The race actually starts in Bastogne, so technically it’s Bastogne–Liège. Just like in the men’s race, most of the climbs are packed into this part of the route. Just 15 kilometres in, the riders receive a steep wake-up call on the Côte de Saint-Roch – 1 kilometre at a brutal 11.2%.
It’s just a jab, though, in what is otherwise a fairly straightforward opening phase. The real climbing kicks off with around 100 kilometres remaining. From that point on, the climbs come thick and fast.
The first set of four come in quick succession over a span of 19 kilometres: the Côte de Mont-le-Soie, Côte de Wanne, Côte de Stockeu and Côte de la Haute-Levée. From there, the road drops to the base of the day’s longest climb, the Col du Rosier, which they summit with 60 kilometres left to race.
A 10-kilometre descent follows, before the riders tackle the Côte de Desnié en route to a climb that has so often shaped the outcome of this race: the iconic Côte de la Redoute. Annemiek van Vleuten soloed to victory from this point in both 2019 and 2022, while Lizzie Deignan did the same in 2020. The Redoute kicks sharply out of the valley: 1.6 kilometres at an average gradient of 9.4%.
There’s barely a descent to speak of afterwards. Via an uncategorised drag to Cornémont – 2.8 kilometres at 4.4% – the riders reach the Côte des Forges, another punchy test of 1.3 kilometres at 7.8%.
Then comes a short pause before the decisive blow on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons. It’s a wall – 1.3 kilometres at 11% – but what follows after the summit is interesting too. A short descent leads onto a 2-kilometre slope: the first kilometre at 3.6%, the second at 6.2%, before 5 kilometres of undulating terrain give way to the downhill into Liège.
The final 2 kilometres through the city are flat.
Last year, Grace Brown outsprinted Elisa Longo Borghini, Demi Vollering, Elise Chabbey, Kasia Niewiadoma, and Kim Cadzow for the win in Liège. Cadzow, Brown, and Chabbey had survived from the break, while the others bridged across on the uphill drag following the Roche-aux-Faucons. Brown’s victory was the prelude to a dream farewell season in which she also claimed time trial gold at both the World Championships and the Olympics.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes 2025.
Other interesting reads: results and start list 2025 La Flèche Wallonne Femmes.
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes 2025: route, profiles, videos
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