Shorter Liège-Bastogne-Liège, more selective finale for 2015
Climbs closer together in final 80km
The organisers of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Amaury Sport Organisation, have elected to return the race to a route similar to that of 2013, making for a somewhat shorter route and more selective finale than last year's event, which saw a large group together into the last kilometre from which Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) claimed the victory.
The 2015 edition of La Doyenne will be a full 10 kilometres shorter than last year's, but is still lengthy at 253km. Rather than tackle the Côte de la Vecquée after the Côtes de Stockeu and Haute-Levée, the race instead adds in the 4.4km-long Col du Rosier (5.9%) and the 2.5km Col du Maquisard before heading directly to the traditional finish containing the Côtes de La Redoute, Roche-aux-Faucons and Saint-Nicolas.
The race will again skip the Mont-Theux, which was part of the 2013 route, bringing the distance between the Col du Maquisard and La Redout down to 11.5km, from 25.5km compared with 2013, giving less recovery between climbs for the peloton.
Climbs of the 2015 Liège-Bastogne-Liège:
Côte de La Roche-en-Ardenne (km 79.0 - 2.8km, 6.2%)
Côte de Saint-Roch (km 125.5 - 1km, 11.2%)
Côte de Wanne (km 169.0 - 2.7km, 7.4%)
Côte de Stockeu (km 175.5 - 1km, 12.5%)
Côte de la Haute-Levée (km 181.5 - 3.6km, 5.6%)
Col du Rosier (km 194.0 - 4.4km, 5.9%)
Col du Maquisard (km 207.0 - 2.5km, 5%)
Côte de La Redoute (km 218.5 - 2km, 8.9%)
Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons (km 234.0 - 1.5km, 9.4%)
Côte de Saint-Nicolas (km 248.0 - 1.2km, 8.6%)
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