Blazin' Saddles: Five reasons why Liège-Bastogne-Liège will save Ardennes Week

First run in 1892, Liège-Bastogne-Liège – also known as "La Doyenne', or 'Old Lady" – is the oldest of cycling's classics and the fourth of five Monuments of the season. Suiting the puncheurs – riders who can sprint up short and steep ascents – it's a long, hard race of attrition and elimination that features 10 categorised ascents and numerous other climbs on a lumpy out-and-back course that will see the peloton clock almost 4,000 metres of elevation.

Considered one of the most arduous one-day races in the world, it's perhaps no wonder that its roll of honour in recent history is a little tarnished when it comes to riders who have been either banned or suspected of doping...

Veterans Enrico Gasparotto (Wanty-Groupe Goubert) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won last Sunday's Amstel Gold Race and Wednesday's Flèche-Wallonne respectively, but both hilly classics followed a rather painstaking formula with all the fireworks coming very late on the decisive climbs of the Cauberg and Mur de Huy.

It doesn't help the Ardennes' case that this year's races have come after quite exceptional editions of both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. And yet this is no new phenomenon: there's been a growing belief that the three races are just too hard, the succession of climbs too draining. As a result, the riders race conservatively until as late as possible – which usually results in the winner coming from the same select pool of contenders.

Will that trend continue in La Doyenne on Sunday? Perhaps. But here are five reasons why we may actually be entertained during the 102nd edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège...

But isn't he the reason why it's boring? To a large extent, yes. The Spaniard claimed his third successive Flèche win on Wednesday and is now targeting a third Flèche-Liège double of his career and a second in as many years. Finish on the podium and he'll become the most feted Ardennes rider in history. In short, is Roger De Vlaeminck can be called Mr Roubaix then Valverde really should be known henceforth as Señor Ardennes.

What's more, Wednesday's win on the Mur de Huy saw Valverde beat Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep) for a second year running – and the French youngster also finished behind his rival in last year's Old Lady.

While a clear pattern is emerging it certainly means the rest of the field will be fully aware that Valverde and Alaphilippe are the men to beat. Hopefully this will mean they adapt accordingly. The current efforts to stem Valverde's indomitable run are obviously not working so the opposing teams will have to be bold and take the fight to Movistar earlier.

This could mean a break in which the 35-year-old Spaniard doesn't feature actually sticks this time round. Or perhaps some kind of counter attack that may catch Valverde out near the finish. But one thing's certain: letting the race come down to the final steep rise to the line in Ans is like giving Valverde a cupcake and hoping he doesn't eat it.

The fourth Monument of the year is also the last major one-day race before the Grand Tour season kicks off with May's Giro d'Italia. The challenging, hilly course traditionally attracts many of the kind of riders we'll be seeing a lot more of in the longer three-week stage races – including, this year, and for the first time since 2008, the man tipped to win his third yellow jersey in July.

Team Sky's Chris Froome comes to the Belgian lowlands after an altitude training camp on Mount Teide in Tenerife and has been drafted into the squad following the loss of Sergio Henao, the Colombian who has been withdrawn from racing owing to on-going issues surrounding his biological passport.

Froome was going to ride La Doyenne back in 2014 but pulled out at the 11th Hour because of a chest infection. If you don't recall this then you may recall images of the Sky rider using an inhaler a week later during the Tour of Romandie, which he won after controversially obtaining a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) certificate to treat his illness with a powerful corticosteroid.

The last bona fide Tour champion to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège was Bernard Hinault in 1980 although Andy Schleck triumphed in 2009, which goes to show that lean, climbing whippets in the mould of Froome can perform in the Ardennes.

But while it's unlikely that the Briton will provide anything more than support for team-mate Michal Kwiatkowski, his presence does add some glitter to proceedings. Froome isn't the only Grand Tour contender to look out for, either, with the likes of Romain Bardet (Ag2R-La Mondiale), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Richie Porte (BMC) all scheduled to start.

The Irishman won the race in 2013 and almost doubled up a year later, crashing on the final bend after apparently riding over a rogue biro lying on the course. Martin warmed up with a solid third place in the Flèche Wallonne behind Valverde and 23-year-old team-mate Julian Alaphilippe, and he'll have high hopes of getting Etixx-QuickStep a first Monument win since Niki Terpstra's victory in the 2014 Paris-Roubaix.

Martin and Alaphilippe represent real opposition for Valverde and means Etixx have two strong cards to play – perhaps in tandem – should they keep things in check during the 253km race. Martin led briefly on the Mur de Huy before fading on Wednesday, but perhaps he was keeping something back for the big one.

Other names to consider are 2014 champion Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge), former world champion Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and the in-form Italian Enrico Gasparotto (Wanty-Groupe Goubert) – although there's no space for local favourite Philippe Gilbert (BMC) who struggled in the past two races with a fractured finger.

The major gripe held against the previous two Ardennes classics is that all the action came down to the final kilometres on the Cauberg and Mur de Huy. Well, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is a little different in that there is a series of late climbs which can play a huge part in the outcome of the race: the Cote de la Redoute (2.1km at 8.4%), the Cote de la Roche aux Faucons (1.5km at 9.9%) and the Cote de Saint-Nicolas (1km at 11.1%), which all come in the last 38km.

There is no major showpiece finale as such, the race finishing in the Liège suburb of Ans after a punchy rise to the finish (1.4km at 5% but peaking at 10%). And this year, something a little different: the Stockeu climb (which boasts a statue of Eddy Merckx, the race's record five-time winner) has been taken off the menu and a new uphill cobbled climb, the Cote de la Rue Naniot (600m at 10.5%) comes just 2.5km from the finish.

This curveball should shake things up and provide the ingredients for an unpredictable finale. Now it just depends on what the cycling cooks come up with...

Crazy as that seems, it may just happen. So far this year the spring classics have been played out under blue skies and sunshine – save for that downpour towards the business end of the Amstel Gold. But the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad is reporting that low pressure is set to sweep down from the North Sea and bringing a dusting of snow to cycling's oldest Classic this Sunday.

The last time it snowed during Liège-Bastogne-Liège was during a particularly brutal 1980 edition of the race where Bernard Hinault led just 21 riders (from a field of 174 participants) home. The Frenchman won by almost nine-and-a-half minutes, picking up frostbite in two fingers in the process (talk about a badge of honour). More than half the starters had abandoned after just one hour of racing, while only one-third of the field were still in the race an hour later – and the race had not even reached Bastogne on the outward leg.

Safe to say that if the weather's even a fraction as cold as that 1980 edition then we shouldn't expect too much camera time for the notoriously delicate Chris Froome... At least he can joke about it now!

***** Alejandro Valverde

**** Julian Alaphilippe, Dan Martin, Enrico Gasparotto

*** Simon Gerrans, Joaquim Rodriguez, Michal Kwiatkowski, Dani Moreno

** Rui Costa, Diego Ulissi, Warren Barguil, Romain Bardet, Vincenzo Nibali

* Tim Wellens, Domenico Pozzovivo, Roman Kreuziger