Superstition plays a role in the minds of all professional athletes and cyclists are no different. BMC DS Valerio Piva’s hotel in Liege is the hotspot for superstitious cyclists who aspire to do well in the Ardennes Classics.

Room 11 in the hotel has housed many cyclists who have gone on to be very successful in the local area. Mario Cipollini won the 2002 World title in Zolder, located not too far from Liege. He stayed in Room 11. Michele Bartoli and Moreno Argentin stayed in the room during the late 1980’s and 1990’s and Argentin won Liege 4 times and Fleche Wallonne 3 times. Bartoli won Liege twice and Fleche once.

Recently Katusha has stayed in Room 11 and Joaquim Rodriguez won the 2012 Fleche and teammate Daniel Moreno won the same race last year. The Room 11 story prompted Moreno to tell Cyclingnews last year:  “I’m not usually superstitious but I’m getting that way, I think we’re going to end up buying the room.”

In 2014, Moreno and Rodriguez are both in Room 11. Interestingly, Valerio Piva’s BMC team is not staying there.

“my team’s not staying there this year” – Katusha and Cannondale having opted to do so – “so it’s Moreno and Purito who’ve got the room again. Purito was in there in 2012, too, when he won Fleche.”

But Piva explained why he does not need to stay there as Room 11 may finally draw a blank in 2014.

“We’ve had the room refurbished and repainted over the winter, so maybe the luck will have finally dried up now!” 

In one weeks time we will find out if Room 11 has either of the explosive Katusha duo on the top Step of an Ardennes Classic.