La Fleche Wallonne: Valverde wins on the Mur de Huy
Alaphilippe second and Martin third
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.
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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.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team | 4:43:57 |
2 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
3 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
4 | Wouter Poels (Ned) Team Sky | 0:00:04 |
5 | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 0:00:05 |
6 | Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) BMC Racing Team | |
7 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge | |
8 | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre - Merida | |
9 | Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
10 | Rui Costa (Por) Lampre - Merida | |
11 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff Team | |
12 | Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
13 | Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
14 | Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:12 |
15 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:00:14 |
16 | Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
17 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
18 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:00:17 |
19 | Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
20 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
21 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:00:23 |
22 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | |
23 | Floris De Tier (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
24 | Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data | 0:00:27 |
25 | Daniel Navarro (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:00:29 |
26 | Louis Meintjes (RSA) Lampre - Merida | |
27 | Pieter Weening (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton | |
28 | Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (Spa) Team Katusha | 0:00:32 |
29 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling | 0:00:34 |
30 | Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
31 | Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
32 | Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
33 | Huub Duijn (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton | |
34 | Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Wanty-Groupe Gobert | |
35 | Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo | 0:00:40 |
36 | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
37 | Daniel Moreno (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:00:43 |
38 | Chris Anker Sorensen (Den) Fortuneo - Vital Concept | 0:00:46 |
39 | Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
40 | Florian Vachon (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital Concept | |
41 | Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff Team | 0:00:50 |
42 | Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:52 |
43 | Julien El Farès (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | |
44 | Jérémy Maison (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:55 |
45 | Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team | |
46 | Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:01:01 |
47 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal | 0:01:14 |
48 | Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:01:22 |
49 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | 0:01:27 |
50 | Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin | 0:01:32 |
51 | Mickaël Chérel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:39 |
52 | Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
53 | Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - Merida | 0:01:42 |
54 | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Stölting Service Group | 0:01:54 |
55 | Luis Angel Maté Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credit | 0:02:02 |
56 | Fredrik Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-Alpecin | 0:02:04 |
57 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:02:06 |
58 | Laurens De Plus (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
59 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital Concept | |
60 | Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Dimension Data | 0:02:10 |
61 | Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling | 0:02:13 |
62 | Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
63 | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:02:17 |
64 | Jon Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:02:25 |
65 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:02:33 |
66 | Bob Jungels (Lux) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:03:01 |
67 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
68 | David De La Cruz (Spa) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:03:16 |
69 | Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:03:23 |
70 | Michel Kreder (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton | 0:03:30 |
71 | Natnael Berhane (Eri) Dimension Data | |
72 | Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ | |
73 | Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
74 | Sebastian Henao (Col) Team Sky | |
75 | Jarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling | |
76 | Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital Concept | |
77 | Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
78 | Christian Meier (Can) Orica-GreenEdge | |
79 | Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | |
80 | Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
81 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
82 | Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
83 | Clement Chevrier (Fra) IAM Cycling | |
84 | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Etixx - Quick-Step | |
85 | Gaetan Bille (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
86 | Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
87 | Oliver Zaugg (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
88 | Angel Vicioso (Spa) Team Katusha | |
89 | Yury Trofimov (Rus) Tinkoff Team | |
90 | Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton | 0:03:34 |
91 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
92 | Loic Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
93 | Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff Team | |
94 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ | 0:04:14 |
95 | Lawrence Warbasse (USA) IAM Cycling | 0:04:16 |
96 | Michael Valgren (Den) Tinkoff Team | 0:04:56 |
97 | Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:05:00 |
98 | Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff Team | 0:05:11 |
99 | Sergei Chernetckii (Rus) Team Katusha | |
100 | Alberto Losada (Spa) Team Katusha | |
101 | Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha | |
102 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Team Katusha | |
103 | Chad Haga (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
104 | Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal | |
105 | Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky | |
106 | Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:05:22 |
107 | Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:05:25 |
108 | Anthony Turgis (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:05:54 |
109 | Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team | 0:05:58 |
110 | Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Movistar Team | |
111 | Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre - Merida | |
112 | Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky | 0:06:08 |
113 | Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
114 | Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
115 | Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky | |
116 | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
117 | Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:06:29 |
118 | Mario Costa (Por) Lampre - Merida | 0:06:58 |
119 | Sander Helven (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 0:07:00 |
120 | Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data | 0:07:08 |
121 | Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
122 | Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:08:02 |
123 | Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
124 | Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ | |
125 | Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ | |
126 | Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Team Katusha | |
127 | Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Dimension Data | |
128 | Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
129 | Michael Reihs (Den) Stölting Service Group | |
130 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
131 | Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
132 | Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Team | |
133 | Julien Loubet (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital Concept | |
134 | Stefan Kung (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
135 | Sander Armée (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
136 | Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
137 | Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
138 | Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo | |
139 | Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | |
140 | Jean-Marc Bideau (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital Concept | |
141 | Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo | |
142 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Trek-Segafredo | |
143 | Rory Sutherland (Aus) Movistar Team | 0:08:10 |
144 | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | |
145 | Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:08:12 |
146 | Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre - Merida | 0:08:15 |
147 | Toms Skujins (Lat) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:08:22 |
148 | Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 0:10:54 |
149 | Aleksei Tsatevich (Rus) Team Katusha | 0:11:19 |
150 | Tim Declercq (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
151 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
152 | Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
153 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton | |
154 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Dimension Data | |
155 | Leonardo Duque (Col) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | |
156 | Yannick Martinez (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:11:23 |
157 | Reinier Honig (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton | 0:11:28 |
158 | Delio Fernández Cruz (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | 0:11:41 |
159 | Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky | |
160 | Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) IAM Cycling | |
161 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
162 | Christian Mager (Ger) Stölting Service Group | 0:11:47 |
DNF | Quentin Pacher (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | |
DNF | Daniel Diaz (Arg) Delko Marseille Provence KTM | |
DNF | Thomas Koep (Ger) Stölting Service Group | |
DNF | Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Stölting Service Group | |
DNF | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Stölting Service Group | |
DNF | Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
DNF | Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | |
DNF | Youcef Reguigui (Alg) Dimension Data | |
DNF | Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton | |
DNF | Kai Reus (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton | |
DNF | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Caleb Fairly (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | |
DNF | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ | |
DNF | William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ | |
DNF | Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
DNF | Marco Marcato (Ita) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
DNF | Mark Mcnally (GBr) Wanty - Groupe Gobert | |
DNF | Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Team | |
DNF | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky | |
DNF | Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge | |
DNF | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-GreenEdge | |
DNS | Sergio Henao (Col) Team Sky |
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