HILLY CLASSICS ARE ON THE UP
It’s fair to say that the 2000s have not been kind to the Ardennes races – Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Flèche Wallonne – nor to Amstel Gold. It’s not the races’ fault, it’s just that modern tactics and sports science have eradicated a lot of the suspense and daring from these events. (As did doping, especially in the first decade of the century.)
The three races, which used to be a real highlight of the racing year, were settling into a very predictable pattern. They each followed a trend for wanting a spectacular finish by putting the finish line at the top of a hill, and by the early 2000s, the Cauberg, Mur de Huy and climb to Ans defined their respective races. The rationale was, these are climbers’ races; let’s make sure a climber wins. However, the unintended consequence was that the races became just spectacular finishes – attacks were snuffed out, and they were decided in uphill sprints.
Amstel was the first to change. Since 2013 the race has moved away from the top of the Cauberg, first to a finish line a couple of kilometres down the road, an exposed, draggy stretch which added some tactical nuance to the race, and now to a redesigned finish away from the Cauberg. Perhaps Mathieu van der Poel’s incredible 2019 win was a one-off, but that race alone justifies the route change. Flèche has remained loyal to the Mur, and there’s a good argument that this climb is actually so spectacular that it should remain, though organisers ASO have inserted a little more climbing in the lead-up, so that at least attackers have some hope of getting to the final climb ahead of the peloton. But Liège finally moved away from Ans this year and was rewarded with an exciting battle and tenacious win by Fuglsang. It’s too early to say that the hilly classics are about to enter a golden era of exciting racing, but 2019 was the best vintage for many many years.