We knew where we were going to watch Liège-Bastogne-Liege from so got on our way the morning after La Flèche Wallone in no great hurry. It wasn’t very far, and we even stopped at a campground along the way so we could shower, etc.
We parked at the very same place that we’d been at seven years ago on the edge of the village of Wanne, but the conditions were totally different. The last time it was horribly cold and did nothing but rain – we’d worn our warmest clothes and coats – I even put on my winter boots and that barely kept me warm.
This time we went for a morning walk and my light jacket was almost too much.
The local restaurant was now closed, but they did have a special gathering for cyclists, including an outside bar and bbq.
Unfortunately they did not serve coffee – which is a bit weird as most cyclists crave it! – but they did manage to find a bottle of red wine for me to have a glass of.
As we are in the Ardenne there are, of course, American flags and memorials everywhere – I totally understand and respect that. It was so warm we set out the lawnchairs on the side of the road and I changed into the rah-rah skirt just for fun.
The race arrived and there was a small breakaway followed by the peloton – which had Pogacar and most of his teammates along with Evenepoel and most of his teammates as well as young Seixas all at the front.
After they passed us we went inside and watched the race on tv while I made cheeseburgers for lunch.
There were three overwhelming favourites to win – Pogacar, Evenepoel and Seixas – and they formed a three-man group at the front not long after passing our place. Evenepoel was the first to get dropped but young Seixas hung in with Pogacar for quite a while before finally having to let go.
Pogacar won in style, with Seixas coming a very admirable second, and Evenepoel sprinting for a very respectable third. A fantastic race!
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 