Luik-Bastenaken-Luik, World Cup Round 4

Belgium, April 18, 1999

Preview

The weather is the Ardennes overnight was overcast with a chance of a wintery shower. The wind was not a factor but the temperature was 0 degrees Celsius. For the race day, it will be mostly heavy cloud with some light showers. Later in the day before the race has finished there is the possibility of thundery rain. The Ardennes in April!

Italian Michele Bartoli (Mapei-Quick Step), will start as the big favorite to achieve his third consecutive win at this prestigious classic which will be raced over 264 kms. Michele Bartoli is aiming to repeat the feat performed by Moreno Argentin (1991) and Eddy Merckx (1972) - to win both classics in the Ardennes in the same year. Bartoli won the 63rd Waalse Pijl/Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday and confirmed his excellent form. He also does not have to share this race with Johan Museeuw (as in the Ronde van Vlaanderen). If he does win today he will also repeat another feat achieved by both Eddy Merckx and Moreno Argentin - to win LBL three times in a row. In total Eddy Merkcx won LBL 5 times and Argentin won it 4 times.

Michele Bartoli is a most Belgium of an Italian. Some call him Michele Van Bartoli, the little lion of Flanders, to show their respect for his ability to ride the tough Flemish parcours at levels that most riders only dream of. He is good on the pave and the tough sharp climbs. On the other side of the country - in Wallonia - he is the prince of the Ardennes - a title he inherited directly from Moreno Moreno Argentin, the last Italian to dominate racing in this part of the world. Bartoli has accumulated 10 of his 41 wins in Belgium.

Bartoli was forthcoming about his love for racing in Belgium. He said: "Belgium has the best routes in the world for spectacular cycling. These races require all the skills that a top line professional should possess. To win in Flanders and in Wallonia one needs to be a strong climber, a fast turn of speed, a skill in tactics and positioning, and you need to know how to ride in strong winds. There are many times when you have to work hard in the wind. I first won at Diksmuide with a team time trial over 100 kms and then a stage at the Giro dell'Hainaut for amateurs in 1991. I remember that the winner of the overall was Spaniard Abraham Olano. I was impressed by the distance and the heat at that race".

Bartoli turned professional in 1993, and was a neo pro with Mercatone Uno-Medeghini. He was ninth in Gent-Wevelgem and seventh in the Waalse/Pijl in that year. In the Ardennes classic he created the decisive attacking move with Maurizio Fondriest. He recalls: "That seventh place has been my worst placing at Fleche Wallone, a race where my throat has bothered me. That's why I wasn't very happy when it was announced that there might be snow on Wednesday. In all ways I think that this has been my most beautiful win".

Bartoli loves racing in Belgium even though it is usually in the cold, rain and snow. He explains: "Ferretti always used to say that when the going got tough, the tough got going. I consider myself a tough one. I prefer the sun, I obviously love the beautiful days by the sea. But when I go out on the bike I transform and allow the temperament of a champion to show through".

Bartoli love for Belgium has grown throughout the years. He said: "I prefer races where a definite selection is made before the end. The spirit of these races also inspire me. The Flemish attack frequently, looking for the spectacle. I think that I am like that. On the bicycle, I'm an exhibitionist, I like to attack hard on the steep walls and to think about the right time to take off. The Northern races and the Ardennes in particular, allow you to play with your adversaries with your cards in the open. The direct encounters are more sincere. These are the challenges that please me the most".

He is also more confident about racing in Belgium these days. He said: "I think that I have acquired a certain security about my potential. At Flanders I missed because I didn't attack when I should and at the end I had to wait for the initiatives of others. At the Fleche Wallonne I imposed my own logic on the race. I will do the same on Sunday at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. I think that I can prolong my feat of the Muur de Huy to the finish at Liege. At least I will try because the conditions are good and the route suits me".

