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Michael Albasini previews Liège-Bastogne-Liège
The Swiss Sports director is an expert, having raced La Doyenne no less than 15 times. He looks ahead to Sunday’s Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team’s performance with confidence.
24 April 2025
This weekend we conclude our Spring Classics campaign in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. ‘La Doyenne’ is the fourth monument of the season and the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is very ambitious. Team leader is Tom Pidcock. Marcel Camprubí, David de la Cruz, Milan Vader, Mark Donovan, Nick Zukowsky and Xabier Mikel Azparren will join him on the journey from Liège to Bastogne and back.
Michael Albasini is the sports director. The Swiss rider started La Doyenne, as this classic is often called, no less than 15 times. His best result was a second place in the snow and icy cold edition of 2016. He has all the experience the team needs on Sunday. Albasini’s own memories of Liége-Bastogne-Liège started back in the 1980s, at home.
“Liège-Bastogne-Liège is always around Easter. As a kid I used to watch it at my grandparents’ home on Easter Sundays, “ Albasini looks back. “It comes with warm memories. Since I started watching it and later when I started racing it, it’s been a favorite. It’s such an epic race. Almost like a journey as the other big Monuments are. There is so much history here. It builds up from Liège to Bastogne and then becomes really intense on the leg back to Liège.”
The Ardennes Classics have shown a growing form for team leader Tom Pidcock. He was 11th in Brabantse Pijl, ninth in the Amstel Gold Race and third in Flèche Wallonne.
"This race has always been a favorite. It's such an epic race.
“We had some bad luck in the Amstel Gold Race as most of the team was involved in that big crash,” Albasini looks back.
“Wednesday we saw already what good teamwork can do. If we ride like that this Sunday, Tom will be in the mix for the win. You need a bit of luck but we also have the quality in this team to go for a great result. He already has a tenth and a second place in this race so it suits him well.”
Albasini expects the same competition in Liége-Bastogne- Liége as we saw in Flèche Wallonne. The world champion is one of the favorites.
“We saw in Amstel Gold Race that the long-range attack we know from Tadej Pogacar didn’t work. Therefore Flèche saw a more traditional final,” he adds.
“We don’t know what the scenario will be on Sunday. We are prepared for all of them, whether it’s a long move or whether it comes down to La Roche aux Faucons or a sprint in Liège. We did a good recon on Thursday. Positioning before the climbs is key in the second half of the race so you don’t lose too much energy. It will be an interesting race as always.”
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