# Ardennes classics

The Ardennes classics are three cycling classics held in mid-April in the Belgian Ardennes and southern Limburg in the Netherlands: Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Flèche Wallonne and Amstel Gold Race. First held in 1892, 1936 and 1966 respectively, the races are notable for their hilly courses, and often have similar riders competing for the top positions as the races are held closely following each other. Cyclists that are specialized in these hilly courses are known as puncheurs. In recent years, the three classics have been held within an 8-day timeframe.
Since the late 2010s, all three of the men's races have been joined by equivalent races on the women's circuit: Amstel Gold Race for Women, La Flèche Wallonne Féminine and Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes.

## History

Prior, there was already a points classification for the Belgian Ardennes classics, called Ardennes Weekend (combining La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège).
With the introduction of the Amstel Gold Race, originally between both races, the period between the Belgian classics was extended to a week and a half. Since then, the original points classification became unofficial.
The only male winners of the "triple" are Davide Rebellin in 2004 and Philippe Gilbert in 2011. Gilbert also won the Brabantse Pijl, another important hill classic in mid-April, winning the "quadruple" that year. Other riders to win all three races, though not in a single year, are Danilo Di Luca, Michele Bartoli, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Tadej Pogačar.
In 2017, women's races for all three of the Ardennes classics were held for the first time, with Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes making its debut alongside a revival of the Women's Amstel Gold Race, which had previously been held from 2001 to 2003, and La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, which has been held since 1998. Anna van der Breggen immediately clinched the triple by winning all three races in 2017, being followed by team-mate Lizzie Deignan in second and Katarzyna Niewiadoma in third in all three events.
There is no official competition connecting the three races, although there have been classifications in the past for the two Walloon races.
In recent years, these three hill classics are held in the second half of April, following a similar set of the Cobbled classics.
Later in the year, there are two similar 'trebles' in Italy: the Trittico Lombardo with the Tre Valli Varesine, Coppa Ugo Agostoni and Coppa Bernocchi in the Lombardy Region, and the Trittico di Autunno (Autumn Triptych) with Milano–Torino, Giro del Piemonte and Giro di Lombardia.

