The riders penetrate the Ardennes on rolling roads before turning back at the roundabout in Bastogne. The only official climb in that segment is the Côte de Saint-Roch in MTB mekka in Houffalize.
At the southernmost point, the riders will have covered 83.5 kilometres. From there, they head towards the Col de Haussire and, via a long false flat, reach Baraque de Fraiture – the highest point of the route at 649 metres above sea level. But, in all fairness, Liège-Bastogne-Liège doesn’t really get going until the Côte de Mont-Le-Soie comes into play. That’s at roughly 95 kilometres from the finish line, with nine of the eleven official climbs still to come.
So, Liège-Bastogne-Liège comes to life on the Mont-Le-Soie. Within 20 kilometres the riders take on the Côte de Wanne, Côte de Stockeu and Côte de Haute-Levée before continuing onto the Col du Rosier, which is the longest climb of the day – 4.4 kilometres at 5.9%.
And… on we go. The energy-sapping Côte de Desnié precedes the iconic La Redoute. Rising sharply from the Amblève valley, the Redoute serves up 1.6 brutal kilometres at an average gradient of 9.4%, while the summit is situated 34 kilometres before the finish.
After the descent, it’s 2.8 kilometres of climbing at 4.4% to reach Cornémont, quickly followed by the Côte des Forges – 1.3 kilometres at 7.8%. A few kilometres late, the riders drop down to the foot of the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons.
Not only is the Roche-aux-Faucons the last official climb of the day, it’s also a savage one – 1.3 kilometres at an average of 11%. The top is crested with 13.3 kilometres to go, although it’s not really a summit in the true sense – the road continues to rise for another 2.1 kilometres at 4.9%.
Then it’s a slightly downhill section of just over 5 kilometres, followed by a fast 3-kilometre descent into Liège. Once in the city, the final 2 kilometres are flat.
In the last three editions, La Redoute has played a key role. In both 2022 and 2023, Remco Evenepoel attacked on its steep slopes, while last year it was Tadej Pogacar who went clear on the climb’s iconic flanks. The result: three consecutive solo wins.
Back in 2021, Pogacar won Liège-Bastogne-Liège in a five-up sprint, after breaking away on the Roche-aux-Faucons with Julian Alaphilippe, David Gaudu, Alejandro Valverde and Michael Woods.
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Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2025: route, profiles, videos
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