Liège-Bastogne-Liège Women 2026: the most important facts in brief
- Date: 26 April 2026, estimated arrival time approx. 17:55
- Distance: 156 kilometres
- StartBastogne, GoalLiège
- Profilehilly
- UCI category: Women's WorldTour
- Organiser: A.S.O.
- Premiere: 2017, 10th edition
- Last year's winnerKim Le Court Pienaar
Liège-Bastogne-Liège Women 2026: The route
Contrary to what the name of the race might suggest, the women's Liège-Bastogne-Liège does not follow the same route as the men. Due to the shorter distance, the race does not go all the way to Bastogne: Instead, the start is in Bastogne, while the finish is in Liège. The organiser has retained the memorable race name - mainly because it has a high recognition value and generates attention.
As in 2025, the women will start after the men. This year's course is around four kilometres longer than last year and has almost 300 metres more elevation gain. There are some new climbs in the middle section of the course, but the finale has remained the same with the Côte de la Redute, Côte des Forges and Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons.
These are the favourites
After her victory in the Tour of Flanders, Demi Vollering is considered the top favourite for Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where she could celebrate her third victory. With Elise Chabbey and Juliette Berthet, she will have two helpers at the start who will not only support her, but could also compete for victory themselves in case of doubt. However, the competition is strong: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot impressively showed at Paris-Roubaix what outstanding form she is currently in. With the difficult climbs of the Ardennes, the course should suit her even better than recently. Puck Pieterse, last year's runner-up, is also back in the race and is once again a contender for victory.
It is also exciting that not only overall classics riders but also classics specialists have realistic chances. Le Court Pienaar already proved last year how well suited this profile is for a surprise. Names like Lotte Kopecky, Magdeleine Vallieres and Noemi Rüegg will also be seeking their fortune again. Kopecky seems to be in good form again after a long time, proving her strength with her victory at Milan-Sanremo. Liane Lippert could also be at the front of the race, the German likes steep climbs much more than Kopecky. However, it could be difficult for her in the sprint if the pure classics specialists can't be shaken off until Liège.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège for women 2026: TV broadcast and live stream
Liège-Bastogne-Liège Women 2026 is on television at Eurosport 2 to see. The transmission runs from 16:40-18:15. There is also a chargeable Live stream with Discovery Plus and HBOmax.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