Michele Bartoli was born in Pisa on May 27, 1970. He has 41 wins in his pro career. Here are all his Belgian victories: 

1994 (2): Fleche Brabancone and GP Pino Cerami.
1995 (2): Zottegem stage and GC at the Three Days of La Panne.
1996 (1): Ronde van Vlaanderen (WC).
1997 (1): Liege-Bastogne-Liege (WC).
1998 (2): GC at the Three Days of La Panne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege (WC).
1999 (2): Fleche Brabancone and Fleche Wallone.

The route is tough and demanding, reserved for the true one day specialists, since there are very few places to recuperate on the many hills of the Ardennes. Only the strongest are able to reach the final climb of Saint Nicholas, located at only 6 kms from the finish at the plaza at Ans. There are 10 muurs on the route, all of them in the last part of the race.

The following list outlines the climbs (see route map for further details): 

Climb 1:  Côte Saint-Roch 1.5 kms - average gradient of 7.4% 
Climb 2:  Côte de Wanne 2.9 kms - average gradient of 4.8% 
Climb 3:  Côte de Stockeu 2.7 kms - average gradient of 8.9% 
Climb 4:  Côte de Wanneranval 1.6 kms - average gradient of 9.4% 
Climb 5:  Côte du Rosier  4 kms - average gradient of 5.9% 
Climb 6:  Côte de Lorcé 4.4 kms - average gradient of 5.5% 
Climb 7:  Côte de la Redoute 2.2 kms - average gradient of 8.3% 
Climb 8:  Côte de Sprimont 1.6 kms - average gradient of 3.1% 
Climb 9:  Côte du Sart-Tilman 3.6 kms - average gradient of 5.4% 
Climb 10: Côte de Saint-Nicolas 1.4 kms - average gradient of 7.5%

Complete Starting List

Mapei-Quick Step			ONCE-Deutsche Bank

1 Michele Bartoli (Ita)			11 Laurent Jalabert (Fra)
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita)			12 Rafael Diaz Justo (Spa)
3 Gianni Faresin (Ita)			13 David Etxebarria (Spa)
4 Giuliano Figueras (Ita)		14 Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Spa)
5 Axel Merckx (Bel)			15 Abraham Olano (Spa)
6 Andrea Noe (Ita)			16 Luis Perez Rodriguez (Spa)
7 Luca Scinto (Ita)			17 Andrea Peron (Ita)
8 Tobias Steinhauser (Ger)		18 Marcos Serrano (Spa)

Casino					Rabobank

21 Laurent Roux (Fra)			31 Michael Boogerd (Ned)
22 Lauri Aus (Est)			32 Niki Aebersold (Swi)
23 Frèderic Bessy (Fra)			33 Maarten Den Bakker (Ned)
24 Pascal Chanteur (Fra)		34 Koos Moerenhout (Ned)
25 David Delrieu (Fra)			35 Rolf Sorensen (Den)
26 Fabrice Gougot (Fra)			36 Leon Van Bon (Ned) - non-starter
27 Benoit Salmon (Fra)			37 Beat Zberg (Swi)
28 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz)		38 Markus Zberg (Swi)
					40 Marc Lotz (Ned)

TVM-Farm Frites				Lotto-Mobistar

41 Peter Van Petegem (Bel)		51 Andrei Tchmil (Bel)
42 Serguei Ivanov (Rus)			52 Mario Aerts (Bel)
43 Michel Lafis (Swe)			53 Fabien De Waele (Bel)
44 Serguei Outschakov (Ukr)		54 Sèbastien Demarbaix (Bel)
45 Geert Van Bondt (Bel)		55 Kurt Van de Wouwer (Bel)
46 Miquel Van Kessel (Ned)		56 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel)
47 Martin Van Steen (Ned)		57 Geert Verheyen (Bel)
48 Bart Voskamp (Ned)			58 Peter Wuyts (Bel)

