Evenepoel claims victory in Liege-Bastogne-Liege cycling race
On Sunday, Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the last monument of the cycling season. With a solo of 30 kilometres from the top of the Côte de La Redoute, the 22-year old from Flanders-Brabant rode to the biggest victory of his career. Quinten Hermans (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) completed the entirely Belgian podium.
The 108th edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège started off decapitated, because the last two winners didn't show up at the start: Tadej Pogacar stayed in Slovenia after the death of his mother-in-law, his compatriot Primoz Roglic is struggling with his knee. The arrival of Wout van Aert, who added 'La Doyenne' to his racing calendar after his Covid-19 infection, did give the race an extra dimension. The Belgian champion had to do without his teammate Tiesj Benoot, who had to cancel the race in the last minute due to illness.
Four Belgians showed themselves in an early breakaway of eleven: Harm Vanhoucke, Sylvain Moniquet, Baptiste Planckaert and Kenny Molly. Behind the back of those escapees, the race remained closed for a long time despite the high pace of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl and Bahrain Victorious. Unfortunately, the main selection happened due to a massive crash at high speed at sixty kilometres from the finish. The main victim, world champion Julian Alaphilippe, disappeared from the race in an ambulance. Outsiders Tom Pidcock, Bauke Mollema and Romain Bardet were also unable to play a significant role after their crash.
The fall of teammate Alaphilippe suddenly made the debutant Evenepoel the only spearhead of the troubled Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, which has been chasing its first major victory for weeks this spring. On top of the iconic Côte de La Redoute, with thirty kilometres remaining, Evenepoel took control of the race. The 22-year-old from Brabant's attack caused panic in the peloton, but no one reacted or could react to his attempt. In no time, Evenepoel rode up to Bruno Armirail, the strongest rider from the early breakaway.
The fall of teammate Alaphilippe suddenly made the debutant Evenepoel the only spearhead of the troubled Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, which has been chasing its first major victory for weeks this spring. On top of the iconic Côte de La Redoute, with thirty kilometres remaining, Evenepoel took control of the race. The 22-year-old from Brabant's attack caused panic in the peloton, but no one reacted or could react to his attempt. In no time, Evenepoel rode up to Bruno Armirail, the strongest rider from the early breakaway.
The teammates of Waalse Pijl winner Dylan Teuns and the departing Alejandro Valverde quickly teamed up in the chasing pack, but without much effect: Evenepoel increased his lead to more than half a minute on the crucial final climb, the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons. Armirail had to get out of the way on the climb itself, while the leaders in the peloton confined themselves to following their teammates on the steepest stretches.
On the difficult Roche-aux-Faucons offshoot, the chasers exploded with Michael Woods, Alexander Vlasov and Dylan Teuns halving their gap to 20 seconds with a few accelerations. Teuns went in pursuit with Colombians Sergio Higuita and Daniel Felipe Martinez, but their pace stalled and several chasing groups merged again. Vlasov then went in pursuit alone, but in the final kilometres the Russian didn't stand a chance against Evenepoel, who was able to increase his lead to three quarters of a minute.
The departing Philippe Gilbert could pass on the proverbial torch to the young generation in his last Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Gilbert - the last Belgian winner before today, in his wonder year of 2011 - ran into trouble on La Redoute and eventually finished 46th at 7:35.
(KR)
Belgian Remco Evenepoel celebrates after winning the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND