The race played out in similar fashion to previous years, with a breakaway going away early and animating the the action for most of the day. The peloton brought back the escapees inside 30km to go and new attacks began to launch. It was all for naught, however, as the big teams kept things in check for their finishers to take over at the bottom of the Mur de Huy.
Five-time La Fleche Wallonne winner and current world champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) finished outside the top 10 in 11th, while three-time world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) was dropped and abandoned the race.
