Martin, Valverde, Nibali among favourites in La Doyenne
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Dan Martin on the podium(Image credit: Sirotti)
Michał Kwiatkowski made the podium today(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dani Moreno (Katusha)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
2014 victor Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Philippe Gilbert (BMC) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom-Jelte Slagter takes his second victory(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jelle Vanendert (Lotto-Belisol) overcame a sore knee to finish strongly(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Bauke Mollema (Belkin) gets ready for the start of the 2014 Amstel Gold(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Vincenzo Nibali (Astana)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The grand finale of the Classics, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is the oldest and most respected of the lot, a Monument worthy of its nickname, La Doyenne. To win here is one of the greatest achievements a professional cyclist can have, and Cyclingnews has picked out 10 riders who have the capability to capture the title.
Defending champion Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) seemed to have a less-than-ideal build up, dropping out of Amstel Gold Race with knee pain. However, he seemed to have made the correct choice by the time la Flèche Wallonne came around, nearly winning the race had he not jumped a touch too early.
One rider who went even earlier on Wednesday, Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) will look to build on his previous high finishes in Ans.
They will of course face two intimidating favourites, Flèche Wallonne winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Amstel Gold Race winner Philippe GIlbert (BMC), both of whom are past winners of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Outsiders include Daniel Moreno, who could take over as leader for injured Katusha teammate Joaquim Rodriguez Tom-Jelte Slagter (Garmin-Sharp), Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol), Bauke Mollema (Belkin) and of course Vincenzo Nibali (Astana).
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Born in Ireland to a cycling family and later moved to the Isle of Man, so there was no surprise when I got into the sport. Studied sports journalism at university before going on to do a Masters in sports broadcast. After university I spent three months interning at Eurosport, where I covered the Tour de France. In 2012 I started at Procycling Magazine, before becoming the deputy editor of Procycling Week. I then joined Cyclingnews, in December 2013.
