Five picks for your Liège-Bastogne-Liège fantasy team

Our selections are based on our partner Cycling Fantasy, where players have a 5,000 credit budget to build a nine-rider team.

Download for iOS
Download for Android

So get Cycling Fantasy on your phone and jump straight into the Domestique Fantasy League.

Paul Seixas is the story of the 2026 Classics season. The 19-year-old Decathlon CMA CGM rider became the youngest-ever winner of La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, two full years younger than the previous record holder, attacking 200 metres from the line and finishing within two seconds of the all-time Mur de Huy climbing record. It was his seventh win of 2026 and came on the back of a dominant overall victory at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this month.

What makes Seixas such a strong pick for Liège is that Flèche rewards one specific type of rider on a 1.3km wall, and he was untouchable. La Doyenne, with the Redoute and the longer Roche-aux-Faucons, arguably suits him even better. He has tried to play down expectations, saying this week that he “doesn’t have the level to beat” Pogačar, but Decathlon are bringing a strong team to support him, while rivals have described his level as remarkable for someone of that age.

Whatever his credit cost after Wednesday’s demolition job, the real value lies in the result he can deliver. The last time cycling saw a teenager ride like this, his name was Tadej.

Mattias Skjelmose is the best value-for-pedigree pick in the game at 800 credits. The Dane finished second at the Amstel Gold Race and fifth at La Flèche Wallonne, and he is also the rider who beat both Pogačar and Evenepoel in that famous three-man sprint at Amstel last year. He is built for exactly this type of attritional race, with the punch for short climbs, the durability to still be there when the race explodes in the final 35km, and the awareness to know when to play his cards.

Lidl-Trek have been shaping their Ardennes campaign around him all week, applying pressure in the crosswinds at Flèche and building their tactics around his late kick. If the two big favourites cancel each other out, Skjelmose is the rider most likely to slip onto the podium, and he remains the most reliable top-five option on the start list outside the 1,200-credit tier.

For a rider who has beaten the very best in the Ardennes over the past 12 months, he is priced well below the premium names. Exactly the kind of pick you want anchoring the middle of your team.

At what should be one of the lowest price points in the game at 600 credits, Mauro Schmid stands out as a strong value pick. The Jayco AlUla rider finished second at La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, just three seconds behind Seixas, after timing a late surge to perfection. That is exactly the profile of a rider who can quietly sneak into the top 10 at Liège while attention is focused on Pogačar, Evenepoel and Seixas fighting for the win.

Schmid has been building steadily throughout the spring, and the Ardennes terrain clearly suits his punchy, tactically aware style. Jayco AlUla also bring Anders Foldager, who was active at the Amstel Gold Race before Evenepoel made his move, giving the team more than one option heading into the finale. It is the kind of line up that does not need to win the race to deliver solid fantasy points from the top 15.

For a rider who stood on the Flèche Wallonne podium just 48 hours before the race, he looks significantly underpriced.

Romain Grégoire is the kind of puncheur you want anchoring the middle of your team at 800 credits. The 23-year-old Groupama-FDJ United rider was one of the key instigators at the Amstel Gold Race, lighting things up on the Kruisberg to force the decisive selection with Evenepoel and Skjelmose, before eventually being dropped on the Cauberg. He followed that with a solid ninth place at La Flèche Wallonne in a stacked field and has consistently found himself in the right moves throughout the spring.

La Doyenne is a tougher race than Amstel, which plays into Grégoire’s strengths. The longer climbs and the way the race tends to open up create more opportunities for a rider with his engine and attacking instinct to make an impact. Groupama - FDJ United also bring Kevin Geniets, Brieuc Rolland and Ewen Costiou in support, giving the team multiple options heading into the final hour.

At a price comfortably below the top tier, Grégoire is exactly the type of rider who can either make a break stick for a top five or fight his way into the top 10 with the favourites. Either outcome represents strong value.

Benoît Cosnefroy is the smart outsider pick at 200 credits. The Frenchman finished third at the Amstel Gold Race and fourth at La Flèche Wallonne, placing him inside the top five in both hilly Classics this week. Even more telling, he is delivering these results while riding in support of Pogačar at UAE, meaning his performances come at the limit rather than being built around his own chances.

That is what makes him particularly interesting from a fantasy perspective. If Pogačar wins as expected, with a long-range move on La Redoute, Cosnefroy is the type of rider UAE can send up the road or position in the chase group to cover attacks. Either scenario puts him in contention for a top 10. And if the race does not unfold in Pogačar’s favour, Cosnefroy is the most likely rider in the team to turn that into a result, as he showed in Huy earlier this week.

A former Ardennes podium finisher, in his best form of the spring and riding for the strongest team in the race, he is priced well below what his current level suggests. Exactly the kind of pick to round out your nine rider squad.