1980 Liège–Bastogne–Liège
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox cycling race report
| name =
| image = Bernard Hinault (1982).jpg
| image_caption = Race winner Hinault (photographed in 1982)
| date = 20 April 1980
| stages = 1
| distance = 244
| unit = km
| time = 7h 01' 42"
| speed = 34.717
| first = Bernard Hinault
| first_nat = FRA
| first_natvar =
| first_team = Renault-Gitane
| second = Hennie Kuiper
| second_nat = NED
| second_natvar =
| second_team = Peugeot
| third = Ronny Claes
| third_nat = BEL
| third_natvar =
| third_team = IJsboerke
| previous = 1979
| next = 1981
}}
The 66th running of Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the monument cycling race in Belgium, was held on 20 April 1980. It was won by French rider Bernard Hinault in an average speed of 34.717 km/h. The race was affected by abysmal weather conditions from start to finish. Only 21 of 174 participants finished the race.{{cite web|last1=Deneits|first1=Stéphane|title=L'expédition d'Hinault|url=http://www.velochrono.fr/actu/2014/lexpedition-dhinault/|website=vélochrono.fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326071126/http://www.velochrono.fr/actu/2014/lexpedition-dhinault/|date=27 April 2014|archive-date=26 March 2016|language=French}}{{Cite news |title='A cruel painfest' - cycling's oldest & toughest classic turns 130 |last=Warwick |first=Matt |website=BBC Sport |date=20 April 2022 |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/61160344}}
Teams
Fifteen teams participated in the race:{{cn|date=March 2019}}
{{cyclingteamlist|year=1980|title=Professional cycling teams|REN|IJsboerke|La Redoute|team1={{UCI team code|Splendor|1980b}}|DAF|Boston|SEM|team2={{UCI team code|Marc|1980a}}|Peugeot|Boule d'Or|Safir|TIR|BIA|Mercier|GIS}}
Race summary
The peloton started the race in a raging snow storm. After one hour of racing more than half of all starters had abandoned the race;{{cite web|last1=Boyce|first1=Barry|title=Top 20 All Time Major Classics #5. Liege-Bastogne-Liege 1980: Hinault, Snow, and Pain.|url=http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/Top_20_Clsscs/top20Cl_5.htm|website=cyclingrevealed.com|accessdate=18 February 2016}} another hour later some 60 riders, just one-third of the field, were still in the race.{{cite web|title=Crushing Victories – Bernard Hinault at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, 1980|author="ROAD_THEORY"|url=https://road-theory.com/2013/09/13/bernard-hinault-at-liege-bastogne-liege-1980/|url-status=live|website=ROAD THEORY|date=13 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213223619/https://road-theory.com/2013/09/13/bernard-hinault-at-liege-bastogne-liege-1980/|archive-date=13 December 2021}}
Two riders, Rudy Pevenage and Ludo Peeters, broke away from the shattered peloton and gained a 2'15” lead by the Stockeu climb.{{cite web|title=Une édition de légende|url=http://www.cyclo-ardennaise.net/LBL80.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429110756/http://www.cyclo-ardennaise.net/LBL80.htm|archive-date=29 April 2009|website=cyclo-ardennaise.net|language=French}} Bernard Hinault broke clear with Silvano Contini and Henk Lubberding and, after a 20 km chase, the Hinault group caught the leaders on the climb of the Haute Levée. With {{convert|80|km|mi|abbr=on}} to go, Hinault attacked solo on the snow-covered roads and ploughed on to Liège. After seven hours of racing in glacial temperatures, he finished nearly 10 minutes ahead of Hennie Kuiper to claim his second Liège–Bastogne–Liège victory.{{cite web|title=Bernard Hinault's 1980 Liege-Bastogne-Liege|url=http://www.velominati.com/nostalgia/guest-article-bernard-hinaults-1980-liege-bastogne-liege/|website=Velominati|date=19 April 2013|author="wiscot"}}
Weather conditions
