Schurter wins Windham cross country World Cup
By Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor
Absalon defends lead in overall standings
Nino Schurter (Scott-Odlo MTB Racing) won the elite men's cross country race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Windham, New York on Sunday afternoon. World Cup overall leader Julien Absalon (BMC) finished second, just six seconds after Schurter while Absalon's teammate Lukas Flückiger was third another 10 seconds later.
"It was a hard battle with Absalon, but I'd say I'd made it happen on the downhill," said Schurter to Cyclingnews. "I'm super stoked to win here on a course that's maybe not the best suited for me."
The "old school" course featured one long climb followed by one long downhill. It was less technical than many other recent World Cups and had more concentrated climbing. The downhills were super fast.
Sergio Mantecon (Trek Factory Racing) led the men at the end of the uphill starting section ahead of the first of the seven laps, but soon after, Geoff Kabush (Scott-3Rox) surged to the front to mix it up with Schurter and Absalon.
"I felt solid and while I wasn't as sharp as last week, I got lucky at the start," said Kabush. "It's been frustrating getting caught in the middle of the field in the starts, so when it opened up, I went to the front and rode some smooth lines."
However, it wasn't long before a lead group of four men established themselves during lap one: Schurter, Absalon, Lukas Flückiger and his brother Mathias Flückiger (Stöckli Pro Team).
For much of the first part of the race, the four lined up in that order although Absalon was sometimes leading on the climb while Schurter usually led the descent.
On lap three, Lukas Flückiger went for it at the top of the downhill. The Swiss rider was descending very well and moved to the front, forcing the others to chase. The move proved decisive, perhaps not in the way that he expected, as it forced a gap to him that the other three had to close.
"I had more confidence than last week, so I started better in the race," said Lukas Flückiger. "I felt good on the downhills but was suffering hard on the uphills. So on the third lap, I tried to go, but I wasn't strong enough on the uphill so it was hard to take my speed into the next lap. It was good to try it though as it gave me still more confidence for the next race."
Schurter was not surprised to see his Swiss compatriot make a move. "Lukas is always a strong guy. It was nice when he attacked because he opened up the gap to Absalon so it was great for me."
Schurter was the first to close the gap to Lukas Flückiger and from that point in the race, he was always at the front with Absalon dangling just behind him. Once both riders passed Lukas Flückiger, Absalon would tend to close slightly the gap to Schurter on the climbs, but he'd always lose a bit of time on the next descent. Following his teammate's attack, Absalon was never again at the front of the race.
With the course featuring one big long climb and one big long descent, the differences in riding styles of the two favorites were more pronounced, magnified by the fact that Absalon was on a hardtail and Schurter was on a full suspension.
Schurter said, "It was quite an advantage to have the full suspension on the downhill. I was able to always open the gap, maybe 10 to 15 seconds, and then I'd try to hold it on the uphill."
Absalon said, "I tried to push back to regain the 10-12 seconds I lost on every downhill. I knew that second position would still be good for the World Cup overall and a crash would have been a disaster. I was definitely thinking about the World Cup overall."
"For Nino, it was different. He had nothing to lose," said Absalon. Schurter had skipped a round of the World Cup earlier this season. "If you want to win the overall, you need to do all the races. Two win any race, you have to take risks, but for me that was not the good option."
Behind the leaders, four men chased together for much of the race: Dan McConnell (Trek Factory Racing), Stephane Tempier (BH-Suntour-KMC), Mantecon and Manuel Fumic (Cannondale Factory Racing).
Although the time gaps were never large, Schurter, Absalon and Lukas Flückiger maintained their places in the final few laps, with Absalon always getting close, but never managing to pass Schurter on the climbs and Schurter gaining time back on the descents. Lukas Flückiger kept losing a bit of time on the climbs and making that time back on the descents.
McConnell's strong finish was enough for him to overtake Mathias Flückiger for fourth place. Mathias Flückiger ended up fifth.
"It was a hard seven laps. It was another long race," said McConneloug. "I was lucky enough to have my teammate Sergio in the group so one of us would make the move and the other would sit in and get towed along. That helped. It was about three laps to go that I could sneak away and push toward the top three."
"You have to go into the red on the climbs and then just hold on during the descents. I'm happy to come away with a podium here."
