Viewing guide

See it on TV

It will once again be British Eurosport that steps up to the plate to deliver live coverage of ‘La Doyenne’. 1.15pm-4pm Live (Eurosport) 10pm-11pm Highlights (Eurosport 2)

Best bits

The final hour is when the war of attrition kicks in and riders simply fade away as the climbs come thick and fast ahead of the final showdown at the finish in Ans, near Liège.

Like most of the northern Classics, Liège is very accessible to British fans, making it an easy trip if you want to head to Belgium to join the fervent throngs of locals on the climbs.

Put your money on…

The last two winners of the race, Orica-greenedge’s Simon Gerrans and Cannondale-garmin rider Dan Martin, are likely to be up there again, although Gerrans’ 2015 campaign got off to a rough start when he crashed while training on his mountain bike just before Christmas, breaking his collarbone.

Then there’s EtixxQuick-step’s resident World Champion Michal Kwiatkowski, who has Classics form in the shape of victory in last year’s Strade Bianche (see Cyclist issue 33). The Polish rider was third at Liège last year – beaten in the small group sprint by Gerrans and Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde – and he’s more than likely to be in the mix again.

Creeping into the top 10 last year was a name that would be on everyone’s lips come July: that of Ag2r’s Romain Bardet, whose gutsy ride at the Tour de France endeared him to a nation. The Frenchman may be worth a flutter if he starts Liège in April.

For an outside bet, see what price you can get on 29-year-old Jan Bakelants, who has joined Bardet at Ag2r this season.

The Belgian was the winner of the under-23 edition of Liège in 2008, but was scuppered by a mechanical problem on the climb of La Redoute at last year’s senior race.