège-Bastogne-Liège women’s race clearly demonstrates this with an average speed at the 2020 race of 38.6 kph compared with 36.5 fours years previously. This figure is comparable with that of the men’s race (39.3 kph for Roglic, but on a course almost twice as long) despite the constant, intentional and gradual increase in difficulty of the course.

This year, the women's course will exceed 140 km for the first time with the addition of two categorised climbs to make seven in total (elevation gain increased by 200 m). At Stavelot (km 62), the women’s course will join and stay on the elite men's course to the finish line. Nothing could be more inspiring than this dynamic, challenging, spectacular and closely fought race, won in style on 4 October last year by the audacious British cyclist Lizzie Deignan following a tense battle after the Australian Grace Brown closed the gap. The 2015 World Champion (then under her maiden name, Elizabeth Armitstead) took the title claimed by the Dutch since the event’s inauguration in 2017. Expect the sweet smell of revenge in the invigorating air of Bastogne as the race entrants take to the start line on 25 April.

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