Full Maturity

January 21 ^st 2026 - 13:00

Few races can claim to have accompanied the recent evolution of women’s cycling as closely as Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes. In 2026, the Ardennes queen celebrates its tenth edition and, for the occasion, lines up ten climbs on the route for contenders dreaming of following in the prestigious footsteps of Anna van der Breggen, the Oranje icon who inaugurated the race by winning in 2017 and repeating the feat the following year. At the time, the course measured just over 130 kilometres, and the four classified climbs were enough to make the difference. Since then, both the peloton and the challenges it faces have taken on an entirely different scale.

From Bastogne to Liège, the riders now cover nearly 160 kilometres, in the wake of the men’s peloton, for a prime-time crowning on the Quai des Ardennes. Nothing is spared: in 2026, they will discover the Col de Haussire, known as the most difficult climb in Belgium, revisit the Wanne – Stockeu – Haute-Levée triptych, take on the Col du Rosier, and face the unprecedented combination of the Maquisard and Desnié climbs… Finally, the bravest will battle it out on the mythical slopes of La Redoute, Les Forges and La Roche-aux-Faucons, before triumphing in the heart of the Cité ardente.

By nature, such a sequence exhausts the riders’ bodies. It also highlights the strength of a peloton that is increasingly robust, evenly matched and global. The successors to Van der Breggen have forged an exceptional lineage. Annemiek van Vleuten, Lizzie Deignan and Demi Vollering have written some of the finest pages in Dutch and British cycling history. Australian rider Grace Brown, crowned in Liège in 2024 before claiming Olympic gold in Paris, brought Oceania to the table of Liège winners. Finally, Mauritian rider Kim Le Court secured the first African victory in a UCI Women’s WorldTour Classic. The history of Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes is still young, but it is already indispensable.

Christian PRUDHOMME
Director of Cycling