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Thursday, April 18, 2024

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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. - George Washington Carver

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Plato's dialogue Apology is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• April 15 - 19: Tour of the Alps

Upcoming racing:

• April 21: Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Latest completed racing:

• April 17: La Flèche Wallone
• April 14: Amstel Gold Race
• April 14: Tour du Doubs
• April 10: De Brabantse Pijl
• April 7: Paris-Roubaix
• April 6: Women's Paris-Roubaix
• April 1 - 6: Tour of the Basque Country/Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
• April 2 - 5: Region Pays de la Loire Tour
• April 3: Scheldeprijs
• March 31: Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders)
• March 30: Gran Premio Miguel Indurain
• March 30: Volta Limburg Classic

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La Flèche Wallonne reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from winner Stephen Williams' Team Israel-Pemier Tech:

It was undoubtedly the toughest edition of Flèche Wallonne in recent memory, and yet Stevie Williams looked completely unflustered as he became the first British male rider to win the Belgian Classic on Wednesday.

Stephen Williams wins in Huy.

The Welshman rode brilliantly throughout, and notably attacked on the third of four ascents of the Mur de Huy to form part of a short-lived chase group that ultimately helped reel in a lone rider in the closing 10 kilometers.

Williams, who tackled the race’s arduous finishing climb in his Ekoï gloves, leg warmers, and rain jacket, kicked with 275 meters remaining the final time up the Mur and crossed the line with enough time to celebrate. Having claimed IPT’s first UCI WorldTour stage race victory at the Tour Down Under in January, the Brit now has the team’s maiden win in a UCI WorldTour one-day race to his name.

“What a day, what a day, I’m so happy right now,” said Williams. “I just can’t believe I just won Flèche. I’ve been watching this race for years and I’ve always wanted to come here with decent legs to try and win it. Today, with the weather, I enjoy racing in these conditions, and I’m just over the moon.

“The boys backed me all day and they gave me the best chance to try and do a result today. Everybody was waiting [on the Mur de Huy] with about 300 [meters] to go, so I thought if I could get a jump here and put five or 10 seconds into the group, it could give me a good chance to hold on. I was looking around a bit because the legs were empty, but I’m really happy to hold on. I’m exhausted, lost for words, and a bit emotional really. To win bike races is hard, especially here at the Classics.”

IPT entered its sixth participation in Flèche with a commendable record in the race. Michael Woods finished fourth in 2021 and 2023, while Dan Martin came fifth in 2020. While past form counts for little, this race was singled out as the team’s target for this particular week of the season.

“Of this Ardennes block, we identified Flèche as our best chance to win,” says Sports Director Sam Bewley.

“Obviously we’re capable of good results in the other races, but we had Stevie and Dylan, who has won here in the past, as our leaders today. We were motivated and we had a good plan. Obviously, the weather rolled in once we got to the circuit, which completely flipped the race, but Stevie managed to handle everything well.

“It’s massive for him: Stevie has managed to win a WorldTour stage race and a one-day race all in the space of four months, so it’s all going well for him!”

Here's the Flèche Wallonne report from third-place Maxim Van Gils' Team Lotto Dstny:

Maxim Van Gils finished a strong third in La Flèche Wallonne. On the Mur de Huy, he was only surpassed by Stephen Williams and Kévin Vauquelin.

"I really had to push myself for that final on the Mur de Huy, it was horribly cold," tells a shivering but satisfied Maxim Van Gils. "I was shivering on my bike and could barely stand on the pedals. I knew I had to keep an eye on Stephen Williams, but he was behind me and suddenly came from the left, which surprised me a bit. Maybe I didn't deliver my best performance on the Mur de Huy, but I think that applied to everyone. I gave it my all and I'm pretty satisfied with that."

The race started with decent weather. But things changed.

