LIÈGE–BASTOGNE–LIÈGE – ‘LA DOYENNE’
leg to Liège. The condition of the roads wouldn’t have helped him and his fellow racers either. Many still showed the after-effects of the Battle of the Bulge offensive, while Bastogne stood in ruins. Soon after passing this devastation, three riders broke clear, the main impetus for their attack coming from Jan Engels. Although all were reeled in by the small peloton, Engels continued to ride aggressively, attacking on the climb of the Gros-Chêne, again on the Côte d’Esneux, and yet again on the 4km-long ascent of the Côte de Tilff. A final dig on the Colline de Cointe produced the gap he had been striving for. He went on to finish 47 seconds ahead of a small group led in by Edward Van Dyck. Few outside Wallonia registered Engels’ success. However, having survived two world wars and the indifference of foreign riders, Liège– Bastogne–Liège was on the verge of a golden era that would see it take its place among the great one-day races on the international calendar.
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