Julian Alaphilippe – Shutterstock / SIPA
It was worth the wait. Disappointing since his stage victory over Tirreno Adriatico, Julian Alaphilippe won the Flèche Wallone for the third time in his career. And how ! The world champion picked up Primoz Roglic at the top of the Huy wall as the Slovenian thought he had done the hard part by attacking in the last 400 meters of the climb.
The eternal Alejandro Valverde, who holds the record for victories on the classic (five), finished third ahead of the Canadian Michael Woods and the French Warren Barguil. The Briton Tom Pidcock, who fell during the event, took 6th place in this 85th edition of the first of the Ardennes classics, four days before the Doyenne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Alaph savors
“This victory, it makes me a lot of good”, reacted Alaphilippe, who had so far only one success this season, a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. “I was able to save myself throughout the day, I knew what I had to do in the final,” added the 28-year-old Frenchman. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy with Roglic, and Valverde in the wheel”.