1969 Liège–Bastogne–Liège

1969 Liège–Bastogne–Liège
Race details
Dates	April 22, 1969
Stages	1
Distance	253 km (157.2 mi)
Winning time	6h 50'
Results
	Winner
	Second
	Third
	← 1968 1970 →

The 55th running of Liège–Bastogne–Liège classic cycling race in Belgium was held on Thursday 22 April 1969. Eddy Merckx won the race, his first of five victories in the monument classic.

Summary

Five riders were in an early breakaway, two of which were teammates of Eddy Merckx, the young Belgian who had already won every major classic in the spring of 1969, apart from Paris–Roubaix. At 98 km from the finish, Merckx broke clear from the pack on the Stockeu and combined with his two teammates Roger Swerts and Vic Van Schil in the front of the race. Swerts was dropped, and Merckx and Van Schil powered on to Liège, with Merckx doing most of the work. Merckx wanted to give the victory to his teammate, but Van Schil insisted Merckx should win.^[1] Britain's Barry Hoban won the sprint for third place, trailing eight minutes behind Merckx and Van Schil.^[2]

Results

#	Rider	Time
1	Eddy Merckx	6h50'00"
2	Victor Van Schil	s.t.
3	Barry Hoban	+ 8'05"
4	Eric Leman	s.t.
5	Wim Schepers	s.t.
6	Roger Swerts	s.t.
7	Felice Gimondi	s.t.
8	Frans Verbeeck	s.t.
9	Herman Van Springel	s.t.
10	Willy In 't Ven	s.t.

References

^ Bouvet, Philippe (2007), De Klassiekers, Lannoo, Belgium, ISBN 978-90-811691-10, p25
^ Pignata, Gianni. "Eddy Merckx trionfa a Liegi Gimondi staccato di 8 minuti". La Stampa (in Italian). p. 21. Retrieved 24 February 2016.