Cofidis					Team Polti

61 Franck Vandenbroucke (Bel)		71 Davide Rebellin (Ita)
62 Steve De Wolf (Bel)			72 Daniel Atienza (Spa)
63 Peter Farazijn (Bel)			73 Rossano Brasi (Ita)
64 Bobby Julich (USA)			74 Stefano Cattai (Ita)
65 Massimiliano Lelli (Ita)		75 Mirco Crepaldi (Ita)
66 Roland Meier (Swi)			76 Stèphane Goubert (Fra)
67 David Moncoutie (Fra)		77 Cristian Salvato (Ita)
68 Christophe Rinero (Fra)		78 Richard Virenque (Fra)

Crèdit Agricole				Mercatone Uno-Bianchi

81 Chris Boardman (GB) 			91 Stefano Garzelli (Ita)
82 Frèdèric Delalande (Fra)		92 Sergio Barbero (Ita)
83 Sèbastien Hinault (Fra)		93 Maurizio Caravaggio (Ita)
84 Christopher Jenner (NZ)		94 Michele Coppolillo (Ita)
85 François Simon (Fra)			95 Fabiano Fontanelli (Ita)
86 Cèdric Vasseur (Fra)			96 Riccardo Forconi (Ita)
87 Jens Voigt (Ger)			97 Giammario Ortenzi (Ita)
88 					98 Marco Velo (Ita)

Festina					Kelme-Costa Blanca

101 Laurent Madouas (Fra)		111 Josè Enrique Gutierrez (Spa)
102 Wladimir Belli (Ita)		112 Ruben Galvan (Spa)
103 Patrice Halgand (Fra)		113 Josè Javier Gomez (Spa)
104 Franz Hotz (Swi)			114 Roberto Heras (Spa) - non-starter
105 Rolf Huser (Swi) - non-starter	115 Javier Otxoa (Spa)
106 Andrei Kivilev (Kaz)		116 Oscar Sevilla (Spa)
107 Laurent Lefevre (Fra)		117 Daniel Ribera (Spa)
108 Alexandre Moos (Swi)		118

La Française des Jeux			Lampre-Daikin

121 Stèphane Heulot (Fra)		131 Oscar Camenzind (Swi)
122 Franck Bouyer (Fra)			132 Franco Ballerini (Ita)
123 Xavier Jan (Fra)			133 Massimo Codol (Ita)
124 Yvon Ledanois (Fra)			134 Ludo Dierckxsens (Bel) - non-starter
125 Anthony Morin (Fra)			135 Gabriele Missaglia (Ita)
126 Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra)		136 Pavel Padrnos (Cze)
127 Cyril Saugrain (Fra)		137 Mariano Piccoli (Ita)
128 Maximilian Sciandri (GB)		138 Zbigniew Spruch (Pol)
					140 Johan Verstrepen (Bel) 

Vitalicio Seguros			Saeco-Cannondale

141 Santiago Blanco (Spa)		151 Roberto Petito (Ita)
142 David Garcia (Spa)			152 Dario Frigo (Ita)
143 Francesco Garcia Rodriguez (Spa)	153 Vitali Kokorine (Rus)
144 Alvaro Gonzalez Galdeano (Spa)	154 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita)
145 Inigo Gonzalez Heredia (Spa)	155 Harald Morscher (Aut)
146 Ernesto Manchon (Spa)		156 Igor Pugaci (Mda)
147 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa)		157 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita)
148 Gines Salmeron (Spa)		158 Francesco Secchiari (Ita)

Vini Caldirola-Sidermec			Team Deutsche Telekom

161 Mauro Gianetti (Swi)		171 Bjarne Riis (Den)
162 Ruggero Borghi (Ita)		172 Udo Bolts (Ger)
163 Filippo Casagrande (Ita)		173 Alberto Elli (Ita)
164 Massimo Donati (Ita)		174 Francesco Frattini (Ita)
165 Sergei Gontchar (Ukr)		175 Jens Heppner (Ger)
166 Guido Trentin (Ita)			176 Danilo Hondo (Ger)
167					177 Jorg Jaksche (Ger)
168					178 Andrèas Klöden (Ger)

