As April slowly drags to its conclusion, we have a lot to look forward to in the cycling world. Firstly, there is the penultimate Monument of the season in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the oldest Monument on the calendar has its 111th birthday on Sunday. Though we’re hoping it doesn’t disappear into the night like a certain self-satisfied hobbit did at his 111th birthday party.
Hot on the final Monument of spring’s heels is the Tour de Romandie, a mountainous final test of form for the climbers in the French-speaking region of Switzerland before many head off to test themselves at the Giro d’Italia in May (more on that in a couple of weeks).
The women’s peloton will also conclude their Ardennes classics season with the 9th edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which will be another thrilling episode in a brilliant season of racing. Their final Monument of the season is followed by their first Grand Tour with the Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es (couldn’t they think of a more succinct title?) kicking off in Barcelona on May the 4th.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège
The conclusion to the Ardennes Classics features an absolutely brutal selection of climbs, which ensure that only the most determined of climbers have a hope of winning. Indeed, of the current peloton, only Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel have more than a single win at the race to their name, having shared every edition since 2021 between them.
The two riders will face off at the race for only the second time, and we’ll be hoping for the kind of explosive racing we’ve already been treated to twice this week by the duo to elevate what has often, somewhat unjustly, been characterised as a rather formulaic race. Both riders have made a habit of winning this race with a long-ranged solo attack, often on the Côte de la Redoute, and with both in fantastic form it’ll be a battle to see who cracks once the race reaches that decisive climb. Remco Evenepoel has only recently made his return after a winter blighted by a series of unfortunate injuries. The Olympic Champion doesn’t look worse for wear however, having immediately taken his first victory on his debut appearance of the season at De Brabantse Pijl, outsprinting Wout van Aert (which is no mean feat). He followed this up with a phenomenal performance at the Amstel Gold Race, hauling back a rampaging Pogačar, something which very, very few riders are capable of and was only just pipped to the line by Mattias Skjelmose in a three-up sprint.
All in all, it’s looking promising for the Belgian who clearly has a deep affinity for this race. The only slight note of concern would be the manner in which Pogačar distanced him, alongside everyone else, with contemptuous ease on the Mur de Huy. The Slovenian was absolutely untouchable on the unbelievably horrific gradients of the famous climb, and Remco Evenepoel will have to find a way to match and surpass the World Champion if he hopes to take his third Liège-Bastogne-Liège title.
Pogačar is Pogačar, if he is as good as he was on the final climb a La Flèche Wallonne, no one on earth has a hope of beating him. The long-awaited showdown of these two Ardennes specialists will be full of fireworks, and we can’t wait to review it for you in the pages of The Road Book 2025.
There are a few riders with an outside chance of success, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) went down hard at La Flèche Wallonne, but provided he’s fit, the Dane has already proved he has the chops to battle with Remco and Tadej. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) has been relatively quiet in recent weeks, though finished a determined third at La Flèche Wallonne and has podiumed at the race previously. Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) is probably in the twilight of his glittering career, but the swashbuckling Frenchman is a former winner, and on his day can launch a rampaging raid to take the spoils with the best of them. Ben Healy (EF-Education EasyPost) cuts a similarly piratical figure with his silver earrings, alongside his penchant for aggressive riding which might let him steal the race from beneath the favourites.
Tour de Romandie
The Tour of Romandie is another race firmly dedicated to the savage beauty of a gruelling climb and features 6 stages of brutal mountainous terrain. The mountain-top finish at the Thyon 2000 ski resort on Stage 4 is the pick of the bunch. The day features a couple of Category 1 and 3 climbs to nicely soften the legs before the horrific 20.8km, 7.6% average climb, which tops out with a gradient of 11%. This is where the GC battle will explode as riders seek a decisive advantage ahead of the time trial in Geneva on the final day.
Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) won the race in 2022 and finished second last year, and with a strong Red Bull Bora-hansgrohe team in support of him, Vlasov will be confident. Last year’s GC winner Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) will defend his title, though his team have struggled to convert promising form to decisive victories so far this season. João Almeida won the GC at Itzulia Basque Country earlier this month, alongside a couple of emphatic stage victories, and will be amongst the favourites once again in the mountainous terrain that certainly suits him.
