The episcopal palace on Liège’s Place Saint Lambert is a rather grand location for a last chance saloon, but for many teams and riders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is the final opportunity to salvage some reward from the Classics campaign.
Small wonder, then, that Enrico Gasparotto (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) wore the broadest smile of all of the contenders when he met the press during the pre-race presentation on Saturday afternoon. Fresh from his second Amstel Gold Race victory last weekend and a best-ever placing of fifth at Flèche Wallonne in midweek, the Italian lines out for La Doyenne unfettered by pressure: come what may, his Spring has been a resounding success.
“I was close in 2012 when I finished third, but up to now winning Liège has been more a dream – but why not dream when things have gone so well for me already this week? I’m going to keep dreaming even if I know it won’t be easy,” Gasparotto said. “There’s an extra climb, the weather’s going to be bad, but I think I’m the rider in the peloton with the most positive mood at the moment because even if the race was cancelled tomorrow, I’d still go home happy.”
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Gasparotto’s podium finish in 2012 came the week after his previous Amstel Gold Race victory and he seems to be imbued with a same feel-good factor this time around. After a solo training camp on Mount Teide in Tenerife, Gasparotto came down off the volcano to place second at Brabantse Pijl before winning over the Cauberg last Sunday and performing strongly on the Mur de Huy three days later.
“I watched last year’s Flèche Wallonne on video and took Michael Albasini, who finished on the podium, as a point of reference. I was 12 seconds behind him at the bottom and the gap was the exact same at the top. That gave me the conviction all winter that I could come back to Flèche Wallonne and be up there with the best,” Gasparotto told Cyclingnews. “Fifth place at Flèche has given me even more tranquillity and it’s given me a lot of confidence.”
While Flèche and, to a lesser extent, Amstel tend to follow a preordained script ahead of their final climbs, Gasparotto insisted that he had no ideal scenario in mind ahead of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, particularly given the predicted foul weather.
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