Kabush and Derek Zandstra (Scott-3Rox) led the North Americans in finishing 12th and 13th while Stephen Ettinger (BMC) was the top American finisher on home World Cup soil. Ettinger flatted early in the race.
"I paid a little for my fast start, but 12th is a good result for me, and it was my teammate Derek Zandstra's best World Cup finish with a 13th. It was nice to fight toward the podium - it was a good result, and I'll take it."
Another pre-race favorite Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) was never seen near the front after he was held up in a crash just following the start line.
US National Champion Stephen Ettinger (BMC) was the top American finisher at the US's home World Cup, despite a flat tire.
"I felt good, but when I flatted on lap one, I probably went back to 50th or 60th position. When that happens, you just have to do damage control. I think I made it back to 27th. It was a hard, long race. Seven laps of that was tough though in the end, but if it had been six, it wouldn't have changed much for me."
Absalon's second place meant that he kept his position as leader of the World Cup standings. He has 1290 points to Schurter's 1080 after Schurter skipped a round in Australia to race the road instead. McConnell is third in the standings with 840 points.
"It will be nice to finish the World Cup season in France," said Absalon.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team | 1:40:58 |
2 | Julien Absalon (Fra) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:00:06 |
3 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:00:16 |
4 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) Trek Factory Racing | 0:00:22 |
5 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Stöckli Pro Team | 0:01:12 |
6 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:01:27 |
7 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Trek Factory Racing | 0:02:04 |
8 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) BH-Suntour-KMC | 0:02:27 |
9 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team | 0:02:40 |
10 | Ralph Naef (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:03:16 |
11 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team | 0:03:40 |
12 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing | 0:03:44 |
13 | Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing | |
14 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:03:59 |
15 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 0:04:12 |
16 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:04:14 |
17 | Ondrej Cink (Cze) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:04:39 |
18 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH-Suntour-KMC | 0:04:46 |
19 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team | 0:04:54 |
20 | Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Tropix-Frm | 0:04:57 |
21 | Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) Stöckli Pro Team | 0:05:23 |
22 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) MMR Bikes Pro Team | 0:05:34 |
23 | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Sram Rubena Trek | 0:05:55 |
24 | Michal Lami (Svk) | 0:06:10 |
25 | Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) Focus XC Team | 0:06:33 |
26 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Orange Monkey Pro Team | 0:06:59 |
27 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 0:07:13 |
28 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team | 0:07:27 |
29 | Marc Stutzmann (Swi) Giant-Swiss-Team | 0:07:33 |
30 | Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Ita) I.Idro Drain Bianchi | 0:07:38 |
31 | Ruben Scheire (Bel) Feenstra Felt Pb Kenda Bike Team | 0:07:41 |
32 | Henrique Avancini (Bra) Caloi Team | 0:08:04 |
33 | Hector Riveros (Col) | 0:08:06 |
34 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing XC | 0:08:13 |
35 | Martin Loo (Est) Merida Italia Team | 0:08:17 |
36 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing XC | 0:08:21 |
37 | Hans Becking (Ned) Betch.Nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team | 0:08:22 |
38 | Matiss Preimanis (Lat) DPA | 0:08:29 |
39 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 0:08:44 |
40 | Christian Helmig (Lux) | 0:09:13 |
