{"id":19358,"date":"2013-04-21T17:43:51","date_gmt":"2013-04-21T15:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/rating-the-favourites-at-liege-bastogne-liege\/"},"modified":"2013-04-21T17:43:51","modified_gmt":"2013-04-21T15:43:51","slug":"rating-the-favourites-at-liege-bastogne-liege","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/rating-the-favourites-at-liege-bastogne-liege\/","title":{"rendered":"Rating the favourites at Li\u00e8ge\u2013Bastogne\u2013Li\u00e8ge"},"content":{"rendered":"

The oldest of the modern monuments, Li\u00e8ge\u2013Bastogne\u2013Li\u00e8ge, opens Sunday morning in the heart of the industrial center of Belgium\u2019s Wallonie region and will close 261.5 kilometers later after a new finale.<\/p>\n

And while the removal of the C\u00f4te de la Roche aux Faucons late in the race will alter how \u201cLa Doyenne<\/a>\u201d plays out, the most important of the Ardennes classics<\/a> will see a list of familiar names \u2014 headlined by two-time winner Alejandro Valverde<\/a> (Movistar) and 2012 runner-up Vincenzo Nibali<\/a> (Astana) \u2014 fighting for monumental glory come the C\u00f4te de Saint-Nicolas on the outskirts of the Li\u00e8ge suburb of Ans.<\/p>\n

These are the picks of the VeloNews editors for the top favorites in the 99th edition of Li\u00e8ge\u2013Bastogne\u2013Li\u00e8ge:<\/p>\n

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to know how motivated Alejandro Valverde is for the Ardennes classics, you should have seen him at the top of the Mur de Huy on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

After finishing a disappointing seventh, he was pushing and shoving photographers out of the way like he was rushing the stage at a Van Halen concert.<\/p>\n

Valverde is clearly ready to rock, and after strong rides at both Amstel Gold and Fl\u00e8che, he is among the front-line favorites for victory in Sunday\u2019s classics finale.<\/p>\n

Vincenzo Nibali (Astana)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vincenzo Nibali enters Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge in perfect position: The Sicilian is flying, having already won Tirreno-Adriatio and shown well in the early season, and his team boasts the race\u2019s other two podium finishers from last year.<\/p>\n

There is pressure for Astana to fare well this Sunday, but far less than rests on some others.<\/p>\n

When it comes to race control, Astana won\u2019t be looked to Sunday to do all the heavy lifting. That will fall to BMC Racing, whose Philippe Gilbert<\/a> absolutely must win \u201cLa Doyenne\u201d to avoid have a failed spring classics season.<\/p>\n

Fair or not, that\u2019s the burden of having swept Ardennes week in 2011 and wearing the world champion stripes.<\/p>\n

Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing)<\/strong><\/p>\n

World champion Philippe Gilbert\u2019s reign as king of the Ardennes feels like a distant memory, but the Monaco-based Walloon\u2019s sweep through the hilly spring classics was just two years ago this week.<\/p>\n

In a 2011 campaign that included wins at Strade Bianche, Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold, Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, and a Tour de France stage, Gilbert was unstoppable.<\/p>\n

He finished the year as the world\u2019s No 1 rider, but the road has been anything but smooth for Gilbert since he joined BMC Racing for 2012. He salvaged a wasted season with a rainbow jersey, but hasn\u2019t seen the top step of the podium in 2013.<\/p>\n

All of that being said, Gilbert would enter Sunday\u2019s Li\u00e8ge\u2013Bastogne\u2013Li\u00e8ge a favorite on pedigree alone. \u2013 velonews<\/a><\/p>\n

Related articles<\/h6>\n