Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Posted by Kathryn on April 27, 2014

La Doyenne, the old one, not a bad nickname for a race that dates back to 1892 and is celebrating its 100th edition.

The only way I can begin to understand the ridiculous amount of barriers erected by the race organizers is to assume that their goals were threefold: (1) to keep fans always from riders; (2) to keep riders away from the podium; and (3) to let scores of absent minded VIPs saunter about a road that would be jammed with the world's top cyclists and all sorts of motor vehicles.

Is my sash crooked?

Buses, team cars, VIPs, and perhaps the occasional rider. I know I may go on about why I do or don't like the way a particular sign on has been organized and part of that reason is purely selfish–I take huge delight in interacting with the riders–but I also think it is in the sport's best interest to minimize the chaos at the start of an event. Poorly set up sign ons create additional stress and unnecessary hazards for the riders, their support staff, race officials, police and security, and drivers trying to navigate giant buses on narrow roads. Riders struggle to find an open pathway to even get to the podium, let alone doing so without knocking over some VIP's unattended child or getting knocked over themselves by a VIP taking a selfie. Considering that this particular race is now in its third century, this sort of scene makes the sport seem amateurish and I love cycling too much to let it be disrespected in such a manner.

Teammates Yukiya Arashiro and Natneal Berhane signing on.

We managed to snag just a few autographs but to be honest, given yesterday's impressive haul and the excess fences, I didn't try terribly hard.

Tosh Van Der Sande.

Laurent Pichon.

Matteo Bono.

A smile and a wave from Dan Martin.

Miraculously, Rui Costa was one of the first cyclists to find his way through the dozens of VIPs standing around like statues in front of the shortcut to the podium.

Somewhere in the center of all these microphones and cameras is the King of Belgium, making an unannounced appearance.

All the king's men.

Two trains and a long walk later, I stumbled upon the last corner and the final 200 meters of the course. Having watched the final Ks of last year's race multiple times, I got chills standing in the place where Dan Martin launched his winning attack and rode away from Purito Rodriguez (and a man-sized panda).

The homestretch!

I've said it before that one of my favorite things about going to races is the people you meet. So even though I stood barely one meter beyond the finish line for close to 5 hours before the riders showed up, it didn't feel like nearly that long as I practiced my abysmal French with a new friend who works the finish crew, chatted with Colin, my photographer friend, and discussed the ins and out of being a North American cycling fan with Harold and Mary from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Being right on the finish line, I could only just glimpse a piece of the screen so I had to rely on Daniel Mangeas's French commentary to follow the final 2 hours of the race. Every update indicated it would be a tight finish with a doomed breakaway inevitably getting reeled in as the race favorites jockeyed for position near the front. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened.

It was only at the last second it occurred to me to take a photo, the moment was that intense, so I missed Simon Gerrans celebrating his big win. Here, Alejandro Valverde takes second with Michal Kwiatkowski in second.

The riders coming in (Jelle Vanendert in 11th).

Golden shoes and a grimace for 2008 Olympics gold medal winner Sammy Sanchez.

Celebrating his teammate's win.

A battered Dan Martin, looking heartbroken and bearing evidence of a crash.

Darwin Atapuma.

Ryder Hesjedal.

Fans heading to watch the podium ceremony.

Kwiatkowski stepped onto the podium while the peloton continued to trickle in.

A second time finishing third for Kwiatkowski this week.

Valverde also on his second podium this week, this time as runner up.

I've seen a lot of bike riders win a lot of races but I honestly can't recall the last time I saw a rider as excited as Simon Gerrans!

The podium, flanked by Bernard Hinault on the far left and UCI president Brian Cookson, far right.

Gerrans's trophy.

No champagne for the winner in this race but Gerrans was presented with a massive Liège ham.

Valverde isn't necessarily my favorite rider and I'm not one to find kids of strangers either adorable or precious, but this was a lovely moment to witness.