Cantina Tollo-Alexia			US Postal Service

181 Bo Hamburger (Den) - non-starter 	191 Christian Vandevelde (USA)
182 Paolo Bossoni (Ita)			192 Dylan Casey (USA)
183 Oscar Cavagnis (Ita)		193 David George (Rsa)
184 Gabriele Colombo (Ita)		194 Tyler Hamilton (USA)
185 Massimiliano Gentili (Ita)		195 Marty Jemison (USA)
186 Luca Mazzanti (Ita)			196 Benoit Joachim (Lux)
187 Germano Pierdomenico (Ita)		197 Peter Meinert-Nielsen (Den)
188 Guido Trenti (USA)			198 Jonathan Vaughters (USA)

Banesto					Riso Scotti-Vinavil

201 Aitor Osa (Spa)			211 Fabio Malberti (Ita) - non-starter
202 Candido Barbosa (Por)		212 Mauro Bartoli (Ita)
203 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita)		213 Vladislav Bobrik (Rus)
204 Eladio Jimenez (Spa)		214 Cristiano Mancini (Ita)
205 David Latasa (Spa)			215 Oscar Pozzi (Ita)
206 Francisco Mancebo (Spa)		216 Aleksandre Shefer (Kaz) - non-starter
207 Unai Osa (Spa)			217 Filippo Simeoni (Ita)
208 Cèsar Solaun (Spa)			218 Alain Turicchia (Ita)

Vlaanderen 2002				Big Mat-Auber 93

221 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel)		231 Lylian Lebreton (Fra)
222 Davy Daniels (Bel)			232 Ludovic Auger (Fra)
223 Kris Gerits (Bel)			233 Philippe Bordenave (Fra)
224 Jurgen Guns (Bel)			234 Thierry Bourguignon (Fra)
225 Tom Stremersch (Bel)		235 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra)
226 Kurt Van Lancker (Bel)		236 Laurent Genty (Fra)
227 Jurgen Van Roosbroeck (Bel)		237 Dominique Rault (Fra)
228 Steve Vermaut (Bel)			238 Alexei Sivakov (Rus)

Home Market-Charleroi

241 Gilles Bouvard (Fra)
242 Vincent Cali (Fra)
243 Stèphane Cueff (Fra)
244 Frèdèric Gabriel (Fra)
245 Charles Guilbert (Fra)
246 Stèphane Hennebert (Bel)
247 Romèo Hernandez (Bel)
248 Laurent Pillon (Fra)

The Route

Place                                         kms    kms    time at average speed
                                             Gone   To Go   41km/h  39km/h  37km/h

