The parcours, with its multiple short, hard climbs, is seen as friendlier terrain for general classification riders and climbers than the gravelled and cobbled classics of early spring.

The race was mainly won by Belgians, but started to attract more riders from Flanders, the bike-crazed northern part of Belgium, who began to dominate the event.

In the late 1950s Fred De Bruyne won the race three times in his first three participations, equalling the former record of Houa and Schepers.

Derijcke had won by a three-minute lead and judges felt he had not gained that much time from illegally crossing the railway, thereby not disqualifying him.

[11] In 1959 Liège–Bastogne–Liège became part of the Super Prestige, successor of the Desgrange-Colombo competition and early precursor of the UCI World Tour, making the Ardennes Classic one of the main cycling events of the year.

In 1969 began the era of cycling icon Eddy Merckx, who gained five victories, three of which consecutive, and a total of seven podium finishes.

In 1977 Hinault made a late escape from a six-strong group including a faltering Eddy Merckx; three years later he won the epic contest of 1980 in torrential snowfall and glacial temperatures (see below).

[14] In the 1980s, Italian classics specialist Moreno Argentin won the race four times, narrowly missing Merckx' record.

Argentin also gained three victories in the sister classic La Flèche Wallonne, earning him the title of King of the Ardennes in his day.

[15] The partnership led to a more professional organization, resulting in a complete overhauling of the race course: the start and finish moved to different locations in Liège and five new climbs were included.

In 1999, Bartoli sought a third consecutive win, but his effort was thwarted by young Belgian Frank Vandenbroucke who controlled the race and stunned followers with his victory.

Although the escape seemed unlikely to stay away in modern cycling, the two riders made it to the finish ahead of the peloton, with Vinokourov beating Voigt in the sprint.

In 2009, young Luxembourger Andy Schleck produced a solo breakaway to beat a strong field and win the race.

Swiss magazine L'Illustré published e-mail correspondence between the winner and runner-up that suggests Vinokourov paid Kolobnev €100,000 not to contest the final sprint.

[22][23] In recent years, Spanish allrounder Alejandro Valverde won four times, all sprint victories of a select group at the finish.

In the final 15 km of the race, the course makes a remarkable transition from the meadowy and agrarian landscapes in the Ardennes to the post-industrial urban scenery of Liège.

[25] The move implied profound changes to the character of the race, as climbers with a strong uphill-sprint in recent years often wait until the final stretches to launch their ultimate attack.

The British magazine Cycling Weekly stated: Four-times winner Moreno Argentin said: The most iconic hill is the Côte de La Redoute, the 2.0 km climb in Aywaille at an average gradient of 8.9% with slopes of over 20%.

It is a precipitous and atypical climb because it is not part of the forested hills in the Ardennes, but located in the middle of the industrial suburbs of Liège along the Meuse river.

The edition of 1980 was exceptionally hard: snow fell from the start and temperatures were near freezing point, leading commentators to call it 'Neige-Bastogne-Neige' (Snow-Bastogne-Snow).

The Flèche Wallonne ("Walloon Arrow"), although younger than Liège–Bastogne–Liège, was longtime considered the more prestigious event of the two Ardennes Classics, showing how prestige and importance of a race can sometimes change over time.

Only seven riders have won both races in the same year: Spaniard Alejandro Valverde three times (2006, 2015 and 2017), Swiss Ferdinand Kübler twice (in 1951 and 1952), Belgians Stan Ockers (1955), Eddy Merckx (1972), and Philippe Gilbert (2011) and Italians Moreno Argentin (1991) and Davide Rebellin (2004).

In 2011 Belgian Philippe Gilbert won Liège–Bastogne–Liège, completing a unique streak of classics victories in a span of ten days.

Gilbert had previously won the Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, thus achieving a historic quadruple of victories in the hilly classics of April.