Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2014

The road

At the start

One hundred editions, a new finale

Liège, and the oldest race of them all reaches its hundredth edition with the run-in rearranged again: the Côte des Forges returns, and the Roche-aux-Faucons is back after a year away, nineteen kilometres from Ans. Dan Martin defends the title he took here last April. Alejandro Valverde, twice a winner, Michał Kwiatkowski and Vincenzo Nibali line up against him for 262 kilometres and ten côtes.

How it was won

1. 196 km to go

   The Côte de Wanne splits it

   The first climb that really matters on the road home, and an earlier crash does the rest: the bunch tears in two and Samuel Sánchez and Michael Rogers are on the wrong side of it, chasing.

2. 289 km to go

   Stockeu wakes the race up

   Past Eddy Merckx's statue on the steepest wall of the day, the peloton starts shedding riders — and with the Haute-Levée straight afterwards, anyone let go here is not coming back. Europcar turn the screw over the crest so the stragglers never see the front again.

3. 344 km to go

   La Redoute, 10,000 deep

   Tony Martin drills it up the centrepiece of La Doyenne with the roadside packed ten thousand strong. The long break explodes on the slope and its lead is down to 1:40 by the top, with Valverde, Kwiatkowski, Nibali and Dan Martin all poised near the front.

4. 431 km to go

   The favourites start swinging

   On the Côte des Forges the attacks turn personal. Alex Howes goes looking for a Hesjedal-style ambush and drags a few wheels with him, but Movistar and BMC have the numbers, and all he really does is pull the peloton up to the last survivor of the break.

5. 519 km to go

   Arredondo and Pozzovivo on the Roche-aux-Faucons

   The short, savage climb back after a year away, and the Colombian takes Pozzovivo with him. The gap worries the favourites enough that BMC send Samuel Sánchez across — too late, and the group has to reel them in itself.

6. 66 km to go

   Saint-Nicolas, and everyone is still there

   Movistar, Orica-GreenEdge and BMC share the work up the last classified climb. Pozzovivo tries once more off Caruso's wheel and the two get a few lengths while the favourites stare at each other, waiting for someone else to blink.

7. 7At the line

   Dan Martin slides out, Gerrans pounces

   The defending champion finally chases, joins Caruso near the top of the drag into Ans and looks set to win it twice over — then loses the front wheel on the very last corner and is gone. Out of the scramble behind, Simon Gerrans jumps off the final bend and nobody, not even Valverde, can come round him.

The result