The edition was exceptionally hard because of the weather conditions: snow fell from the start and temperatures were near freezing point, leading commentators to call it Neige-Bastogne-Neige ("Snow-Bastogne-Snow").{{cite web|title=Bernard Hinault and his epic 1980 win in Liege-Bastogne-Liege|url=http://www.thebikecomesfirst.com/bernard-hinault-and-his-epic-1980-win-in-liege-bastogne-liege-video/|date=25 April 2015|website=The Bike Comes First}}{{Cite AV media|title=Liège Bastogne Liège 1980 - Bernard Hinault vainqueur sous la neige|language=fr|type=video |author= |via=YouTube |access-date=28 January 2021|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hO_tmbIKJ0}} Many media called it the worst Ardennes weather in the history of Liège–Bastogne–Liège. A feature published by the British magazine Procycling in 2000, described the infamous race:
:A cold wind that blew across Belgium brought snow flakes and then a heavy fall within moments of the race starting. [...] Riders struggled on, with hands to faces to keep a view on the road. The race was an anonymous mass of plastic jackets and windcheaters. Spectators stood in goggles like upmarket snowmen, red-faced in the bitterness. Within the hour some teams had barely a man left on the road. They pulled out two dozen at a time, men like Gibi Baronchelli and Giuseppe Saronni, Lucien Van Impe and Jean-René Bernaudeau.{{cite journal|title=Bernard Hinault at 1980 Liege-Bastogne-Liege|journal=Procycling|date=May 2000|publisher=Immediate Media Company|location=United Kingdom}}
Hinault was one of just 21 riders to finish the race. He suffered frostbite in two fingers of his right hand, taking three weeks for proper movement to return, and causing permanent damage.{{cite news |publisher =BBC News |title =Liege-Bastogne-Liege: Cycling's oldest spring classic celebrates 130 years of torture|url =https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/61160344|first =Matt|last =Warwick |date =20 April 2022}}
Results
| Final general classification{{cite web|url=http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/classics/Liege-Bastogne-Liege/1980-liege-bastogne-liege.html|title=1980 Liège-Bastogne-Liège|website=BikeRaceInfo|publisher=McGann Publishing|access-date=20 March 2019}}
{| class="wikitable" |
| scope="col" | Rank
! scope="col" | Rider ! scope="col" | Team ! scope="col" | Time |
|---|
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| {{flagathlete|Bernard Hinault|FRA}} | {{UCI team code|REN|1980}} | style="text-align:right;" | {{nowrap|7h 01' 42"}} |
| style="text-align:center;" | 2
| {{flagathlete|Hennie Kuiper|NED}} | {{UCI team code|Peugeot|1980}} | style="text-align:right;" | + 9' 24" |
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| {{flagathlete|Ronny Claes|BEL}} | {{UCI team code|IJsboerke|1980}} | style="text-align:right;" | s.t. |
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| {{flagathlete|Alfons De Wolf|BEL}} | {{UCI team code|Boule d'Or|1980}} | style="text-align:right;" | + 10' 34" |
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| {{flagathlete|Pierre Bazzo|FRA}} | {{UCI team code|La Redoute|1980}} | style="text-align:right;" | s.t. |
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
| {{flagathlete|Ludo Peeters|BEL}} | {{UCI team code|IJsboerke|1980}} | style="text-align:right;" | s.t. |
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| {{flagathlete|Herman Van Springel|BEL}} | {{UCI team code|Safir|1980}} | style="text-align:right;" | + 12' 05" |
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| {{flagathlete|Guido Van Calster|BEL}} | {{UCI team code|Splendor|1980b}} | style="text-align:right;" | + 12' 35" |
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
| {{flagathlete|Johan van der Velde|NED}} | {{UCI team code|TIR|1980}} | style="text-align:right;" | s.t. |
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| {{flagathlete|Eddy Schepers|BEL}} | {{UCI team code|DAF|1980}} | style="text-align:right;" | s.t. |
|}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [http://www.cyclingfever.com/video.html?detp=view&video_idd=NzMwNg== Video of the 1980 Liège–Bastogne–Liège]
{{Liege-Bastogne-Liege}}
{{Liège–Bastogne–Liège winners}}
{{1980 Super Prestige Pernod}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liege-Bastogne-Liege, 1980}}