Chapter 292 - 167: First Battle with Pogačar, First Liège Race, First Time in the Main Roster

However, the rider lineup for this race was clearly different from that of the Flèche Wallonne and the Amstel Gold Race.

The 2021 defending champion, Tadej Pogačar, would be competing.

Van der Poel of the Alpecin Team would also be participating.

In addition, nearly all of the teams’ top Classics riders and lead climbers were present, with the exception of those out with injuries.

This included Pidcock and Egan Bernal from the Ineos Grenadiers Team; Romain Bardet from Team DSM; Van Gils from the Lotto Team; Paret Peintre from the Decathlon Team; Mauri Vansevenant from the Quick Step Team; Alexey Lutsenko from the Astana Team; Valentin Madouas and David Gaudu from the FDJ Team; Bilbao and Santiago Buitrago from the Bahrain Team; Tiesj Benoot from the Visma Team; Carapaz and Ben Healy from the EF Education Team; Skjelmose from the Trek Team; Simon Yates and Michael Matthews from the Jieke Team; Stephen Williams from the Israel-Premier Tech Team; and Kévin Vauquelin from the Arkéa Team, among others.

Of course, the most important team lineup in this race was undoubtedly the UAE Team.

Leader: Tadej Pogačar

Domestiques: Almeida, Marc Hirschi, Domen Novak, Shuerte Bax, Finn Fisher-Black, and Diego Ulissi.

Aside from the UAE Team, the most anticipated lineups for this year’s race were those of the Bora Team and the Alpecin Team.

The Bora Team’s lineup, in particular, could be described as Tour de France-level:

Leader: Huang Chong

Domestiques: Sindel, Vlasov, Adrià, Bob Jungels, Giovanni Aleotti, and Matteo Sobrero.

It was worth noting that although Jungels was now an aging veteran with no hope of contending for the championship, he was a former winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

As for the Alpecin Team, while their lineup of domestiques was relatively unfamiliar, the presence of van der Poel alone made them top contenders for the win:

Leader: Mathieu van der Poel

Domestiques: Quinten Hermans, Axel Laurance, Soren Andersen, Oscar Riesebeek, Stan Van Tricht, and Luca Vegliato.

After showing Huang Chong the roster, Aldag stressed to him on the last day of pre-race training:

"Huang, this is the most important race of your career so far, and your rival will be the strongest you have ever faced.

I’m not trying to pour cold water on your ambitions, but trying to snatch victory from Pogačar is as difficult as trying to pluck stars from the sky on a road bike.

Therefore, what I’m asking of you isn’t to win, but to stick with Pogačar for as long as you can during the race.

There’s an old saying: your greatest enemy is your best teacher.

So, in a top-tier race like this, you need to carefully study how Pogačar rides, including his energy management and everything else.

I truly believe that one day you will be able to challenge his status, and even take the victory from him.

But as a rider in your first season, you still have a lot to learn, especially when it comes to race experience.

Also, I must emphasize that in a race like Liège-Bastogne-Liège, or in any race with Pogačar, you cannot afford to make a single mistake.

If you get dropped, with the UAE Team controlling the pace, you’ll burn a massive amount of energy just trying to catch up, even if you succeed.

Remember, the more prestigious the one-day race, the more relentless the pace. No rider gets a single moment to relax!"

Aldag’s tone was grave as he spoke this last sentence.

Huang Chong didn’t understand the true meaning of those words just yet, but he soon would.

...

「April 21st.」

As the fourth of the five Monuments and the final race of the Spring Classics, Liège-Bastogne-Liège officially kicked off.

As the name suggests, it is an out-and-back race.

It starts in Belgium’s Liège Province, travels all the way to Bastogne City, and then loops back to Liège Province, with the start and finish lines located very near each other.

The climbing difficulty of this route is immense, second only to the Tour of Lombardy, with a total elevation gain of 4,200 meters over a length of 254.5 kilometers.

This was also Huang Chong’s first time competing in such a long one-day race.

The section from Liège Province to Bastogne covered only 95.5 kilometers, with a relatively low overall difficulty.

Although the entire stretch featured the rolling roads characteristic of the Belgian mountains, there was only one officially categorized climb: the Côte de Bonnerue at the 75.5-kilometer mark.

This climb was 2.4 kilometers long, with an average gradient of 5.4% and a maximum gradient of 6.8%.

For a field packed with elite climbers, a climb of this level was a walk in the park—something to be overcome with ease.

However, after passing Bastogne City, the difficulty ramped up dramatically during the 159-kilometer return leg, starting from the 160-kilometer mark.

The latter half not only included 10 officially categorized climbs, but three of them were comparable to the Wall of Huy from Flèche Wallonne, a testament to the route’s immense difficulty.

Since the Bora Team had announced its roster ahead of time, the fans back home were undoubtedly filled with anticipation and excitement on race day.