41 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) | 0:09:21 |
42 | Karl Markt (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team | 0:09:22 |
43 | Russell Finsterwald (USA) Sram/Tld Racing | |
44 | Evan Guthrie (Can) | 0:09:34 |
45 | Hugo Drechou (Fra) Calvisson VTT | 0:09:41 |
46 | Ismael Ventura Sanchez (Spa) | 0:09:53 |
47 | Zsolt Juhasz (Hun) Waberer's Areus Cube MTB Team | 0:10:00 |
48 | Martin Gluth (Ger) | 0:10:07 |
49 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team | 0:10:41 |
50 | Miguel Martinez (Fra) Tropix-Frm | 0:11:05 |
51 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) | 0:11:22 |
52 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Focus XC Team | 0:11:42 |
53 | Raphael Gagne (Can) | 0:11:48 |
54 | Cameron Dodge (USA) | 0:11:51 |
55 | Ricardo Pscheidt (Bra) | 0:12:32 |
56 | Andrew Watson (Can) | 0:12:36 |
57 | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team | 0:13:04 |
58 | David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por) | 0:13:35 |
-1lap | Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Team Merida Wallonie MTB | |
-1lap | Mitchell Hoke (USA) | |
-1lap | Paolo Cesar Montoya Cantillo (CRc) | |
-1lap | Seiya Hirano (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team | |
-1lap | Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) Cycling Club Roma MTB Team | |
-1lap | Steffen Thum (Ger) | |
-1lap | Peter Glassford (Can) | |
-1lap | Luciano Caraccioli (Arg) | |
-1lap | Kerry Werner (USA) | |
-1lap | Patrick Chartrand (Can) | |
-1lap | William Melone (USA) | |
-1lap | Dario Alejandro Gasco (Arg) | |
-1lap | Patricio Maximiliano Farias Diaz (Chi) | |
-2laps | Robby De Bock (Bel) Feenstra Felt Pb Kenda Bike Team | |
-2laps | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) | |
-2laps | Ryo Saito (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team | |
-2laps | Thomas Sampson (USA) | |
-2laps | Fabio Hernando Castaneda Monsalve (Col) | |
-2laps | Adrian Retief (NZl) | |
-2laps | Rubens Valeriano (Bra) | |
-2laps | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) MMR Bikes Pro Team | |
-2laps | Andrew L'esperance (Can) | |
-2laps | Cole Oberman (USA) | |
-3laps | Patricio Andres Campbell Vilches (Chi) | |
-3laps | Christopher Hamlin (USA) | |
-3laps | Marco Antonio Escarcega (Mex) | |
-3laps | Joseph Clemenzi (USA) | |
-3laps | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team | |
-3laps | Aaron Oakes (USA) | |
-4laps | Javier Fiallo (Ecu) | |
-4laps | Ernie Watenpaugh (USA) | |
-4laps | Noah Tautfest (USA) | |
-4laps | Jean-Philippe Thibault-Roberge (Can) | |
-4laps | Besik Gavasheli (Geo) | |
DNF | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | |
DNF | Cameron Jette (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing | |
DNF | Andras Parti (Hun) Waberer's Areus Cube MTB Team | |
DNF | Marek Konwa (Pol) Betch.Nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team | |
DNF | José Juan Escarcega (Mex) | |
DNS | Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Focus XC Team | |
DNS | Max Plaxton (Can) Cannondale Factory Racing | |
DNS | José Alberto Gonzalez Merchan (Ecu) |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 88 | pts |
2 | Scott-Odlo Mtb Racing Team | 62 | |
3 | Trek Factory Racing | 54 | |
4 | Multivan Merida Biking Team | 46 | |
5 | Cannondale Factory Racing | 42 | |
6 | Stöckli Pro Team | 38 | |
7 | Scott-3Rox Racing | 37 | |
8 | BH-Suntour-KMC | 36 | |
9 | Giant Pro XC Team | 32 | |
10 | Tropix-Frm | 11 | |
11 | MMR Bikes Pro Team | 9 | |
12 | Sram Rubena Trek | 8 | |
13 | Focus XC Team | 6 | |
14 | Orange Monkey Pro Team | 5 | |
15 | Versluys Team | 3 | |
16 | Giant-Swiss-Team | 2 | |
17 | I.Idro Drain Bianchi | 1 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Julien Absalon (Fra) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 1290 | pts |
2 | Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team | 1080 | |
3 | Daniel Mcconnell (Aus) Trek Factory Racing | 840 | |
4 | Stéphane Tempier (Fra) BH-Suntour-KMC | 731 | |
5 | Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing | 696 | |
6 | Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Stöckli Pro Team | 675 | |
7 | José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 672 | |
