The German cycling team BORA – ARGON 18 has also been given a wildcard for Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and as such for the fifth cycling monument of the season. Riding in the Ardennes classic means the young German team will compete in all the cycling monuments in a season for the second time in a row. In addition to “La Doyenne”, these consist of Milan-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Il Lombardia. Liège-Bastogne-Liège is rated one of the most demanding cycle races in the calendar, as the riders have to cover more than 3,500 meters in altitude on the infamous Belgian climbs over a total distance of more than 260 kilometers.

“This wildcard means a great deal to us, as Liège-Bastogne-Liège with its difficult profile suits our team particularly well. We will be competing in this classic with our best tour riders and will be traveling to it directly from the Giro del Trentino. The guys will have gathered some good climbing there, enabling them to be in place on the decisive climbs in Liège. Last year saw us finish in the Top20 thanks to an outstanding team performance. That was our best monument result so far in our team’s history, and that is also our target for April 26,” Ralph Denk, team manager of BORA – ARGON 18, set out the team strategy.

The 101st running of Liège-Bastogne-Liège is taking place on April 26 this year. The riders have to cover a distance of 262.9 kilometers with ten climbs including the famous Côte de la Redoute.