1980 Liège–Bastogne–Liège

Fifteen teams participated in the race:

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;[4] another hour later some 60 riders, just one-third of the field, were still in the race.[1]

Two riders, Rudy Pevenage and Ludo Peeters, broke away from the shattered peloton and gained a 2'15” lead by the Stockeu climb.[4][5] 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 80 km (50 mi) to go, Hinault attacked solo on the snow-covered roads and ploughed on to Liège.[4] 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.[6]

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").[7][8] Many media called it the worst Ardennes weather in the history of Liège–Bastogne–Liège.[4] 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.[9]

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,[9] and causing permanent damage.[1][10]

• Video of the 1980 Liège–Bastogne–Liège