0

Your basket is empty

Go to shop »

We are showing you the US version of our site: would you prefer a different location?

Neige-Bastogne-Neige

By Joe Hall • 1st February 2012 04:15pm • Posted in Rides

Liège-Bastogne-Liège, known also as La Doyenne, is the oldest one-day race still in existence. First run in 1892 by L'Express newspaper, the 270km Monument takes place in the rolling, forested Ardennes region of south-east Wallonia. The voluptuous nature of the course makes it very punishing; add bad weather conditions and you have arguably the hardest of the spring classics.

On 20th April 1980, Bernard Hinault took his second win of La Doyenne, but it didn’t come easily. Almost as soon as the peloton lined up at the start, snow blizzards swept in. Half of the 173 riders who started, including Giuseppe Saronni and Lucien Van Impe, the favourite, abandoned. As what remained of the peloton struggled back to Liège, Belgium’s Rudy Pevenage and Ludo Peeters attacked. The pair broke away from the frozen bunch over the infamous Côte de Stockeu, riding their way to a two-minute gap.

But Hinault, Le Patron, sternly upped the pace as the pack rode through biting winds and thick snow. Pushing hard over the Stockeu, he took two riders with him and, after a 20km pursuit, the Hinault trio caught Pevenage and Peeters on the Haute Levée. But the Badger wasn’t finished and he attacked alone, away from the group he’d formed, and literally ploughed on through the snow and over the climbs of La Redoute and Saint Nicolas. He finished an incredible nine minutes up on second-placed Hennie Kuiper.

As he rolled across the finish line, a depleted and incredulous group of spectators applauded one of the toughest rides of modern cycle racing. It took nearly a month for the feeling to return to his fingers and Le Blaireau claims he still suffers from the effects of that frostbite. This legendary edition of the race was given the nickname Neige-Bastogne-Neige (Snow-Bastogne-Snow).
----
This year Rapha, in association with ASO and Golazo Sports, are giving amateur riders the opportunity to ride Liège-Bastogne-Liège. La Doyenne Classique will take place on Saturday 21st April, the day before the pro event. More Info »

See footage from the 1980 edition of La Doyenne » blog.sonuma.be

Comments

Max Leonard

1st February 2012 09:42pm

And have you seen this?

http://www.stoepid.com

Being ridden by Bill Strickland, among others.

Matt Cartwright

2nd February 2012 08:28am

Love these articles, the pictures are fantastic, I’m not sure if it’s the snow on the road or the spray coming off the riders, but they are so atmospheric. More of these features.

Tom Southam

2nd February 2012 06:13pm

Err Joe, have you watched that video? That is a pretty special interview with monsieur Hinault.. He seems in remarkably goos spirits, and ahem.. keeps on chewing on his own lips.

Tom Southam

2nd February 2012 06:21pm

*good

Mike Owen

3rd February 2012 12:21am

It's possible that he had just been given a sherbert lemon to suck on.
I was trying to explain this race to some mates a few weeks ago. I'll be e-mailing them the link

Joe Hall

3rd February 2012 09:45am

Thanks Matt, we'll try and get a few more of these little features up along the way.

Tom, he does seem remarkably 'fresh'.

Mike, I heard he was more of a rhubarb and custard man.

Stefan Rohner

3rd February 2012 10:13pm

Great post!

Ad Vermaas

4th February 2012 10:47am

Yes, please, some more of this lovely pieces of cycling history!

Rapha Blog RSS feed