Liege (Place Saint-Lambert)                                  9.45    9.45    9.45
N30 Liege                                     0.0   264.0   10.00   10.00   10.00
Embourg-Chaudfontaine                         1.0   263.0   10.01   10.02   10.02
Beaufays-Chaudfontaine                        4.5   259.5   10.07   10.07   10.07
Sprimont                                     11.0   253.0   10.16   10.17   10.18
Rouvreux                                     14.5   249.5   10.21   10.22   10.24
Florze-Sprimont                              15.0   249.0   10.22   10.23   10.24
Aywaille (N30-N633)                          17.5   246.5   10.26   10.27   10.28
N633 Sougné-Remouchamps                      20.5   243.5   10.30   10.32   10.33
Fonds de Quarreux                            28.5   235.5   10.42   10.44   10.46
Stoumont                                     29.5   234.5   10.43   10.45   10.48
Crossroads N633-N645                         35.0   229.0   10.51   10.54   10.57
N645 Les Forges-Stoumont                     43.0   221.0   11.03   11.06   11.10
Les Forges                                   43.5   220.5   11.04   11.07   11.11
Crossroads N645-N66-N645                     45.5   218.5   11.07   11.10   11.14
Bra-Lierneux                                 46.0   218.0   11.07   11.11   11.15
Trou de Bra                                  47.0   217.0   11.09   11.12   11.16
Point du Jour-Lierneux                       56.0   208.0   11.22   11.26   11.31
Lierneux                                     57.0   207.0   11.23   11.28   11.32
Regné-Vielsam                                61.0   203.0   11.29   11.34   11.39
Crossroads N645-N89                          62.0   202.0   11.31   11.35   11.41
N89 Baraque de Fraiture (N89-N30)            65.5   198.5   11.36   11.41   11.46
N30 Petites-Tailles-Vielsam                  67.5   196.5   11.39   11.44   11.49
Barrière de Pisserotte                       69.0   195.0   11.41   11.46   11.52
Dinez-Houffalize                             74.5   189.5   11.49   11.55   12.01
Fontenaille-Houffalize                       76.0   188.0   11.51   11.57   12.03
Houffalize                                   79.5   184.5   11.56   12.02   12.09
Crossroads N30-rue Saint-Roch                80.5   183.5   11.58   12.04   12.11
Côte Saint-Roch                              82.0   182.0   12.00   12.06   12.13
Crossroads RP-N30                            82.5   181.5   12.01   12.07   12.14
N30 Noville-Bastogne                         88.5   175.5   12.10   12.16   12.24
Foy-Bastogne                                 90.5   173.5   12.12   12.19   12.27
Luzery-Bastogne                              94.5   169.5   12.18   12.25   12.33
Bastogne (N30-N84-N834)                      95.0   169.0   12.19   12.26   12.34
N834 Savy-Bastogne                           98.5   165.5   12.24   12.32   12.40
Longchamps-Bertogne                         103.0   161.0   12.31   12.38   12.47
Crossroads N834-R.P                         104.0   160.0   12.32   12.40   12.49
R.P Compogne-Bertogne (R.P-N826)            107.0   157.0   12.37   12.45   12.54
N826 Mabompré-Houffalize                    110.5   153.5   12.42   12.50   12.59
Houffalize (N826-N30)                       116.5   147.5   12.50   12.59   13.09
N30 Crossroads N30-N827                     120.5   143.5   12.56   13.05   13.15
N827 Sommerain-Houffalize                   122.5   141.5   12.59   13.08   13.19
Cherain-Gouvy (N827-N878)                   124.5   139.5   13.02   13.12   13.22
N878 Courtil-Gouvy                          132.0   132.0   13.13   13.23   13.34
Crossroads N878-N68                         135.0   129.0   13.18   13.28   13.39
N68 Bovigny-Gouvy                           136.0   128.0   13.19   13.29   13.41
Honvelez                                    137.0   127.0   13.20   13.31   13.42
Salmchâteau-Vielsam                         139.5   124.5   13.24   13.35   13.46
Vielsam (N68-N823-N68)                      143.0   121.0   13.29   13.40   13.52
Grand-Halleux-Vielsam                       148.5   115.5   13.37   13.48   14.01
Grand-Halleux                               149.5   114.5   13.39   13.50   14.02
Crossroads N68-R.P                          150.0   114.0   13.40   13.51   14.03
Côte de Wanne                           	153.0   111.0   13.44   13.55   14.08
Spineux-Trois-Points                        154.0   110.0   13.45   13.57   14.10
Crossroads R.P-N68                          155.0   109.0   13.47   13.58   14.11