## Winners
### Men's (since 1966)

| Year | Amstel Gold Race | La Flèche Wallonne | Liège–Bastogne–Liège |
| 1966 | Jean Stablinski (FRA) | Michele Dancelli (ITA) | Jacques Anquetil (FRA) |
| 1967 | Arie den Hartog (NED) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (1/10) | Walter Godefroot (BEL) |
| 1968 | Harry Steevens (NED) | Rik Van Looy (BEL) | Valere Van Sweevelt (BEL) |
| 1969 | Guido Reybrouck (BEL) | Jos Huysmans (BEL) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (2/10) |
| 1970 | Georges Pintens (BEL) (1/2) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (3/10) | Roger De Vlaeminck (BEL) (1/2) |
| 1971 | Frans Verbeeck (BEL) (1/2) | Roger De Vlaeminck (BEL) (2/2) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (4/10) |
| 1972 | Walter Planckaert (BEL) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (5/10) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (6/10) |
| 1973 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (7/10) | André Dierickx (BEL) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (8/10) |
| 1974 | Gerrie Knetemann (NED) | Frans Verbeeck (BEL) (2/2) | Georges Pintens (BEL) (2/2) |
| 1975 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (9/10) | André Dierickx (BEL) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (10/10) |
| 1976 | Freddy Maertens (BEL) | Joop Zoetemelk (NED) (1/2) | Joseph Bruyère (BEL) (1/2) |
| 1977 | Jan Raas (NED) (1/5) | Francesco Moser (ITA) | Bernard Hinault (FRA) (1/5) |
| 1978 | Jan Raas (NED) (2/5) | Michel Laurent (FRA) | Joseph Bruyère (BEL) (2/2) |
| 1979 | Jan Raas (NED) (3/5) | Bernard Hinault (FRA) (2/5) | Dietrich Thurau (DEU) |
| 1980 | Jan Raas (NED) (4/5) | Giuseppe Saronni (ITA) | Bernard Hinault (FRA) (3/5) |
| 1981 | Bernard Hinault (FRA) (4/5) | Daniel Willems (BEL) | Josef Fuchs (SUI) |
| 1982 | Jan Raas (NED) (5/5) | Mario Beccia (ITA) | Silvano Contini (ITA) |
| 1983 | Phil Anderson (AUS) | Bernard Hinault (FRA) (5/5) | Steven Rooks (NED) (1/2) |
| 1984 | Jacques Hanegraaf (NED) | Kim Andersen (DEN) | Sean Kelly (IRE) (1/2) |
| 1985 | Gerrie Knetemann (NED) | Claude Criquielion (BEL) | Moreno Argentin (ITA) (1/7) |
| 1986 | Steven Rooks (NED) (2/2) | Laurent Fignon (FRA) | Moreno Argentin (ITA) (2/7) |
| 1987 | Joop Zoetemelk (NED) (2/2) | Jean-Claude Leclercq (FRA) | Moreno Argentin (ITA) (3/7) |
| 1988 | Jelle Nijdam (NED) | Rolf Gölz (DEU) | Adri van der Poel (NED) |
| 1989 | Eric Van Lancker (BEL) (1/2) | Claude Criquielion (BEL) | Sean Kelly (IRE) (2/2) |
| 1990 | Adri van der Poel (NED) | Moreno Argentin (ITA) (4/7) | Eric van Lancker (BEL) (2/2) |
| 1991 | Frans Maassen (NED) | Moreno Argentin (ITA) (5/7) | Moreno Argentin (ITA) (6/7) |
| 1992 | Olaf Ludwig (GER) | Giorgio Furlan (ITA) | Dirk de Wolf (BEL) |
| 1993 | Rolf Järmann (SUI) (1/2) | Maurizio Fondriest (ITA) | Rolf Sørensen (DEN) |
| 1994 | Johan Museeuw (BEL) | Moreno Argentin (ITA) (7/7) | Evgeni Berzin (RUS) |
| 1995 | Mauro Gianetti (SUI) | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) (1/2) | Mauro Gianetti (SUI) |
| 1996 | Stefano Zanini (ITA) | Lance Armstrong (USA) | Pascal Richard (SUI) |
| 1997 | Bjarne Riis (DEN) | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) (2/2) | Michele Bartoli (ITA) (1/4) |
| 1998 | Rolf Järmann (SUI) (2/2) | Bo Hamburger (DEN) | Michele Bartoli (ITA) (2/4) |
| 1999 | Michael Boogerd (NED) | Michele Bartoli (ITA) (3/4) | Frank Vandenbroucke (BEL) |
| 2000 | Erik Zabel (GER) | Francesco Casagrande (ITA) | Paolo Bettini (ITA) (1/2) |
| 2001 | Erik Dekker (NED) | Rik Verbrugghe (BEL) | Oscar Camenzind (SUI) |
| 2002 | Michele Bartoli (ITA) (4/4) | Mario Aerts (BEL) | Paolo Bettini (ITA) (2/2) |
| 2003 | Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) (1/3) | Igor Astarloa (ESP) | Tyler Hamilton (USA) |
| 2004 | Davide Rebellin (ITA) (1/5) | Davide Rebellin (ITA) (2/5) | Davide Rebellin (ITA) (3/5) |
| 2005 | Danilo Di Luca (ITA) (1/3) | Danilo Di Luca (ITA) (2/3) | Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) (2/3) |
| 2006 | Fränk Schleck (LUX) | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (1/9) | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (2/9) |
| 2007 | Stefan Schumacher (GER) | Davide Rebellin (ITA) (4/5) | Danilo Di Luca (ITA) (3/3) |
| 2008 | Damiano Cunego (ITA) | Kim Kirchen (LUX) | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (3/9) |
| 2009 | Sergei Ivanov (RUS) | Davide Rebellin (ITA) (5/5) | Andy Schleck (LUX) |
| 2010 | Philippe Gilbert (BEL) (1/6) | Cadel Evans (AUS) | Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) (3/3) |
| 2011 | Philippe Gilbert (BEL) (2/6) | Philippe Gilbert (BEL) (3/6) | Philippe Gilbert (BEL) (4/6) |
| 2012 | Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) (1/2) | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | Maxim Iglinsky (KAZ) |
| 2013 | Roman Kreuziger (CZE) | Daniel Moreno (ESP) | Dan Martin (IRL) |
| 2014 | Philippe Gilbert (BEL) (5/6) | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (4/9) | Simon Gerrans (AUS) |
| 2015 | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) (1/2) | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (5/9) | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (6/9) |
| 2016 | Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) (2/2) | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (7/9) | Wout Poels (NED) |
| 2017 | Philippe Gilbert (BEL) (6/6) | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (8/9) | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) (9/9) |
| 2018 | Michael Valgren (DEN) | Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) (1/3) | Bob Jungels (LUX) |
| 2019 | Mathieu van der Poel (NED) | Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) (2/3) | Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Marc Hirschi (SUI) | Primož Roglič (SLO) |
| 2021 | Wout Van Aert (BEL) | Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) (3/3) | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) (1/4) |
| 2022 | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) (2/2) | Dylan Teuns (BEL) | Remco Evenepoel (BEL) (1/2) |
| 2023 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) (2/4) | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) (3/4) | Remco Evenepoel (BEL) (2/2) |
| 2024 | Tom Pidcock (GBR) | Stephen Williams (GBR) | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) (4/4) |
| Year | Amstel Gold Race | La Flèche Wallonne | Liège–Bastogne–Liège |

