Valverde wins his record fifth Fleche Wallonne

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La Flèche Wallonne is a simple race. The peloton races for 204.5 kilometres over three ascents of the Mur de Huy, and in the end, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) wins. For the fourth year in succession and the fifth time in total, Valverde triumphed atop the Mur de Huy, and, once again, it all looked so disarmingly easy for the veteran.

From the moment Valverde launched his decisive acceleration inside the final 200 metres, the result was never remotely in doubt, and the riders lined up on his wheel seemed almost resigned to the inevitable. Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) produced his by-now traditional late charge to place second, while Dylan Teuns (BMC) held off Sergio Henao (Sky) for third, but Valverde was already sitting up to celebrate his victory as they fought over the scraps.

A week shy of 37th birthday, Valverde is enjoying arguably the most remarkable sequence of a contentious career, which was interrupted by the belated ban he served in 2010 and 2011 following his implication in the Operacion Puerto blood-doping inquiry. Already the winner of the Ruta del Sol, Volta a Catalunya and Tour of the Basque Country this spring, he now eyes a fourth Liège-Bastogne-Liège victory on Sunday.

As he waited to mount the podium, Valverde was asked the secret of his success. "Confidence and strength," Valverde said, before paying tribute to the efforts of his Movistar team. "They worked a lot for me from kilometre zero. It was hard but we had the confidence that we could win. This race is made for me."

Movistar's task was arguably facilitated by the preference of so many other teams to take their chances on the Mur de Huy rather than attempt to pry the race open before the final climb, with Sky and Orica-Scott among the teams to help clip back the solo effort of Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) in the finale.

Jungels led at the base of the Mur de Huy, but with a lead of just a handful of seconds, his was always likely to be a forlorn effort. Diego Rosa set the tempo on the lower slopes of the Mur, with Michal Kwiatkowski on his wheel, but the expected acceleration from the former world champion never materialised and riders fanned across the road as they emerged from the famous S-bend midway up the climb.

Valverde was guided at this point by Dani Moreno, and he maintained a watching brief as Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) and David Gaudu (FDJ) moved alongside him to the front row of the leading group.

The deadlock was eventually broken with 250 metres to go when the highly-rated Gaudu – still only 20 years old and in his first season as a professional – launched a fine acceleration. Valverde was live to the threat and quickly tracked the Frenchman, before launching a stinging attack of his own.

Dylan Teuns was tucked onto Valverde's rear wheel when he attacked and could not have been better positioned, but the Belgian was simply unable to match the ferocity of the acceleration. Henao tried to get on terms, but he, too, was powerless.

"I was a bit boxed-in by Kwiatkowski and Henao at one point but with a top favourite like Valverde, it's just waiting until he goes," Teuns said. "I tried to follow but he quickly was a bike-length away."

Dan Martin was three rows back coming out of the S-bend, and the Irishman left himself with too much ground to make up in the final 200 metres, though he has made a habit of late surges over the years on the Mur de Huy. After a second place in 2014 and third a year ago, Martin had to settle for another podium finish here, and a grim realisation about his prospects in this race.

"Maybe I've got to wait until Alejandro retires to win Flèche Wallonne…" Martin said. "Obviously I hope I can beat him one day. It was a strange race today, with a strong headwind. I stayed calm, I knew it was possible to come back with the headwind but I couldn't take Alejandro's wheel. He has this explosiveness that is difficult to match."

How it unfolded

After a flurry attack and counter-attack on leaving the start in Binche, a group of six riders eventually established itself as the morning break, as early escapees Yoann Bagot (Cofidis), Nils Politt (Katusha Alpecin) and Olivier Pardini (WB Veranclassic Protect) were joined by Fabien Doubey (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Romain Guillemois (Direct Energie) and Daniel Pearson (Aqua Blue Sport).

This sextet established a maximum lead of six minutes over the peloton before Movistar set to work paring down their advantage. Come the first of three ascents of the Mur de Huy, which came with 60 kilometres to race, their lead was down to just 1:35, and shortly afterwards, only Pardini, Guillemois and Doubey remained in front.

Alessandro De Marchi (BMC) went on the offensive on the Côte d'Ereffe, and though he was brought to heel by Carlos Betancur (Movistar), the attack had the end result of lifting the intensity in the peloton still further. Pardini was the last survivor from the break, but he was caught on the Cote de Cherave with 34 kilometres remaining, where De Marchi launched another attack, this time forging clear alone.

De Marchi had a margin of 20 seconds as he led over the second ascent of the Mur de Huy, and he was joined over the top by Jungels, who impressed in bridging across after the descent. Together, they maintained a lead of 30 seconds over the peloton, before Jungels opted to try his luck alone with 12 kilometres remaining, quickly stretching his lead out to 50 seconds.

Not since Igor Astarloa's 2003 triumph has the winning move at Flèche Wallonne gone clear before the final haul up the Mur de Huy, and the penultimate ascent, the Cote de Cherave, confirmed that the sequence would not end now. An acceleration from Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe), allied to the forcing of Team Sky, cut Jungels' advantage back down to within 30 seconds. Although Jungels managed to dangle out in front until the lower slopes of the Mur de Huy, he was swept up as Rosa set the tempo on the climb.

From there, the script reverted to the familiar. Eleven years after his first triumph, Valverde had his fifth Flèche Wallonne. "I'll definitely be back next year," he said.

Revivez le dernier kilomètre ! / Relive the last kilometer! #FlecheWallonne pic.twitter.com/QsyCEophRt

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