Aussies in the mix at Liege-Bastogne-Liege

It's an interesting mix of Australian riders who will line up at the start for Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the old lady of the monuments of cycling, with some outside chances at a result, but a number of riders who could have a big effect on the race.

(L to R) Brodie Chapman, FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope, Jack Haig, Bahrain Victorious, Grace Brown, FDJ. Source: Getty Images

Watch all the action this Sunday from the women's Liege-Bastogne-Liege from 1935 AEST on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand, with the men's race live from 2130 AEST on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.

There's only been one winner from Australia in the world's oldest race, Simon Gerrans conquering Liege with a devastating final sprint to claim victory.

There aren't the Aussies who have shown on recent form that they can match Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) or Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) pedal stroke for stroke, but there a number of interesting riders that should be fun to follow in how they animate the race.

Aussies in men's Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) was the highest-placed men’s finisher from an Australian perspective last year, in 17th and just 12 seconds off the winners after doing a lot of work to put teammate Matej Mohoric in with a chance of making it over to the leaders.

Haig is one of the better general classification riders in the world, his one-day racing has yet to hit the heights of his Vuelta podium and one-week success, but Liege is a race where the GC candidates are the best placed for success. 

The question is around his condition following a nasty illness at the end of Paris-Nice, and what his role is for the race, Haig is the beneficiary of teammate’s work for three weeks in Grand Tours, I think he’ll likely be looking to pay that back for the likes of Dylan Teuns, Mohoric, Woet Poels and Santiago Buitrago, with fellow GC rider Mikel Landa also on the squad.

Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) is the rider that’s been closest to the win in recent years, he was fourth back in 2017, in the front group that day. His return to form in 2022 will have him in contention, Liege is probably not his best classic on paper, you would think that he would prefer the climbs slightly shorter, but it’s not far off a race that suits him. If it is a race run to suit a rider like Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), then there’s no reason that Matthews can’t be there at the finish as well.

Nick Schultz (BikeExchange-Jayco) is coming off an impressive 15th at Fleche Wallonne, he’s always putting in tough efforts at the end of classics. Dylan van Baarle (INEOS Grenadiers) proved that the 2019 Herald Sun Tour - a very hard edition of the Aussie race – produced some good riders at the top, and Schultz was second overall there, maybe the Dutchman’s win is a good omen for Schultz.

Jay Vine (Alpecin-Fenix) is coming off second overall at the Tour of Turkey, there aren’t many guys who are as hard on their own performances as the Canberran, and he’ll come out of it motivated to go for the win, rather than rest of the laurels of the podium. One-days races aren’t really his scene, even at National Road Series level a few years back, his stage race performances have always been stronger. His Zwift E-Sports World Championships victory shows that he’s very able at putting out world-class power, but getting to the end of the race in that shape is the thing for him to work on.

Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe) is in a similar bucket to Vine, his best results are unquestionably in stage races. He was racing good position throughout Fleche Wallonne and he did have some good U23 one-day wins in Italy back in his youth. He’s got very good potential, he’s a pleasure to watch on the bike and he only needs a little bit of improvement to go from placing in the 20s in these races to placing in the top 10.

Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Fenix) will make it a family affair in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, with his sister Lizzie Stannard (Valcar Travel & Service) lining up in the women’s event.

Aussies in women's Liege-Bastogne-Liege

The women’s side of things should be interesting from an Aussie perspective, with the riders from Down Under illuminating racing.

Grace Brown (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) hasn’t been at quite the level required to go with the best this classics season after contracting COVID, but being another week removed from it after 12th at Paris-Roubaix could be good enough for her to recover to the heights that saw her finish runner-up to Lizzie Deignan in 2020.

Teammate on FDJ, Brodie Chapman, drew a lot of compliments with her rides at Fleche Wallonne and the Tour of Flanders, plus taking a win at the GP de Chambery. An attacking rider at heart, she went into Terminator-mode from the peloton, almost single-handedly shutting down a dangerous breakaway to set up a win for Marta Cavalli, with a great interview-interrupting hug for her teammate.

Cavalli deserves to be the team leader for the race after her Amstel Gold and Fleche wins, but part of FDJ’s strategy will be to stay on the offensive to make the race hard, which could see Brown and Chapman get some freedom.

Amanda Spratt (BikeExchange-Jayco) was second back in 2018 at Liege. Recent iliac artery surgery to correct issues causing a loss of power appears to have had an effect, and she’s trending in the right direction with her rides over the last few weeks. It’s too soon to expect another podium in this race from the Aussie champ, and she’ll likely be working within the team to get another member up in the top placings.

That could be Alex Manly, whose return to the road racing scene has produced career-best performances after taking a few years to focus on the track. Climbing is less her wheelhouse than the recent races, so it could be that this will be a race for perennial climbing race top-10 finisher Ane Santesteban.

Jessica Allen (BikeExchange-Jayco) will bring her cheerful presence to the race, she remains one of the most consistent domestiques on the Women’s WorldTour.

A rider who will be well-suited here is Rachel Neylan (Cofidis), the bigger and harder the race, the more likely it seems that Neylan is to show up at the critical moment and put in an attack. Strangely enough, she only has two participations in Liege to her name, and coming off a limited season of racing to date, it’s hard to know exactly how she’s going, but it would be hard to believe that she’s going to show up underdone.

Watch all the action this Sunday from the women's Liege-Bastogne-Liege from 1935 AEST on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand, with the men's race live from 2130 AEST on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.