The 66th running of
Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the
monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
cycling race in Belgium, was held on 20 April 1980. It was won by French rider
Bernard Hinault in an average speed of 34.717 km/h. The race was affected by abysmal weather conditions from start to finish.
Only 21 of 174 participants finished the race.
Teams
Fifteen teams participated in the race:
Race summary
The peloton started the race in a raging snow storm. After one hour of racing more than half of all starters had abandoned the race;
another hour later some 60 riders, just one-third of the field, were still in the race.
Two riders,
Rudy Pevenage
Rudy Pévenage (15 June 1954) is a former Belgian cyclist, and later in his career team coach of cycling teams such as , , , and .
Pévenage was a professional cyclist from 1976 until 1988. His largest success was in the 1980 Tour de France: h ...
and
Ludo Peeters, broke away from the shattered peloton and gained a 2'15” lead by the Stockeu climb.
broke clear with
Silvano Contini
Silvano Contini (born 15 January 1958) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer.
Career
Professional from 1978 to 1990, his main successes were the 1982 Liège–Bastogne–Liège of 1982, the 1985 Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the ...
and
Henk Lubberding
Henk Lubberding (born 4 August 1953 in Voorst) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1977 to 1992.
As an amateur, he finished third in the 1976 Tour de l'Avenir. The following year he turned professional ...
and, after a 20 km chase, the Hinault group caught the leaders on the climb of the Haute Levée. With to go, Hinault attacked solo on the snow-covered roads and ploughed 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 ...
.
After seven hours of racing in glacial temperatures, he finished nearly 10 minutes ahead of
Hennie Kuiper to claim his second Liège–Bastogne–Liège victory.
Weather conditions
The edition was exceptionally hard because of the weather conditions: snow fell from the start and temperatures were near freezing point, leading commentators to call it ''Neige-Bastogne-Neige'' ''("Snow-Bastogne-Snow")''. Many media called it the worst Ardennes weather in the history of Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
A feature published by the British magazine
Procycling in 2000, described the infamous race:
:''A cold wind that blew across Belgium brought snow flakes and then a heavy fall within moments of the race starting.
..Riders struggled on, with hands to faces to keep a view on the road. The race was an anonymous mass of plastic jackets and windcheaters. Spectators stood in goggles like upmarket snowmen, red-faced in the bitterness. Within the hour some teams had barely a man left on the road. They pulled out two dozen at a time, men like
Gibi Baronchelli and
Giuseppe Saronni
Giuseppe Saronni (born 22 September 1957), also known as Beppe Saronni, is an Italian former racing cyclist. He had remarkable success riding in the Giro d'Italia. In 1980 he won 7 stages and finished 7th overall, in 1981 he won 3 stages and fin ...
,
Lucien Van Impe and
Jean-René Bernaudeau
Jean-René Bernaudeau (born 8 July 1956) is a French former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally from 1978 to 1988. Bernaudeau currently works as the general manager for UCI ProTeam .
In 1982, he said that dope controls in cycling wer ...
.''
Hinault was one of just 21 riders to finish the race. He suffered frostbite in two fingers of his right hand, taking three weeks for proper movement to return,
and causing permanent damage.
Results
{,
, Final general classification
{, class="wikitable"
, -
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! scope="col" , Rider
! scope="col" , Team
! scope="col" , Time
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,
,
, style="text-align:right;" ,
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 2
,
,
, style="text-align:right;" , + 9' 24"
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 3
,
,
, style="text-align:right;" , s.t.
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 4
,
,
, style="text-align:right;" , + 10' 34"
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 5
,
,
, style="text-align:right;" , s.t.
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 6
,
,
, style="text-align:right;" , s.t.
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 7
,
,
, style="text-align:right;" , + 12' 05"
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 8
,
,
, style="text-align:right;" , + 12' 35"
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 9
,
,
, style="text-align:right;" , s.t.
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 10
,
,
, style="text-align:right;" , s.t.
References
External links
Video of the 1980 Liège–Bastogne–Liège
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liege-Bastogne-Liege, 1980
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
1980 in road cycling
1980 in Belgian sport
1980 Super Prestige Pernod