Julian Alaphilippe will make his debut at world champion ©Getty Images

Julian Alaphilippe will target victory on his first appearance as world champion tomorrow, with the Frenchman among the favourites at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The 106th edition of the Monument race comes one week after Alaphilippe triumphed in the men’s road race at the International Cycling Union Road World Championships in Imola.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège is typically held as part of the Spring classics, but organisers were forced to reschedule the one-day race due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The congested cycling calendar has led to several Liège-Bastogne-Liège contenders missing the race, which is one of the five Monuments on the European professional road cycling calendar.

Defending champion Jakob Fuglsang of Denmark is absent as he is among the favourites to win the Giro d’Italia, which begins today in Sicily.

Belgian’s Wout van Aert, who won Milan-San Remo ahead of Alaphilippe in August, has opted to focus on the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Alaphilippe could face competition from Switzerland’s emerging star Marc Hirschi, who heads into the race fresh from winning Flèche Wallonne and a third place finish in the World Championship road race.

The 22-year-old also secured a maiden stage victory at the Tour de France last month.

Anna van der Breggen will hope for a third win in four editions of the women's race ©Getty Images
Anna van der Breggen will hope for a third win in four editions of the women's race ©Getty Images

Slovenia’s newly crowned Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar and Britain’s Adam Yates also feature in the field.

Last year’s race was the first held with a revised course, which removed the traditional late climbs at Saint-Nicolas and Ans.

The climbs were replaced with a flatter, more sprinter-friendly final run into the centre of Liege.

The main contenders will still have to tackle several climbs throughout the second half of the 256-kilometre race.

World champion Anna van der Breggen headlines the women’s field, with the Dutch rider targeting a third victory in the fourth edition of the race.

Van der Breggen comes into the race having also won the Giro Rosa and Flèche Wallonne last month.

Defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten will be among the main rivals to van der Breggen.

The Dutch star will compete again despite breaking her wrist in a crash at the Giro Rosa, which forced her to withdraw when leading the race.

The women’s race is 136km in length.