### Women's

| Year | Amstel Gold Race for Women | La Flèche Wallonne Féminine | Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes |
| 1998 | Race not held | Fabiana Luperini (ITA) (1/3) | Race not held |
| 1999 | Race not held | Hanka Kupfernagel (GER) | Race not held |
| 2000 | Race not held | Geneviève Jeanson (CAN) | Race not held |
| 2001 | Debby Mansveld (NED) | Fabiana Luperini (ITA) (2/3) | Race not held |
| 2002 | Leontien van Moorsel (NED) | Fabiana Luperini (ITA) (3/3) | Race not held |
| 2003 | Nicole Cooke (GBR) (1/4) | Nicole Cooke (GBR) (2/4) | Race not held |
| 2004 | Race not held | Sonia Huguet (FRA) | Race not held |
| 2005 | Race not held | Nicole Cooke (GBR) (3/4) | Race not held |
| 2006 | Race not held | Nicole Cooke (GBR) (4/4) | Race not held |
| 2007 | Race not held | Marianne Vos (NED) (1/7) | Race not held |
| 2008 | Race not held | Marianne Vos (NED) (2/7) | Race not held |
| 2009 | Race not held | Marianne Vos (NED) (3/7) | Race not held |
| 2010 | Race not held | Emma Pooley (GBR) | Race not held |
| 2011 | Race not held | Marianne Vos (NED) (4/7) | Race not held |
| 2012 | Race not held | Evelyn Stevens (USA) | Race not held |
| 2013 | Race not held | Marianne Vos (NED) (5/7) | Race not held |
| 2014 | Race not held | Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA) | Race not held |
| 2015 | Race not held | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (1/10) | Race not held |
| 2016 | Race not held | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (2/10) | Race not held |
| 2017 | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (3/10) | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (4/10) | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (5/10) |
| 2018 | Chantal Blaak (NED) | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (6/10) | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (7/10) |
| 2019 | Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL) (1/2) | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (8/10) | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) (1/2) |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (9/10) | Lizzie Deignan (GBR) |
| 2021 | Marianne Vos (NED) (6/7) | Anna van der Breggen (NED) (10/10) | Demi Vollering (NED) (1/4) |
| 2022 | Marta Cavalli (ITA) (1/2) | Marta Cavalli (ITA) (2/2) | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) (2/2) |
| 2023 | Demi Vollering (NED) (2/4) | Demi Vollering (NED) (3/4) | Demi Vollering (NED) (4/4) |
| 2024 | Marianne Vos (NED) (7/7) | Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL) (2/2) | Grace Brown (AUS) |
| Year | Amstel Gold Race for Women | La Flèche Wallonne Féminine | Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes |

