After the surprise victory of Alison Jackson during Paris-Roubaix, the fight promises to be fierce between the leaders of the women’s peloton on the Doyenne des Classiques, Sunday morning.
Who will be the new queen of the Doyenne? Sunday April 23, 216 runners will set off in the sixth women’s edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Doyenne des Classiques, to follow at 11.30 am on France 4 and france.tv). With 143 km on the program (unlike the men, the women do not start from Liège but directly from Bastogne), and no less than nine climbs, the Monument Ardenais will be particularly disputed between leaders, all the more after the surprise victory Alison Jackson during of Paris-Roubaix.
Victorious last year, world champion Annemiek van Vleuten will be on the front line to defend her title. But she will not be the only former winner at the start, with the presence of Lizzie Deignan (2020) and Demi Vollering (2021) in her wheels. Three names to follow, therefore, without forgetting the peloton of other contenders.
Demi Vollering, the hat-trick in the sights
His name will be on everyone’s lips. At 26, Demi Vollering (SD Worx) is in sparkling form when it comes to Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The second in the Tour de France 2022 will be the rider who “will have the sign”, far ahead of all the other favorites. And for good reason, she is aiming for the Ardennes treble (like Tadej Pogacar), after her victories at the Amstel Gold Race and during the week on the Flèche wallonne, with impressive mastery. At the head of the SD Worx armada, led by Anna van der Breggen (double winner in Liège in 2017 and 2018), the Dutch climber will be the woman to beat in this race. And if she finds herself trapped, her team could count on the Belgian sprinter Lotte Kopecky, if she holds up well on the climbs.
Annemiek van Vleuten, an awaited awakening
After an incredible 2022 season, during which she won almost everything, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) arrives in Liège without a win this season. Since the recovery, the world champion has not raised a single bouquet, she who is mainly aiming for the big tours for her last season at 40, as she explained to franceinfo: sport in February. However, with her climbing qualities and her unparalleled endurance in the current women’s peloton, the world champion (and defending champion in Liège, which she also won in 2019) will be the main threat for Demi Vollering. In the event of failure, she could also let her teammate Liane Lippert, second in the Flèche wallonne on Wednesday, play her card.
Lizzie Deignan, for the story
Revealed to the general public in October 2021, when she won the first women’s Paris-Roubaix after an 82 km solo raid (!), Lizzie Deignan (Trek Segafredo) returned to competition this week on the Flèche Wallonne. After a year of absence to give birth to her second child, the 34-year-old Briton goes further than her opponents, on paper. In fact, she advances as a specialist, she who has already won the Dean in 2020, a year after her first pregnancy. The 2015 world champion remains above all a runner cut out for long and trying races like Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Especially since she will be surrounded by an XXL team, and in particular by another favorite: Elisa Longo Borghini.
Elisa Longo Borghini, the transalpine scarecrow
Alongside Lizzie Deignan, Elisa Longo Borghini will be the other scarecrow of the Trek-Segafredo armada. Because in addition to the two leaders, the American team will be able to count on the nugget Shirin Van Anrooij, the Italian promise Gaia Realini, 3rd on the Flèche wallonne, or even Lucinda Braand and Amanda Spratt. Luxury teammates to surround Elisa Longo Borghini, whose resistance to effort is no longer to be proven, she who won Paris-Roubaix in 2022. Also crowned on the Tour of Flanders in 2015, the powerful Italian rider, strategist peerless, hopes to add a third Monument to its prize list. She arrives for this in confidence, after her victory on the UAE Tour in particular, in February.
Juliette Labous, the tricolor hope
Fourth last July in the first women’s Tour de France, Juliette Labous has changed in dimension. The Franc-Comtoise from the German DSM team confirmed her climbing skills on this occasion, which is always useful to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the most mountainous of the one-day races. If she is not one of the main favorites, the Frenchwoman will be one of the outsiders to follow at the start, in the same way as her compatriot Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez), 5th on the Flèche wallonne. “I feel pretty good, the form is ascending. (…) The race will be more difficult, and perhaps more open earlier. Normally, Liège suits me well”entrusts us besides the Franc-comtoise, who will not be there to make up the numbers.