Making his effort in the final few metres, Kim Kirchen (THR) beat all the main favourites to capture his first Fleche Wallonne success after finishing second of the race back in 2005. Under heavy rain, the final decision took place as expected in the terrifying climb up the Mur the Huy. Cadel Evans was the first to make a move attacking with 400m to go but the Australian failed to hang on to the lead as Kim Kirchen proved to be the strongest when it really mattered. The rider from Luxemburg wins this 72nd edition of the Fleche ahead of Evans and last Sunday’s winner of the Amstel God Race, Damiano Cunego. After taking off under a bright sunshine, the race proved to be extremely eventful after 80 kilometres of riding with a group of 19 riders including Andy Schleck and Philippe Gilbert enjoying a long break in the lead.
Time has come for revenge. In the world of classic specialists, time is counted to extend line by line the length of a prize list. The Ardennes week will give the riders the opportunity to clinch prestigious victories that stand out in a career. The one conquered after a violent effort in the famous Mur de Huy is part of the most coveted of the year.
Already considered as a clear contender after his first two Belgian campaigns in 2006 and 2007, Damiano Cunego has climbed one step higher by triumphing last Sunday at the Amstel Gold Race. In the Cauberg, the Italian managed to counter an impressive threesome with Franck Schleck, Alejandro Valverde and Davide Rebellin. For these three former winners of one of the Ardennes races, two big dates remain to re-establish the balance with the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Unless others like Yaroslav Popovych, Karsten Kroon, Thomas Dekker or the likes of Philippe Gilbert, manage to enter that very exclusive club of winners.
The main riders from the 25 teams
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GERMANY Gerolsteiner : Rebellin (Ita), Schumacher (All) Team Milram : Astarloa (Esp), R.Grabsch (All), Zabel (All) BELGIUM Topsport Vlaanderen : Pauwels (BEL) Silence - Lotto : Evans (Aus), Popovych (Ukr) Quick Step : Barredo (Esp), A.Efimkin (Rus) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner : Cappelle (Bel) DENMARK Team CSC : F.Schleck, A.Schleck (Lux), Kroon (Hol), Sastre (ESP) SPAIN Caisse d'Epargne : Valverde, Rodriguez, Pereiro, L.L.Sanchez (Esp) Euskaltel - Euskadi : Astarloza, Isasi (ESP) Saunier Duval - Scott : Cobo Acebo (Esp), Ricco (Ita) UNITED STATES High Road : Kirchen (Lux), Boasson Hagen (Nor) Slipstream Chipotle : Millar (Gbr) |
FRANCE AG2R - La Mondiale : Gadret (Fra), Nocentini (Ita), Valjavec (Slo) Agritubel : Moreau, Bichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom : Pineau, Lefèvre (Fra) Credit Agricole : Caucchioli (Ita), Gerrans (Aus), Rolland (Fra) Cofidis Le crédit par téléphone : Duque (Col), Monfort, Verbrugghe (Bel) Française des Jeux : Casar (Fra), Gilbert (Bel) GREAT BRITAIN Barloworld : Cheula (Ita), Duenas Nevado (Esp) ITALY Liquigas : Carlström (Fin), Kreuziger (Rtc) Lampre : Cunego, Rigghi (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems : Ignatiev (Rus) NETHERLANDS Rabobank : T.Dekker (Hol), Freire (Esp), Gesink (Hol) Skil-Shimano : Den Bakker (Hol), Hupond (Fra), Rooijakkers (Hol) Cycle Collstrop : Wesemann (Sui) |
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The organisers of Paris Roubaix (13 avril), Flèche Wallonne (23 avril) and Liège Bastogne Liège (27 avril) have selected teams :
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GERMANY Gerolsteiner (GST) Team Milram (MRM) BELGIUM Landbouwkrediet-Tonissteiner (LAN) Quickstep (QST) Silence - Lotto (SIL) Topsport Vlaanderen (TSV) DENMARK Team CSC (CSC) SPAIN Caisse d’Epargne (GCE) Euskaltel - Euskadi (EUS) Saunier Duval - Scott (SDV) UNITED STATES High Road (THR) Slipstream Chipotle (TSL) |
FRANCE AG2R La Mondiale (ALM) Agritubel (AGR) Bouygues Telecom (BTL) Cofidis Le crédit par téléphone (COF) Credit Agricole (C.A) Française Des Jeux (FDJ) GREAT-BRITAIN Barloworld (BAR) ITALY Lampre (LAM) Liquigas (LIQ) Tinkoff Credit Systems (TCS) NETHERLANDS Rabobank (RAB) Skil-Shimano (SKS) SWEDEN Cycle Collstrop (COS) |
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For the second time of his career after 2004, Davide Rebellin conquered the Fleche Wallonne. The Italian remained patient throughout the 202.5km of the race and made the decisive move in the final demanding climb up the Mur de Huy.
The Italian gives Gerolsteiner its second win in less than a week after Schumacher’s triumph in the Amstel God Race.
With a comfortable 10 metre lead on the finish line, Rebellin beats the two previous winners of the event, Alejandro Valverde (GCE) and Danilo Di Luca (LIQ) who had been the main actors of the race in the last 15 kilometres.
