Liège-Bastogne-Liège men: Five contenders, five outsiders

Valverde Alaphilippe Van Aert
Some of the top contenders – Alejandro Valverde, Julian Alaphilippe, and Wout van Aert (Image credit: Getty Images/composite)

Classics season draws to a close on Sunday with the finale of the Ardennes triple at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The six-and-a-half-hour slog through the hills of Wallonia brings together Classics contenders and GC riders for the 257km battle over terrain that is rarely flat, save for the finish in Liège city centre.

Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.

Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix –  'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.