The 83rd running of the

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège , also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...

cycling classic The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

was held on 20 April 1997. It was the fourth leg of the

1997 UCI Road World Cup The 1997 UCI Road World Cup was the ninth edition of the UCI Road World Cup. It was won by Italian classics specialist Michele Bartoli Michele Bartoli (born 27 May 1970, in Pisa) is a retired Italian road racing cyclist. Bartoli was a professio ...

, coming between

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 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

and the

Amstel Gold Race Amstel Gold Race may refer to: * Amstel Gold Race (men's race) The Amstel Gold Race is a one-day classic cycle races, classic road bicycle race, road cycling race held annually since 1966 Amstel Gold Race, 1966 in the province of Limburg (Netherl ...

. Italian

Michele Bartoli Michele Bartoli (born 27 May 1970, in Pisa) is a retired Italian road racing cyclist. Bartoli was a professional cyclist from 1992 until 2004 and was one of the most successful classic cycle races, single-day classics specialists of his generati ...

won the race after distancing his breakaway companion, Frenchman

Laurent Jalabert Laurent Jalabert (born 30 November 1968) is a French former professional road racing cyclist, from 1989 to 2002. Affectionately known as ''"Jaja"'' (slang for a glass of wine; when he continued drinking wine as a professional, the nickname stuck ...

, at one kilometre from the finish in

Ans Ans or ANS or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Ans, Belgium, a municipality in Belgium * Ans, Denmark, a village in Denmark * Angus, Scotland, UK; a council area by its Chapman code * Ainsdale railway station, England, UK (by station cod ...

Gabriele Colombo Gabriele Colombo (born 11 May 1972 in Varese) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He won the Milan–San Remo in 1996. Major results ;1994 :3rd GP Lugano ;1995 :1st Stage 3 ( TTT) Tour de France :3rd Overall Vuelta a Burgos :: ...

completed the podium. 112 of 188 riders finished the race.

Route

The 83rd edition of the ''"Doyenne Race"'' started on the Place Saint-Lambert in the centre of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, before heading south towards

Bastogne Bastogne (; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogne, Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardi ...

and returning north to finish in the suburban community of

. The total distance was . The course contained 13 categorized climbs in the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

Race Summary

The race started in cold and sunny weather and was animated by a solo breakaway from Austrian

Georg Totschnig Georg Totschnig (born 25 May 1971) is an Austrian former road bicycle racer who raced professionally between 1993 and 2006. He won the Austrian National Road Race Championships in 1997 and 2003. He also rode at three Olympic Games. Career In 1 ...

who broke clear after and had a maximum lead of 20 minutes on the peloton. The peloton was led by the team of

, who had won

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. It is part of the UCI World Tour. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is ...

four days earlier. Totschnig was later joined by Italian Ermanno Brignoli, but their lead had shrunk to five minutes on the Stockeu climb.

By the

Côte de La Redoute The Côte de La Redoute is a climb, often included in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège cycle route. It is located in Wallonia in the municipality of Aywaille and its incline is 1.6 km long with an average of 9.5%. It is named after a redoubt in t ...

, from the finish, Totschnig and Brignoli were caught by the peloton. Swiss

Alex Zülle Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Switzerland, Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 ...

of the ONCE team attacked on the lower slopes of the climb, forcing the decisive breakaway. By the top of La Redoute, four men were in the leading break: teammates Zülle and Jalabert, and Italians

and

Marco Pantani Marco Pantani (; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as one of the greatest climbing specialists in the history of the sport by measures of his legacy, credits from other riders, and record ...

. Climbing specialist Pantani was quickly dropped on the flat stretches and

Johan Museeuw Johan Museeuw (born 13 October 1965) is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer, road racing cyclist who was a professional from 1988 until 2004. Nicknamed ''The Lion of Flanders'', he was particularly successful in the cobbled classic ...

, the ruling world champion, tried to bridge the gap to the leaders but missed out by 50 metres. With remaining, the three leaders had a 1' 10" lead on the chase group, which was led by for World Cup leader

Rolf Sørensen Rolf Sørensen (born 20 April 1965) is a former Danish professional road bicycle racer. He is currently working as a cycling commentator and agent. Born in Helsinge in Denmark, Sørensen moved to Italy at the age of 17, where he has lived sin ...

, and for Museeuw. Alex Zülle and Laurent Jalabert, trying to distance Michele Bartoli, attacked one after the other on the Côte de Sart Tilman, but were unable to drop the Italian. Zülle, who did most of the work in the lead group, was dropped after an acceleration of Bartoli in the final kilometres. As the two leaders approached the finish, Michele Bartoli launched an ultimate attack in the final uphill kilometre, dropping Jalabert and claiming his first win in the Ardennes classic. Jalabert was second at eight seconds.

and

Luc Leblanc Luc Leblanc (; born 4 August 1966) is a French former professional road cyclist. He became a World Road Champion in 1994. Biography In 1978, a drunk driver hit Luc Leblanc, aged 11, and his younger brother Gilles Leblanc, aged 8. Gilles died af ...

, who had broken away from the chase group, finished third and fourth.

Max Sciandri Maximilian Sciandri (born 15 February 1967) is a retired Great Britain, British road racing cyclist of Italy, Italian descent. He competed as an Italian national up to February 1995, then took British citizenship. He won the bronze medal in the ...

won the sprint for fifth place before Johan Museeuw.

Result

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liege-Bastogne-Liege

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1997 in Belgian sport Liege-Bastogne-Liege 1997 in road cycling April 1997 sports events in Europe