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Tadej Pogacar was the talk of the peloton, but the pre-race favourite, who was on the hunt for the Ardennes triple after winning Fleche Wallonne and Amstel Gold, had his race end early with a crash that saw him abandon with a wrist injury. This was later confirmed as a fractured scaphoid by UAE Team Emirates.
That left Soudal QuickStep with the defending champion and dominant rider in Pogacar’s absence, Remco Evenepoel. Evenepoel’s team were on duty at the head of the peloton for most of the race, setting a solid tempo over the hills of the Ardennes and steadily reducing the size of the peloton as they traversed the 258-kilometre course.
Evenepoel made his first move on the Cote de la Redoute, waiting until teammate Ilan van Wilder’s final effort was used up before he launched a withering attack over the top of the famous climb. Tom Pidcock (INEOS Greandiers) was able to stay close enough to fight his way back into contact with the defending champion on the descent, but he couldn’t help when Evenepoel flicked his elbow to get the British star to roll through for a turn of pace.
Instead, Evenepoel upped the tempo soon after and dropped Pidcock, the second attack leaving his rival well and truly behind as he struck out solo for the finish.
The chase behind was punctuated by groups reforming and re-attacking, without enough team presence to mount a concerted chase of the world champion, and the final kilometres saw Evenepoel taking the corners cautiously to avoid crashing in the slippery conditions.
He crossed the line with over a minute’s advantage to take the win in front of an adoring Belgian home crowd, while behind him Pidcock won the sprint for second ahead of Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) in third, with Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) fourth after the trio had escaped on the Cote de la Roux aux Faucons.
“It’s amazing, a super tough race, a long race and hard conditions,” said Evenepoel. “Also the brutal crash of Tadej and some others, I wish them all my best wishes.
“But I have to thank my team for this beautiful victory because they put on a great show working for me. It’s their victory as well.
“It’s an amazing feeling, especially with this special jersey.”
Evenepoel will continue on to the Giro d’Italia, where he’ll go up against a strong field including Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), Geraint Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart (both INEOS Grenadiers).
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