The 55th running of Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic cycling race in Belgium was held on 22 April 1969.

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

won the race, his first of five victories in the monument classic.

Summary

Five riders were in an early breakaway, two of which were teammates of

, the young Belgian who had already won every major classic in the spring of 1969, apart from

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...

. At 98 km from the finish, Merckx broke clear from the pack on the Stockeu and combined with his two teammates

Roger Swerts Roger Swerts (born 28 December 1942) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer. As an amateur he placed 18th in the individual road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal at the 1965 UCI Road World Championships. He turned profess ...

and

Vic Van Schil Victor Van Schil (21 December 1939 – 30 September 2009) was a Belgian racing cyclist. He rode in 21 Grand Tours in his career, including 11 editions of the Tour de France, four editions of the Vuelta a España, and six editions of the Giro ...

in the front of the race. Swerts was dropped, and Merckx and Van Schil powered on to

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, with Merckx doing most of the work. Merckx wanted to give the victory to his teammate, but Van Schil insisted Merckx should win.Bouvet, Philippe (2007), De Klassiekers, Lannoo, Belgium, , p25 Britain's

Barry Hoban Barry Hoban (born 5 February 1940) is a former English professional cyclist who rode during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He formerly held the record for the most stage wins in the Tour de France by a British rider, winning eight between 1967 ...

won the sprint for third place, trailing eight minutes behind Merckx and Van Schil.

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liege-Bastogne-Liege, 1969

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

1969 in road cycling 1969 in Belgian sport 1969 Super Prestige Pernod