La Fleche Wallonne: Valverde wins on the Mur de Huy

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won the 80th edition of La Fleche Wallonne with yet another perfectly timed late surge on the final part of the Mur de Huy. Thanks to his victory, Valverde became the only rider to win the Ardennes Classic four times.

The veteran Spaniard waited before making his move and then powered past Dan Martin and Martin's Etixx-QuickStep teammate Julian Alaphilippe. The Frenchman could only follow Valverde home, with Martin taking third place. Wout Poels (Team Sky) was fourth, at four seconds, with Amstel Gold Race winner Enrico Gasparotto (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) taking fifth.

Valverde only made his move in the final 500 metres of the race but his Movistar tam played a huge role in controlling the earlier attacks and a late move that included Bob Jungels (Etixx-QuickStep) and then Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal). He ensured he was perfectly placed on the Mur and then paced his effort as the gradient steepened and began to hurt. He wisely followed Dan Martin when the Irishman accelerated and then made his own move when Martin faded and the gradient eased. His previous victories and placings had clearly taught him the secrets of winning Fleche Wallonne.

Valverde dedicated his victory to his family and children but also to his teammates who have suffered nasty crashes in the first part of the season.

Cummings goes on the attack

The 80th edition of Fleche Wallonne started under blue skies, with the riders enjoying the warm conditions as they lined up in Marche-en-Famenne for the start of the 196km WorldTour race. 199 riders rolled out; with only Sergio Henao (Team Sky) missing after he was suspended by the British team after the UCI confirmed it has again opened an investigation into his Biological Passport blood values.

There were several attacks in the first hour but the groups that formed were too big for the peloton’s liking and so they were quickly pulled back.

The riders stayed together a while after a first fast hour, then Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) kicked off the attacks again.

He was joined by eight other riders and then Mads Pedersen (Stölting Service Group) made a huge effort to get across and so create the 10-rider move of the race. Also there were Koen Bouwman (LottoNL-Jumbo), Silvan Dillier (BMC), Vegard Stake Laengen (IAM Cycling), Kiel Reijnen (Trek-Segafredo), Matteo Bono (Lampre-Merida), Tosh Van Der Sande (Lotto Soudal), Sander Helven (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Pedersen and Quentin Pacher (Delko Marseille Provence KTM).

The 10 were let go by the peloton and so quickly opened a lead of 3:30 after the early cotes of the race and the opening 100km of racing.

Bouwman lead the break up the Mur de Huy the first time through the finish, with the huge crowds cheering on the riders. Valverde was well placed in the peloton but other riders were suffering, including Dario Cataldo (Astana), who quit the race.

As the women fought for victory on the Mur de Huy, the men covered other cotes out in the countryside. The breakaway riders worked smoothly but their lead began to fall gradually as the peloton upped their chase.

The twisting roads were hurting, however, and riders continued to be dropped. Crashes also caused problems. With 41km to go Frank Schleck (Trek-Segafredo) went down and was unable to get up. He could only hold his right arm in pain and was diagnosed with a suspected fractured collarbone. The veteran Luxembourg rider’s Ardennes hopes were over in an instant.

Upfront the break also fell apart, with four riders being distanced. It was time for the second climb of the Mur de Huy and Dilier skipped clear, with Cummings going after him. They formed the final hopes of the break but the peloton was chasing, with Movistar and Katusha doing much of the work for Rodriguez and Valverde.

Cummings opted to drop Dilier over the top and made a huge effort alone but was eventually swept up with 18km remaining. It was time for the finale of the race.

Two cotes in a tough finale

The final 16km of the modern Fleche Wallonne route includes some twisting country roads and the Côte d'Ereffe and Côte de Cherave – a 1.3km climb at 8 per cent, which comes with just six kilometres before the Mur de Huy. The Côte d'Ereffe sparked an attack from Bob Jungels (Etixx-QuickStep). He was joined by Georg Georg Preidler (Giant-Alpecin) and Jon Izagirre (Movistar). They opened a gap over the top of the d’Ereffe and stayed away over the Côte de Cherave, where Wellens surged across to them. The attack cracked several expected contenders including Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Petr Vakoc (Etixx-QuickStep).

Other riders tried to jump across, including Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge), but they were pulled back by the peloton, with Tinkoff doing much of the chase.

Wellens tried hard to drive the attack but both Izagirre and Jungels were riding for their team leaders and the move fizzled out along the river, two kilometres before the rider hit the Mur de Huy. Yet again, the 1.3km, 9.6 per cent climb decided the winner and gave Valverde a place in the history books.

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