Wouter Poels beat all the favourites and a snow covered course to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege claiming his and Team Sky’s first monument win, Poels beat Michael Albasini (ORICA – GreenEDGE) and Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) in a three up sprint to the finish. Samuel Sanchez (BMC Racing) was part of the lead quartet of riders followed at 4 seconds back.
Wouter Poels spoke after the finish “It’s unbelievable, I’m really happy and I still can’t believe I won Liege-Bastogne-Liege. It’s a really nice victory that’s for sure!
“To be able to win the first Monument for the team, especially a team like this, is really special. I’m riding with the best riders in the world. It’s a huge win for the team and also for myself.”
Pre-race favourites Alejandro Valverde, Joaquin Rodriguez, Julian Alaphilippe and Roman Kreuziger all finished in the bunch 12 seconds behind Poels.
Highlights video and results below.
Video Highlights of Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2016
Liège Bastogne Liège – Best of 2016 (English) by tourdefrance
Results of Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2016
| Place | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wouter Poels (Ned) Team Sky | 6:24:29 |
| 2 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge | |
| 3 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Lampre – Merida | |
| 4 | Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:04 |
| 5 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha | 0:00:09 |
| 6 | Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin | 0:00:11 |
| 7 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff Team | 0:00:12 |
| 8 | Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Team Katusha | |
| 9 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | |
| 10 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
| 11 | Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team | |
| 12 | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Wanty – Groupe Gobert | |
| 13 | Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| 14 | Michael Valgren (Den) Tinkoff Team | |
| 15 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Argon 18 | |
| 16 | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| 17 | Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
| 18 | Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
| 19 | Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data | |
| 20 | Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky | |
| 21 | Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
| 22 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
| 23 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step | |
| 24 | Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre – Merida | 0:00:40 |
| 25 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | |
| 26 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
| 27 | Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
| 28 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| 29 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:47 |
| 30 | Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:01:18 |
| 31 | Louis Meintjes (RSA) Lampre – Merida | 0:01:29 |
| 32 | Huub Duyn (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton | |
| 33 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | |
| 34 | Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
| 35 | Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team | |
| 36 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky | |
| 37 | Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:01:41 |
| 38 | Toms Skujins (Lat) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:01:51 |
| 39 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step | 0:01:53 |
| 40 | Floris De Tier (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise | |
| 41 | Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling | |
| 42 | Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Dimension Data | |
| 43 | Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff Team | 0:01:56 |
| 44 | Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky | |
| 45 | Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| 46 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
| 47 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Etixx – Quick-Step | |
| 48 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
| 49 | Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton | |
| 50 | Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Movistar Team | 0:02:01 |
| 51 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:02:21 |
| 52 | Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal | |
| 53 | Merhawi Kudus Ghebremedhin (Eri) Dimension Data | 0:02:22 |
| 54 | Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:02:35 |
| 55 | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre – Merida | 0:02:40 |
| 56 | Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:02:49 |
| 57 | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ | 0:02:51 |
| 58 | David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Etixx – Quick-Step | |
| 59 | Gaetan Bille (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert | |
| 60 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Trek-Segafredo | 0:03:00 |
| 61 | Laurens De Plus (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step | 0:03:11 |
| 62 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:03:39 |
| 63 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:04:02 |
| 64 | Pieter Weening (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton | 0:04:17 |
| 65 | Loic Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:04:33 |
| 66 | Steve Morabito (Swi) FDJ | |
| 67 | Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-GreenEdge | |
| 68 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team | |
| 69 | Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Team Sky | 0:04:38 |
| 70 | Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre – Merida | 0:05:27 |
| 71 | Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 | |
| 72 | Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ | |
| 73 | Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Fortuneo – Vital Concept | |
| 74 | Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ | |
| 75 | Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ | |
| 76 | Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept | |
| 77 | Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
| 78 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
| 79 | Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
| 80 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
| 81 | Yury Trofimov (Rus) Tinkoff Team | |
| 82 | Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky | |
| 83 | Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky | |
| 84 | Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| 85 | Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo | |
| 86 | José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Bora-Argon 18 | |
| 87 | Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise | |
| 88 | Florian Vachon (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept | |
| 89 | Romain Sicard (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:05:47 |
| 90 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
| 91 | Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team | |
| 92 | Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff Team | |
