A triptych and a triple crown?

January 25 ^th 2023 - 11:30

The glory is not offered to just anyone racing to Liège. Many of the biggest stars of the women's peloton have suffered the same fate, crushed under a Dutch dominance that only the Briton Lizzie Deignan has been able to escape from in recent years. Annemiek van Vleuten confirmed it in the spring of 2022, when she attacked again and again until she claimed her second triumph in the Ardent City, capping off a very beautiful spring with a superb crown, before a flamboyant summer campaign with her conquests in pink, yellow, red and finally rainbow.
The oranje star is an emeritus champion who strives for attrition races where, by dint of repeated intense efforts, everyone must bow down, even the most gifted or resistant champions. In the Ardennes, even Van Vleuten is suffering. But she managed twice to distance herself from rivals who have always contained her on the slopes of the Mur de Huy.
“Miek” is also a lover of her sport, which has given rise to countless exploits on the roads steeped in history of the Province of Liège. In 2023, the Dutchwoman and the rest of the peloton will face the emblematic trilogy of the Doyenne for the first time with the climbs of Wanne, Stockeu and Haute-Levée. On the same route faced a few hours later by the men, the riders will tackle climbs without respite with eight ascents packed in 85 kilometres. More than enough to ensure a ruthless battle before crowning a queen in Liège.