the finish. Both the Côte de Saint-Nicolas and the final climb to Ans were thereby removed from the route. The Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons was the final climb, at 15 km from the finish. Race characteristics Demands Liège–Bastogne–Liège is considered one of the most arduous one-day races in the world because of its length and succession of steep climbs. Every edition, about a dozen climbs – ranging in length, gradient and difficulty – are addressed, offering opportunities to attack. The British magazine Cycling Weekly stated: In purely physical terms, this is probably the toughest classic: the climbs are long, most of them are pretty steep as well, and they come up with depressing frequency in the final kilometres. Four-times winner Moreno Argentin said: Riders who win in Liège are what we call fondisti – men with a superior level of stamina. [The climb of] La Redoute is like the Mur de Huy in that it has to be tackled at pace, from the front of the peloton. The gradient is about 14 or 15 per cent, and it comes after 220 or 230 kilometers, so you don't have to be a genius to work out how tough it is. I remember that we used to go up with a maximum of 39 x 21 – it's not quite as steep as the Mur de Huy. A lot of riders mistakenly think you should attack on the hardest part, but in reality you hurt people on the slightly flatter section that comes after this. Liège is a race of trial by elimination, where it's very unlikely that a breakaway can go clear and decide the race before the final . You need to be strong and at the same time clever and calculating — in this sense it's a complete test of a cyclist's ability. Climbs The most iconic hill is the Côte de La Redoute, the 2.0 km climb in Aywaille at an average gradient of 8.9% with slopes of over 20%. For a long time in the 1980s and 1990s La Redoute, at ca. 40 km from the finish, was the breaking point of the race and often the place where decisive breakaways were launched. In recent years the climb seems to have lost that particular role, as many riders are able to keep up with the pace on the climb and race favourites often wait until the last