| 93 | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Dimension Data | |
| 94 | Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin | 0:06:11 |
| 95 | Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre – Merida | 0:06:49 |
| 96 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Team Katusha | 0:06:50 |
| 97 | Christian Meier (Can) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:07:18 |
| 98 | Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
| 99 | Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data | 0:07:24 |
| 100 | Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise | |
| 101 | Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Team Katusha | |
| 102 | Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:07:49 |
| 103 | Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| 104 | Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton | 0:08:01 |
| 105 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step | 0:08:17 |
| 106 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Direct Energie | 0:08:19 |
| 107 | Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Wanty – Groupe Gobert | 0:08:31 |
| 108 | Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff Team | 0:08:42 |
| 109 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept | 0:09:07 |
| 110 | Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Bora-Argon 18 | 0:09:31 |
| 111 | Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise | 0:10:31 |
| 112 | Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky | |
| 113 | Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff Team | |
| 114 | Yoann Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
| 115 | Fredrik Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
| 116 | Lawrence Warbasse (USA) IAM Cycling | |
| 117 | Joseph Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 118 | Rory Sutherland (Aus) Movistar Team | |
| 119 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:11:35 |
| 120 | Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty – Groupe Gobert | |
| 121 | Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:11:47 |
| 122 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin | 0:12:25 |
| 123 | Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:12:48 |
| 124 | Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step | |
| 125 | Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| 126 | Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:12:53 |
| 127 | Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:12:56 |
| 128 | Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
| 129 | Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) IAM Cycling | |
| 130 | Reinier Honig (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton | 0:13:27 |
| 131 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:13:36 |
| 132 | Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo | |
| 133 | Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept | 0:14:06 |
| 134 | Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo | |
| 135 | Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise | |
| 136 | Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
| 137 | Chad Haga (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
| 138 | Tim Declercq (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise | |
| 139 | Sindre Skjoestad Lunke (Nor) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
| 140 | Jacques Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data | |
| 141 | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | |
| 142 | Oliver Zaugg (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
| 143 | Paul Voss (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 | |
| 144 | Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Team Katusha | |
| 145 | Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Argon 18 | |
| 146 | Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha | |
| 147 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
| 148 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton | |
| 149 | David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling | |
| 150 | Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Trek-Segafredo | 0:14:42 |
| 151 | Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo | 0:14:44 |
| 152 | Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| 153 | Caleb Fairly (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
| 154 | Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ | |
| DNF | Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| DNF | Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx – Quick-Step | |
| DNF | Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha | |
| DNF | Rein Taaramae (Est) Team Katusha | |
| DNF | Valerio Conti (Ita) Lampre – Merida | |
| DNF | Mario Jorge Faria Da Costa (Por) Lampre – Merida | |
| DNF | Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Team | |
| DNF | Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
| DNF | Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
| DNF | Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spa) Dimension Data | |
| DNF | Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Dimension Data | |
| DNF | Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | |
| DNF | Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge | |
| DNF | Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert | |
| DNF | Mark Mcnally (GBr) Wanty – Groupe Gobert | |
| DNF | Marinus Cornelis Minnaard (Ned) Wanty – Groupe Gobert | |
| DNF | Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Wanty – Groupe Gobert | |
| DNF | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal | |
| DNF | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
| DNF | Gregor Muhlberger (Aut) Bora-Argon 18 | |
| DNF | Dominik Nerz (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 | |
| DNF | Jarlinson Pantano Gomez (Col) IAM Cycling | |
| DNF | Clement Chevrier (Fra) IAM Cycling | |
| DNF | Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) IAM Cycling | |
| DNF | Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie | |
| DNF | Jeremy Cornu (Fra) Direct Energie | |
| DNF | Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie | |
| DNF | Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Direct Energie | |
| DNF | Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Direct Energie | |
| DNF | Angelo Tulik (Fra) Direct Energie | |
| DNF | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
| DNF | Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
| DNF | Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
| DNF | Jack Bobridge (Aus) Trek-Segafredo | |
| DNF | Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
| DNF | Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
| DNF | Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
| DNF | Michel Kreder (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton | |
| DNF | Nick Van Der Lijke (Ned) Roompot – Oranje Peloton | |
| DNF | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ | |
| DNF | Kévin Reza (Fra) FDJ | |
| DNF | Sander Helven (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise | |
| DNF | Jens Wallays (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise | |
| DNF | Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept | |
| DNF | Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept | |
| DNF | Julien Loubet (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept |
Race report by TBL – The Bike Lane
Main photo via ASO – © ASO