We receive and gladly publish this story by Matteo SantiA journey with my friend Matteo Busatto, straddling the line between professional cycling and cycle tourism, between the Veneto and the Ardennes. The story of an unusual Liège-Bastogne-Liège, On the day of the official granfondo, which, due to bureaucratic issues, skipped some of the most iconic climbs. Instead, they rode it all: here's how...
LIEGE (Belgium) – Introduction. Every year I do a holiday alone with my gravel load of bags, tent and necessary equipment. Last year in September I was in the Ardennes headed for Amsterdam, the final destination of my 2025 trip. It was a rainy morning after a night spent in a tent amidst thunderstorms and crazy downpours and I was a little demoralized, when I called Matteo Busatto, Francesco's brother and head of the Italian Busatto fan club.
Another premise, to understand better. I started to follow carefully Francesco Busatto, currently competing in the professional Giro d'Italia, in 2022, after his seventh place at the Veneto Classic with finish in Bassano del Grappa, won by the Swiss Marc Hirschi, when the young Venetian was still an amateur and racing with General Store.
After asking me how my trip was going, Matteo informed me that Florio Santin lived near the place where I was, An Italian gentleman, founder of the Busatto Belgium Fans Club, with whom he was in contact, sent me his cell phone number and told me I absolutely had to contact him to tell him about my trip.
On the phone with Florio
Florio and I already understood each other very well on the phone and We had a pleasant chat for half an hour, both of us being cycling enthusiasts.He told me he lived about thirty kilometers away, on a hill outside Liège, and insisted I stop by to say hello and meet him in person.
I was a guest at Florio and his wife Marilyn's house until the next day and They welcomed me and pampered me with a sweetness that is difficult to explain, so much so that a beautiful friendship was born immediately. From the first moment, they left all their commitments aside to dedicate themselves completely to me: a complete stranger.
We met again a month after our first meeting in Italy in Ortisei, when Florio and Marilyn came on holiday to the Dolomites. Subsequently at the end of October in Mussolente (Vicenza) on the occasion of the end-of-season dinner of our Busatto Fan Club (with the presence of 10 Belgian friends who remained in Italy for 3 days). Finally last March at Strade Bianche of Siena where Florio and Marilyn were joined by Didier and Veronique (both of whom had also already attended the end-of-season dinner).
The trip to Belgium
In the moments spent together with the Walloon friends and Matteo Busatto, she began to mature the idea of an Italian trip to Belgium in 2026 to attend the Ardennes triptych (Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège) and support Francesco together.
Florio and Marilyn immediately offered to host us and Didier, a great sixty-six year old cyclist, threw us a challenge: travel the entire route of the route together with him and his daughter Melanie Liège-Bastogne-Liège the day before the pro race, coinciding with the Challenge that is, the granfondo for amateurs.
He offered himself as a guide and advised us to do not sign us up for the Challenge because it only involved climbing some of the cote of the Doyenne route (many municipalities, due to organizational problems caused by the over eight thousand participants, would have prohibited the passage) and we would have lost iconic climbs such as the Mur de Stockeu where the stele dedicated to Eddy Merckx is located.
Our Liège, April 25, 2026
The meeting is set at 6,50 in Aywaille and the temperature is one degreeThere are four of us taking on the challenge: Didier Bourgeois and his daughter Melanie, Matteo Santi and Matteo Busatto. In the flagship there are Veronique, Didier's wife and Melanie's mother, who will assist us throughout the day by being available at pre-established points to stock up on food and change clothes. We leave early in the morning with winter temperatures and soon the Road begins to climb towards ManhayWe proceed in pairs, considering that there are very few cars on the road at this hour.
After about fifty kilometers We tackle the Cote de Saint-Roch, the first "official" climb, immediately in double figures just to clarify what awaits us for the rest of the day. Matteo Busatto immediately says goodbye to the company and goes on a reconnaissance missionMelanie also has a good pace and is just behind Matteo. I stay with Didier, aware that The day is long and it's best to save all your energy. Once we reach the top, we find Veronique cheering us on and we stop in a meadow on the edge of the road where she has parked her car.
Open the trunk and every good thing appearsSandwiches, a hot soup in a thermos, chocolate, eggs, cheese, raisins, fruit, Coke, water, mineral water, and hot coffee. The flagship couldn't be better stocked! We take off gloves, shoe covers and heavier clothing and after about ten minutes we set off again.
Arrival in Bastogne
We pass through beautiful Bastogne, the southernmost point of our route, and then at a traffic light Melanie has a chain slip that she quickly fixes. When we set off again we are overtaken by the professional Arnaud De Lie and another runner who are trainingHe comes up to us and says something jokingly which, translated by Didier, means: "I've recaptured the morning's fugitives." As Florio will explain to me later, This strong Walloon cyclist is a simple boy who loves the quiet life and when he's at home help dad with the cows…From today he will have more fans!