N68 Trois-Points (N68-N66-N68)              159.5   104.5   13.53   14.05   14.19
Stavelot (N68-R.P)                          165.5    98.5   14.02   14.15   14.28
R.P Stèle Eddy Merckx                       168.5    95.5   14.07   14.19   14.33
Côte de Stockeu                             170.0    94.0   14.09   14.22   14.36
Hénumont                                    170.5    93.5   14.10   14.22   14.36
Wanneranval                                 173.5    90.5   14.14   14.27   14.41
Wanne-Trois-Points                          174.0    90.0   14.15   14.28   14.42
Côte de Wanneranval                         174.5    89.5   14.15   14.28   14.43
Aisomont-Trois-Points                       175.5    88.5   14.17   14.30   14.45
Trois-Points (R.P-N68-N653)                 179.5    84.5   14.23   14.36   14.51
N653 Coo-Stavelot                           182.0    82.0   14.26   14.40   14.55
Crossroads N653-R.P                         184.5    79.5   14.30   14.44   14.59
R.P Roanne-Coo                              185.0    79.0   14.31   14.45   15.00
Roanne-Stoumont                             186.5    77.5   14.33   14.47   15.02
Moulin de Ruy-Roanne                        187.5    76.5   14.34   14.48   15.04
Ruy-Stoumont                                189.0    75.0   14.37   14.51   15.06
Chevrouheid-Stoumont                        191.0    73.0   14.40   14.54   15.10
Andrimont-Stoumont                          191.5    72.5   14.40   14.55   15.11
Côte du Rosier                              193.5    70.5   14.43   14.58   15.14
Cour-Stoumont                               194.5    69.5   14.45   14.59   15.15
Bourgoumont-Stoumont                        197.0    67.0   14.48   15.03   15.19
La Gleize-Stoumont (R.P-N633)               199.0    65.0   14.51   15.06   15.23
N633 Targnon-Stoumont                       205.0    59.0   15.00   15.15   15.32
Crossroads N633-N616                        208.0    56.0   15.04   15.20   15.37
N616 Lorcé-Stoumont                         210.5    53.5   15.08   15.24   15.41
Côte de Lorcé                               212.5    51.5   15.11   15.27   15.45
Harzé                                       213.0    51.0   15.12   15.28   15.45
Crossroads N616-N30                         215.5    48.5   15.15   15.32   15.49
N30 Harzé-Aywaille                          217.5    46.5   15.18   15.35   15.53
Aywaille (N30-N633-R.P)                     219.5    44.5   15.21   15.38   15.56
R.P Sougné-Remouchamps                      224.5    39.5   15.29   15.45   16.04
Côte de la Redoute                          227.5    36.5   15.33   15.50   16.09
Rouvreux-Sprimont                           228.0    36.0   15.34   15.51   16.10
Crossroads R.P-N30                          229.5    34.5   15.36   15.53   16.12
N30 Sprimont                                230.0    34.0   15.37   15.54   16.13
Côte de Sprimont                            233.0    31.0   15.41   15.58   16.18
Dolembreux                                  234.5    29.5   15.43   16.01   16.20
Crossroads N30-N674                         235.5    28.5   15.45   16.02   16.22
N674 Gomzé-Andoumont                        236.0    28.0   15.45   16.03   16.23
Crossroads N674-N62                         237.0    27.0   15.47   16.05   16.24
N62 Stèle Stan Ockers (côte des Forges)     237.5    26.5   15.48   16.05   16.25
Beaufays-Chaudfontaine (N62-N30-N689)       239.5    24.5   15.50   16.08   16.28
N689 Tilff                                  242.0    22.0   15.54   16.12   16.32
Tilff-Esneux (N689-N643-N663-Passage à ni   244.5    19.5   15.58   16.16   16.36
N663 Liege-Sart-Tilman                      247.5    16.5   16.02   16.21   16.41
Côte du Sart-Tilman                         249.5    14.5   16.05   16.24   16.45
Crossroads N663-N63                         250.0    14.0   16.06   16.25   16.45
N63 Liege-Ougrée                            254.0    10.0   16.12   16.31   16.52
Crossroads N63-N680                         255.0     9.0   16.13   16.32   16.54
N680 Tilleur-Saint-Nicolas                  256.0     8.0   16.15   16.34   16.55
Crossroads N680-R.P                         256.5     7.5   16.15   16.35   16.56
Côte de Saint-Nicolas                       258.5     5.5   16.18   16.38   16.59
ANS (Rue Walthère Jamar)                    262.0     2.0   16.23   16.43   17.05
ANS (Rue Jean Jaurès)                       264.0     0.0   16.26   16.46   17.08