The Ardennes classics concludes with the oldest of cycling’s five monuments this Sunday, April 25.

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For the men, Liege-Bastogne-Liege clocks in at 259 kilometers and has a leg numbing 4,266 vertical meters of climbing. 

The women's route begins in Bastogne, and roughly follows the second half of the men’s course to Liege, for a total of 140 kilometers and 2,140 meters of climbing.

Last year’s winners will return to defend their titles along with a host of other contenders. Read on for FloBike’s favorites for the men’s and women’s races.

Primoz Roglic

Last year, Primoz Roglic pipped a prematurely celebrating Julian Alaphilippe on the line to claim his first monument victory. Roglic has proven himself to be on perhaps the best early-season form of his life (words not used lightly) with three dominant stage victories in Paris-Nice, and the overall title at the Tour of the Basque Country.

The Slovenian is already one of the most winning bike racers in the world, but as the 2021 Tour de France approaches, Roglic appears to be a man on a mission.

Lizzie Deignan

Lizzie Deignan won last year with a long range solo attack, leaving a disintegrating field in her wake. Deignan has not yet cracked the top-ten of a race this year, a fact that can be largely attributed to the sheer depth of her Trek-Segafredo team. Many eyes will be on the defending champion this Sunday. 

Tom Pidcock

Tom Pidcock was a surprise addition to the Ineos Grenadiers provisional weekend roster. The neo-pro was scheduled to step away from the road bike after Amstel Gold to both recover, and to begin preparing for the mountain bike race at this summer's Tokyo Olympics.

This is however the theme of Pidcock’s first classics campaign. Pidcock’s success in the opening weekend of the classics and his fifth place at Milano-Sanremo caused Ineos to expand his schedule to include more of the Flanders Classics.

Seemingly, the more Ineos allows Pidcock to do, the more he accomplishes. Buoyed by his win at Brabantse Pijl and his near-tie at Amstel Gold Race, Pidcock will contest one final classic before arriving at his season’s transition point.

Despite a busy cyclocross season, Pidcock is showing no signs of slowing down. Quite the opposite in fact. If he can hold his form over the 259 kilometers, there may not be anybody capable of out-sprinting him in the flat final kilometers. 

Annemiek Van Vleuten

Annemiek Van Vleuten finished in an uncharacteristic 28th place in the 2020 edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege. When she is on form, the Dutch rider is nearly unbeatable on a hilly course like what she will face on Sunday. Everybody will be expecting a long-range solo attack from Van Vleuten. The question is, will anybody be able to go with her.

Alejandro Valverde

After a subdued 2020, Alejandro Valverde is back to riding like a man half his age. After an impressive showing at Amstel Gold Race, Movistar scrambled to fortify their roster for the two subsequent Ardennes classics to ensure Valverde had the best support possible.

Matteo Jorgenson was called up last minute to support Valverde. Get the inside scoop on Jorgenson's supporting role here.

Valverde has won La Doyenne on four occasions that span 11 years. Valverde turns 41 this Sunday. After his third place at Fleche Wallonne, a birthday victory doesn’t just seem possible, it feels imminent.

Anna van der Breggen

Anna Van Der Breggen is showing the peloton why she is world champion week after week. The Dutch superstar just won a stunning seventh consecutive Fleche Wallonne. She won Liege-Bastogne-Liege in both 2017 and 2018, and in what she says will be her last season, Van der Breggen looks poised to claim a third and final title.