With rain pouring down relentlessly all afternoon - it even briefly snowed - this edition of La Flèche Wallonne turned into a true elimination race. Many favorites dropped off, resulting in a particularly thrilling race. Maxim Van Gils (24) and Andreas Kron (25) remained attentive at the front throughout the afternoon. Just after the second passage of the Mur de Huy - the men had to conquer the climb a total of 4 times this year - Danish rider Soren Kragh Andersen accelerated. He gained almost a minute and a half, but from the chasing peloton, Van Gils, along with Vauquelin, Santiago Buitrago, Richard Carapaz, and Williams, initiated the pursuit.

When everything came back together about ten kilometres from the finish line, Maxim Van Gils comfortably stayed at the front of the group. La Flèche Wallonne was ultimately decided, as tradition dictates, on the Mur. Williams made a decisive move in the final 300 meters to which no one had an answer. Maxim Van Gils pushed hard until the end and earned his spot on the podium in Huy.

"This is my favorite week of spring classics. The Amstel last weekend wasn't good, we know that. But as a team, we felt good. Fortunately, we remained motivated to give it our all here in La Flèche Wallonne, and we succeeded. I think this makes up for a lot, we can be satisfied."

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL posted this Flèche Wallonne report:

The Ardennes continued on Wednesday, with La Flèche Wallonne and its famous finish atop the Mur de Huy. It was a steady start to racing and the day took a normal shape with a six rider group escaping early in the day. However, with just over 100 kilometres to go the skies opened, with snow and heavy rain lashing down on the bunch. Suddenly, the day became a lot more attritional and the bunch split into pieces. The original breakaway was soon caught and with around 60 kilometres to go there were only around 45 riders left in the race; with Kevin Vermaerke and Enzo Leijnse still present for the team. Unfortunately, Vermaerke had to let go of the bunch at around 35 kilometres to go alongside multiple other riders. Leijnse fought hard over terrain that didn’t fully suit his specialities, but the tall Dutchman managed to use his size and power to get over the steep ramps. In the end, Leijnse was part of the reduced peloton which fought it out for the win on Mur de Huy; where he pushed all the way to the line and finished just outside the top 20.

Leijnse expressed: “I think I always do well in this type of weather. Today the plan was to go full for Kevin and give him a shot at it up the Mur de Huy but in conditions like this it is always hard and a lot of the peloton struggled. I was a bit surprised to still be in the group for the finish but I tried to go up the Mur as fast as possible, but the result today is all that I had in my legs. I have to be happy with that and it was nice to up there.”

And here’s the Flèche Wallonne report from Ilan Van Wilder’s Team Soudal Quick-Step:

One of the most famous climbs in cycling, Mur de Huy celebrated 40 years since first hosting the finish of Flèche Wallonne, a race our team won three times. This 88th edition turned out to be a memorable one due to the inclement weather, very similar to the conditions the riders had to endure seven years ago in Liège–Bastogne–Liège: heavy rain, freezing temperatures and even snow at one point, with 80 kilometers to go.

All these unwanted ingredients made for a brutal day in the saddle, which led to the first cracks in the peloton appearing more than 60 kilometers from the finish. One by one, many riders succumbed to the cold and abandoned the race – including many of the favourites – leaving a depleted peloton to tackle the final lap of the Belgian Classic. Among the 30-odd riders left in the main group was also Ilan Van Wilder, making his fifth consecutive appearance in Flèche Wallonne, who remained at all times well placed, saving his energy for the last time up the Mur de Huy.

Ilan Van Wilder in 2023 winning Tre Valli Varesine.

Several attacks spiced up the final kilometers, but despite all these efforts, the race once again came down to a sprint on the double-digit gradients of the 1.3km climb, where Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) emerged victorious. Digging deep on the hardest part of the climb, Ilan managed to finish in the top 20, coming home in 16th place.

“Today was just brutal, so chapeau to Ilan for the way he kept on fighting in this horrible race. It was difficult out there, and you could see that in the many abandons that led to many of the teams having nobody at the finish. It was one of the hardest races of the year, and now that it’s done and dusted, we’ll focus on the last classic of the spring, Liège–Bastogne–Liège Brutal”, explained Soudal Quick-Step sports director Klaas Lodewyck.

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