The 10 Ardennes Classics stars of all time: Eddy Merckx, Alejandro Valverde, Tadej Pogacar...
Cycling
The Ardennes classics are three races that are contested in the span of 1 week. We have the Amstel Gold Race, followed by the La Fleche Wallonne three days later and then Liège-Bastogne-Liège to finish. In this article, we are going to talk about the riders who have triumphed the most in these races that run through the Netherlands and Belgium.
We will find, as always, Eddy Merckx, who is present in any type of historical classification in the world of cycling. The Spaniards remember the exploits of Alejandro Valverde on this type of course. We also perceive the presence of other legends such as Bernard Hinault and a rider who could go up and up a lot, let's see how far.
We refer to Tadej Pogacar, who will depend exclusively on him to know what position he can go for. He will ride Liège because it is a monument and he can win it whenever he wants. However, it will probably not be enough to keep the first position in this ranking. For that, he will have to race more times the Amstel and the Flèche, races he already won in 2023.
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1. Eddy Merckx (10)
- 2x Amstel Gold Race (1973, 1975)
- 3x Flèche Wallonne (1967, 1970, 1972)
- 5x Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975)
2. Alejandro Valverde (9)
- 5x Flèche Wallonne (2006, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017).
- 4x Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2006, 2008, 2015, 2017).
3. Moreno Argentin (7)
- 3x Flèche Wallonne (1990, 1991, 1994)
- 4x Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1985, 1986, 1987, 1991)
4. Philippe Gilbert (6)
- 4x Amstel Gold Race (2010, 2011, 2014, 2017).
- 1x Flèche Wallonne (2011)
- 1x Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2011)
5. Jan Raas (5)
- 5x Amstel Gold Race (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982)
6. Bernard Hinault (5)
- 1x Amstel Gold Race (1981)
- 2x Flèche Wallonne (1979, 1983)
- 2x Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1977, 1980)
7. Davide Rebellin (5)
- 1x Amstel Gold Race (2004)
- 3x Flèche Wallonne (2004, 2007, 2009)
- 1x Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2004)
8. Ferdi Kübler (4)
- 2x Flèche Wallonne (1951, 1952)
- 2x Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1951, 1952)
9. Michele Bartoli (4)
- 1x Amstel Gold Race (2002)
- 1x Flèche Wallonne (1999)
- 2x Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1997, 1998)
10. Tadej Pogacar (4)
- 1x Amstel Gold Race (2023)
- 1x Flèche Wallonne (2023)
- 2x Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2021, 2024)
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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🏆 🇸🇮 @TamauPogi remporte #LBL ! 🏆🇸🇮 @TamauPogi wins #LBL
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