## Statistics

* Active cyclists marked in bold.

### Most Ardennes classics wins per male rider

| Rank | Name | Total wins | Amstel Gold Race | La Flèche Wallonne | Liège–Bastogne–Liège |
| 1 | Eddy Merckx | 10 | 2 (1973, 1975) | 3 (1967, 1970, 1972) | 5 (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975) |
| 2 | Alejandro Valverde | 9 | 0 | 5 (2006, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) | 4 (2006, 2008, 2015, 2017) |
| 3 | Moreno Argentin | 7 | 0 | 3 (1990, 1991, 1994) | 4 (1985, 1986, 1987, 1991) |
| 4 | Philippe Gilbert | 6 | 4 (2010, 2011, 2014, 2017) | 1 (2011) | 1 (2011) |
| 5 | Bernard Hinault | 5 | 1 (1981) | 2 (1979, 1983) | 2 (1977, 1980) |
| 5 | Jan Raas | 5 | 5 (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982) | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Davide Rebellin | 5 | 1 (2004) | 3 (2004, 2007, 2009) | 1 (2004) |
| 8 | Ferdi Kübler | 4 | 0 | 2 (1951, 1952) | 2 (1951, 1952) |
| 8 | Michele Bartoli | 4 | 1 (2002) | 1 (1999) | 2 (1997, 1998) |
| 8 | Tadej Pogačar | 4 | 1 (2023) | 1 (2023) | 2 (2021) (2024) |
| 11 | Marcel Kint | 3 | 0 | 3 (1943, 1945, 1945) | 0 |
| 11 | Léon Houa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1892, 1893, 1894) |
| 11 | Alfons Schepers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1929, 1931, 1935) |
| 11 | Stan Ockers | 3 | 0 | 2 (1953, 1955) | 1 (1955) |
| 11 | Fred De Bruyne | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 (1956, 1958, 1959) |
| 11 | Alexander Vinokourov | 3 | 1 (2003) | 0 | 2 (2005, 2010) |
| 11 | Danilo Di Luca | 3 | 1 (2005) | 1 (2005) | 1 (2007) |
| 11 | Julian Alaphilippe | 3 | 0 | 3 (2018, 2019, 2021) | 0 |

### Most Ardennes classics wins per female rider

| Rank | Name | Total wins | Amstel Gold Race | La Flèche Wallonne Féminine | Liège–Bastogne–Liège |
| 1 | Anna van der Breggen | 10 | 1 (2017) | 7 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) | 2 (2017, 2018) |
| 2 | Marianne Vos | 7 | 2 (2021, 2024) | 5 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013) | 0 |
| 3 | Nicole Cooke | 4 | 1 (2003) | 3 (2003, 2005, 2006) | 0 |
| 3 | Demi Vollering | 4 | 1 (2023) | 1 (2023) | 2 (2021, 2023) |
| 5 | Fabiana Luperini | 3 | 0 | 3 (1998, 2001, 2002) | 0 |
| 6 | Annemiek van Vleuten | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 (2019, 2022) |
| 6 | Marta Cavalli | 2 | 1 (2022) | 1 (2022) | 0 |
| 6 | Katarzyna Niewiadoma | 2 | 1 (2019) | 1 (2024) | 0 |