We are thus approaching the second climb of the day, the Cote de Haussire and after 125 km we meet Veronique again which awaits us for a more substantial refueling. By midday, the air has definitely warmed up and we're already hungry. In fact, I eat two sandwiches, two eggs, a couple of glasses of soup, cheese and chocolate. I take off my leggings and jacket and stay in my summer outfit with the arm warmers that I will take off at the beginning of each climb and then put them back on for the descent because, Despite the beautiful sun, the air remains very crisp.
The last 100 kilometers
Let's go in in the last 100 km where all the climbs are concentratedWe now climb Wanne, a beautiful climb through a beech forest where we meet the participants of the official Challenge for the first time, the very tough Mur de Stockeu with the stele dedicated to Eddy Merckx, and the Haute Levee.
In this trio of climbs there is an unexpected surprise: a couple of friends of Veronique and Didier came to cheer us on and they travel by car waiting for us on every climb to encourage us and take photos. Melanie, known as "Apple," also has her fans following her, a friend and her two children with signs prepared to cheer her on!
This show makes me emotional, but the surprises don't end here: 70 km from the finish, Filippo, a Belgian cyclist and friend of Didier, "hired" for the final, also joined us, who I affectionately call his personal follower: he will never abandon him until the end.
Let's tackle then the Cote du Rosier with Matteo Busatto, who is definitely a step ahead of the rest of the group. So, in addition to regularly waiting for us at the top of the climbs, on the connecting false flats it allows us to stay comfortably in the wheel To save energy and cover the miles quickly, I start pushing harder on the climbs and ride alongside Melanie, while Didier is accompanied by his faithful Filippo, who never abandons him for a moment.
At Dider and Veronique's house
After passing the town of Spa the route passes right in front of the driveway of Didier and Veronique's house who invite us to stop for a final rest. It's truly an idyllic place, a beautiful valley-style house with an English lawn surrounded by a forest of centuries-old trees, where Our special companion Veronique prepares coffee and delights us with rice cake, a typical local specialty worthy of its fame! We rested sitting in the sun for about twenty minutes, chatting pleasantly and with After a bit of difficulty and a bad leg pain, we set off again for the grand finale: still about fifty kilometers and six climbs.
After a quick downhill stretch that allows us to get going we face the Cote du Maquisard and then the Cote de Desnie, A total of 6,5 kilometres of cycling through a fairytale landscape which however still adds to the fatigue on the legs. We quickly descend towards the entrance to the legendary Redoute where a lot of people surround the town bandThe climb is packed with Challenge cyclists because this one just couldn't be removed from the route!
Unlike our granfondos Members with numbers mingle with others without any restrictions, But the traffic is open, so you always have to stay alert. The five of us gather at the top of the hill for the inevitable photo (opening image) and then continue on to the grand finale.
You can almost see the arrival
Now I can use up all my remaining energy and decide to go full speed ahead. managing to climb the Cote de Cornemont with the 53 alongside MatteoWe stop in the square where the day before we waited for Alpecin and Francesco Busatto with their Belgian friends from the Busatto Belgium Fans Club, to wait for Melanie, Filippo and Didier and take a photo of them.
Only the following remain to be climbed: the Cote de Forges and the legendary Roche aux FauconsIt's done! Matteo and I tackle the final, famous climb head-on with the 53 as if the finish line were 500 meters away, and even though I feel very fit, at a certain point I have to let him go. I proceed full speed to the top, where Busatto stopped to wait for his teammates. Around us, the Challenge cyclists are showing obvious signs of fatigue, and one is staggering along in a trance at no more than 3 or 4 miles an hour… perhaps someone should stop him?
It's not over yet because after a slightly downhill stretch the Road starts to climb again for another 6/700 metres which have often proved decisive for Doyenne. From afar I glimpse Florio and Marilyn on board Road, who have come to cheer us on. I raise my arms to the sky in triumph, we did it!
Prosecco to toast
The arrival point where we parked the car the night before is a little further ahead, at the end of the descent near a supermarket. Veronique prepared two bottles of fresh prosecco and we all toasted together, tired but happy to have concluded our adventure.I make a video call to Katia who greets her Belgian friends and their wives that she had already met in Italy and He promises to be there next timeWe chat cheerfully for half an hour and then say our goodbyes, longing for a shower and a nice bed to rest in.
SUMMARY: distance 220 km, 12 hills and 4.000 metres of altitude difference at an average speed of 23,4 km/h.
I thank my Belgian friends for their hospitality and impeccable organization. They made me experience moments that I will never forget.It all started in 2023 with Francesco Busatto's victory at the Liège Under-23s. He was the architect of this meeting, and during this Belgian trip, our friendship was further strengthened. Always go, Francesco!
