La Flèche Wallonne Huy, Belgium
21 APRIL 2021
Julian Alaphilippe and Primož Roglič do battle on the Mur de Huy in the final metres of La Flèche Wallonne. The race that always comes down to the final ascent of the Mur, sure enough, came down to the final ascent of the Mur. Roglič, riding the Ardennes classic for the first time, attacked with 350m to go on the steepest section of the 1.3km climb, where the gradient hits 19 per cent. Alaphilippe, who won Flèche on the two previous times he had ridden it, managed the climb a lot more effectively. He reeled in the Slovenian leader inside the final 100m, and once he was past Roglič, there was no way back. Alejandro Valverde rolled back the years with his third- place finish, days before his 41st birthday. Michael Woods came fourth, let down by bad positioning, but Alaphilippe clearly mastered the Wall of Huy, knowing when to wait and when to attack. The last survivor of the breakaway, Maurits Lammertink, lasted until 1.4km to go, but finished 71st, showing how he was swamped by the chasing peloton, and just how hard the final climb of the Mur is.