All roads lead to Remco however, and with Soudal-QuickStep's superstar on the startlist, it is hard to look past the Olympic champion. The race will certainly form some much needed mountainous testing for the Belgian, as he continues his recovery ahead of attempting to better his third placed finish at the Tour de France last year. Though by no means unsuited to the climbs, he will have to improve his efforts in the high mountains to take on Pogačar and Vingegaard, and the Tour of Romandie is the perfect opportunity to do so.
Women’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège
The youngest of the three Ardennes Classics on the women’s calendar, this Monument has wasted no time in cementing its place in history with some fascinating battles over the years. Its 152.9km course follows the same route as the men’s race as it leaves Bastogne, and its succession of punchy hills will create a similarly explosive race. Last year Grace Brown started her Indian Summer with a brilliant win from the breakaway setting her up for Olympic and World Championships victories later on in her final season in the peloton. The very best riders in the world will be duking it out in the final flurry of what has been a brilliant spring.
Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) started the season brilliantly, with a tactically astute victory at Strade-Bianche, roaring her way up the Via Santa Caterina in an impressive display of her power. She didn’t quite manage to take her desired victory at La Flèche Wallonne, but she certainly demonstrated that she’s got the climbing legs on the Mur de Huy. The two-time winner of Liège-Bastogne- Liège is amongst the favourites, and there are few who can match her explosive power.
One who might be able to thwart the Dutch star is Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM - Zondacrypto) who seemed to find an inner reserve of strength as she desperately battled her way to winning the Tour de France Femmes last year. The Polish rider will need to find that same desire, that same reservoir of determination if she’s to triumph.
Fenix-Deceuninck's young star Puck Pieterse finally took a classics victory on Wednesday, roaring past Demi Vollering in the last few metres on the Mur de Huy in a phenomenal display of both power, and tactical thinking. She’s finished in the top 10 in every classic she’s started this season, and perhaps she can capitalise on her recent victory to turn an already impressive season, into one for the ages.
Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx - Protime) won the first two editions of the race and will be hoping to take a record breaking third victory at the race after returning to the road. Though the former World Champion is yet to secure a win this season, she can’t ever be counted out. Italian Champion Elisa Longo-Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) has finished second in each of the last two seasons and will be looking to go one better with new team UAE Team ADQ. Longo-Borghini's typically dogged and aggressive style has served her well so far this season, so expect her to light up the race from the first pedal stroke.
La Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es
With 7 stages including a Team Time Trial through beautiful Barcelona, and a romp through some of Spain’s most beautiful and challenging terrain, the slightly clunkily named La Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es will start 2025’s Grand Tour season in style. We hope the final stage’s mountain top finish at Cotobello (10.5km at an average of 7.9%) serves up a finale even half as gripping as the similar conclusion to last year’s Tour de France Femmes atop Alpe d’Huez. Many of the same protagonists will be on the start line, including last year’s winner Demi Vollering. The Dutch rider has had a successful spring to be sure, but her move to FDJ-Suez was predicated on the notion that she felt her previous employers, SD-Worx, had failed to offer the focused support a rider of her quality deserves. Vollering certainly has that at FDJ-Suez, with the French team pivoting to focus on Grand Tour GC results, and the Vuelta is the first opportunity for Vollering to reward their faith.
Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a bike) jointly holds the record for most stage wins at the race with the aforementioned Vollering, and we expect both riders to extend their count of victories this year. Movistar have confirmed that the very talented trio of Liane Lippert, Marlen Reusser and Cat Ferguson will be in their squad as the team looks to recapture their home race. With the generational talent of Annemiek van Vleuten at the helm Movistar took home the red jersey from 2021 through to 2023, though failed to podium without her last year. Young Brit Cat Ferguson is a superstar in the making, and it’ll be fascinating to see how she performs on her debut Grand Tour.
Whilst the likes of Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo Borghini are yet to confirm their participation, should they start the race they will provide more than stiff competition for Vollering. We’d love nothing more than to see Niewiadoma and Vollering lock horns once again on the race’s final climb, just as they did at last year’s Tour de France Femmes.
If you want to remind yourself of Grace Brown's brilliant final year, or Pogi's stupendous display at last year's edition of La Doyenne, pick up a copy of The Road Book 2024 today.
Written by Henrik Bassett
Images courtesy of Russ Ellis and Joris Knapen