8 | Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Trek Factory Racing | 605 | |
9 | Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH-Suntour-KMC | 592 | |
10 | Fabian Giger (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team | 576 | |
11 | Lukas Flückiger (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 559 | |
12 | Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team | 466 | |
13 | Thomas Litscher (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 464 | |
14 | Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 460 | |
15 | Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing | 426 | |
16 | Emil Lindgren (Swe) Giant Pro XC Team | 422 | |
17 | Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Ita) I.Idro Drain Bianchi | 369 | |
18 | Ondrej Cink (Cze) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 354 | |
19 | Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Tropix-Frm | 329 | |
20 | Ralph Naef (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 308 | |
21 | Alexander Gehbauer (Aut) I.Idro Drain Bianchi | 297 | |
22 | Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team | 296 | |
23 | Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) MMR Bikes Pro Team | 292 | |
24 | Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team | 267 | |
25 | Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing XC | 259 | |
26 | Markus Schulte-Luenzum (Ger) Focus XC Team | 257 | |
27 | Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 255 | |
28 | Raphael Gagne (Can) | 255 | |
29 | Martin Gujan (Swi) Orange Monkey Pro Team | 250 | |
30 | Michal Lami (Svk) | 228 | |
31 | Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing | 215 | |
32 | Ruben Scheire (Bel) Feenstra Felt Pb Kenda Bike Team | 208 | |
33 | Martin Fanger (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 206 | |
34 | Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing XC | 204 | |
35 | Nicola Rohrbach (Swi) | 186 | |
36 | Reto Indergand (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 182 | |
37 | Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing | 178 | |
38 | Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Sram Rubena Trek | 178 | |
39 | David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por) | 170 | |
40 | Matthias Stirnemann (Swi) Stöckli Pro Team | 150 | |
41 | Karl Markt (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team | 141 | |
42 | Miguel Martinez (Fra) Tropix-Frm | 137 | |
43 | Sven Nys (Bel) | 132 | |
44 | Martin Gluth (Ger) | 130 | |
45 | Matiss Preimanis (Lat) DPA | 128 | |
46 | Hugo Drechou (Fra) Calvisson VTT | 125 | |
47 | Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 118 | |
48 | Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Team Merida Wallonie MTB | 112 | |
49 | Luca Braidot (Ita) | 110 | |
50 | Jonas De Backer (Bel) | 106 | |
51 | Martin Loo (Est) Merida Italia Team | 105 | |
52 | Russell Finsterwald (USA) Sram/Tld Racing | 104 | |
53 | Anton Sintsov (Rus) Titici Lgl International Team | 102 | |
54 | Marc Stutzmann (Swi) Giant-Swiss-Team | 101 | |
55 | Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Focus XC Team | 101 | |
56 | Daniele Braidot (Ita) | 100 | |
57 | Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott-Odlo MTB Racing Team | 99 | |
58 | Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) MMR Bikes Pro Team | 98 | |
59 | Henrique Avancini (Bra) Caloi Team | 96 | |
60 | Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) Cycling Club Roma MTB Team | 82 | |
61 | Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Focus XC Team | 74 | |
62 | Michele Casagrande (Ita) | 70 | |
63 | Andrew Blair (Aus) | 64 | |
64 | Andras Parti (Hun) Waberer's Areus Cube MTB Team | 63 | |
65 | Hector Riveros (Col) | 60 | |
66 | Matthias Wengelin (Swe) | 60 | |
67 | Frank Beemer (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team | 58 | |
68 | Kerry Werner (USA) | 58 | |
69 | Evan Guthrie (Can) | 58 | |
70 | Paolo Cesar Montoya Cantillo (CRc) | 57 | |
71 | Marek Konwa (Pol) Betch.Nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team | 55 | |
72 | Kristian Hynek (Cze) Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 52 | |
73 | Ismael Ventura Sanchez (Spa) | 52 | |
