Alejandro Valverde wins Flèche Wallonne but Chris Froome crashes
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Version 0 of 1. Chris Froome was involved in a crash 12km from the end of the Flèche Wallonne, as Alejandro Valverde won the classic for the third time and the second year in a row on Wednesday. Valverde, the runner-up at the Amstel Gold Race last week, won ahead of Julian Alaphilippe and Michael Albasini at the top of the Mur de Huy. Valverde joined Eddy Merckx in a club of five riders to have won the race three times. “There is no secret, you just need to be in great shape and to love these races,” the Spaniard said. “Just a lot of training. To match a rider like Eddy Merckx is great, it gives me a lot of confidence and it shows I still have the legs to perform well.” Froome tore his shorts in the crash but the former Tour de France winner got back on his bike to finish. Philippe Gilbert, a former Flèche Wallonne winner, was caught in another incident earlier in the race and was forced to retire. “It was a very tense race indeed, with crashes already 130km before the finish, and crashes that occurred in the first 30 positions of the pack,” Valverde said. Froome was using the Belgian classic as part of his preparations for the Tour de France because the Mur de Huy climb will feature in the third stage of this year’s Tour. “Chris ... was pretty banged up but showed real courage to finish the race and we’ll assess his injuries overnight,” Team Sky sports director Gabriel Rasch said. “He hasn’t needed to go to hospital and right now as things stand, we’re still expecting him to line up at the Tour de Romandie next Tuesday.” Despite the addition of a new climb with an 8.1% average gradient – the Côte de Cherave – to the 205.5km ride through the woods and hills, victory was again decided in the final ascent. The Mur is one of cycling’s most difficult climbs, with a 26% gradient at its steepest. Valverde remained well positioned at the front of the pack and had enough power when he attacked. Tim Wellens almost succeeded with a bold move on the Côte de Cherave but ran out of energy and was caught with less than 500m to go by Valverde and a pack of favourites. The major spring classics end with Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège race and Valverde – who will turn 35 on Saturday – will be among the favourites, having already won it twice. The race is run over similar hilly terrain in southern Belgium. |