74 | Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) | 51 | |
75 | Robby De Bock (Bel) Feenstra Felt Pb Kenda Bike Team | 51 | |
76 | Mark Tupalski (Aus) | 47 | |
77 | Hans Becking (Ned) Betch.Nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team | 45 | |
78 | Christian Helmig (Lux) | 45 | |
79 | Carl Jones (NZl) | 44 | |
80 | Simon Scheiber (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team | 43 | |
81 | Jan Nesvadba (Cze) | 40 | |
82 | Paul Oldham (GBr) | 37 | |
83 | Brendan Johnston (Aus) | 35 | |
84 | Tom Meeusen (Bel) | 32 | |
85 | Mario Luis Miranda Costa (Por) | 31 | |
86 | Andrew Watson (Can) | 31 | |
87 | Matous Ulman (Cze) | 30 | |
88 | Philip Buys (RSA) | 29 | |
89 | Dirk Peters (NZl) | 29 | |
90 | Zsolt Juhasz (Hun) Waberer's Areus Cube MTB Team | 29 | |
91 | Shaun Lewis (Aus) | 28 | |
92 | Steffen Thum (Ger) | 26 | |
93 | Fabian Rabensteiner (Ita) Focus XC Italy Team | 25 | |
94 | Cory Wallace (Can) Kona Factory Team | 25 | |
95 | Simon Stiebjahn (Ger) Team Bulls | 25 | |
96 | Ryo Saito (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team | 24 | |
97 | Ivan Seledkov (Rus) | 23 | |
98 | Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) | 23 | |
99 | Daniel Federspiel (Aut) Ötztal Scott Racing Team | 22 | |
100 | Filip Eberl (Cze) Remerx-Merida Team Kolin | 21 | |
101 | Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Btwin MTB Racing Team | 21 | |
102 | Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) | 21 | |
103 | Markus Bauer (Ger) | 21 | |
104 | Travis Frisby (Aus) | 19 | |
105 | Matthys Beukes (RSA) | 18 | |
106 | Mitchell Hoke (USA) | 18 | |
107 | Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona Factory Team | 16 | |
108 | Jochen Kass (Ger) | 16 | |
109 | Ola Kjören (Nor) | 16 | |
110 | Ramon Sagues Portabella (Spa) | 15 | |
111 | David Fletcher (GBr) Orange Monkey Pro Team | 15 | |
112 | Cameron Dodge (USA) | 14 | |
113 | Ricardo Pscheidt (Bra) | 13 | |
114 | David Valero (Spa) | 12 | |
115 | Oleksandr Gerashchenko (Ukr) Isd MTB Team | 11 | |
116 | Rourke Croeser (RSA) Kargo Pro MTB Team | 11 | |
117 | Daniel Eymann (Swi) Giant-Swiss-Team | 11 | |
118 | Martin Haring (Svk) | 10 | |
119 | Renay Groustra (RSA) | 10 | |
120 | Hamish Batchelor (GBr) Fluid Fin Race Team | 9 | |
121 | Cameron Jette (Can) Scott-3Rox Racing | 8 | |
122 | Jiri Novak (Cze) Betch.Nl Superior Brentjens MTB Racing Team | 8 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | BMC Mountainbike Racing Team | 492 | pts |
2 | Multivan Merida Biking Team | 330 | |
3 | Trek Factory Racing | 291 | |
4 | Scott-Odlo Mtb Racing Team | 282 | |
5 | BH-Suntour-KMC | 259 | |
6 | Cannondale Factory Racing | 207 | |
7 | Giant Pro XC Team | 196 | |
8 | Stöckli Pro Team | 149 | |
9 | I.Idro Drain Bianchi | 120 | |
10 | Tropix-Frm | 69 | |
11 | Scott-3Rox Racing | 68 | |
12 | Specialized Racing XC | 61 | |
13 | MMR Bikes Pro Team | 49 | |
14 | Sram Rubena Trek | 23 | |
15 | Orange Monkey Pro Team | 23 | |
16 | Focus XC Team | 22 | |
17 | Versluys Team | 17 | |
18 | Titici Lgl International Team | 7 | |
19 | Calvisson Vtt | 7 | |
20 | Feenstra Felt Pb Kenda Bike Team | 6 | |
21 | DPA | 5 | |
22 | Topeak Ergon Racing Team | 5 | |
23 | Sram/Tld Racing | 4 | |
24 | Ötztal Scott Racing Team | 2 | |
25 | Giant-Swiss-Team | 2 |
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Australia looks beyond cycling to replenish women’s track team before Paris Olympics
Weightlifters and runners among targeted athletes as nation opens up sprint recruitment to try and find next Anna Meares -
How to watch La Flèche Wallonne 2021 – live TV and streaming
Alaphilippe, Pogacar, Roglic do battle once more as Van der Breggen bids for seventh title -
Anna van der Breggen: The Mur de Huy never lies
Recent illness puts seventh victory in doubt as Van der Breggen looks to Vollering and Moolman-Pasio as potential winners in La Flèche Wallonne -
Pogacar: Ardennes Classics completely different to Itzulia Basque Country
Tour de France champion renews Roglic rivalry at La Flèche Wallonne
Sign up to the Cyclingnews Newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how to do this, and how we hold your data, please see our privacy policy
Thank you for signing up to Cycling News. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.