2020 Fleche Wallonne – Highlights, Results, Report
Highlights (Women)
Highlights (Men)
Report (Women)
Anna van der Breggen has made history again by winning the Walloon Arrow for the sixth time. On the Wall of Huy she managed to finish the strong collective work of the Boels Dolmans team in a phenomenal way. Van der Breggen led the last climb of the Wall of Huy from start to finish. In the last hundred meters she managed to fend off the attacks of Demi Vollering and Cecilie Ludwig. Van der Breggen sets a unique record by winning the Walloon Arrow six times in a row.
When asked if winning is boring, Anna says quickly. “No, especially when the team is driving so strong. Christine drove me to the front when the final started. Chantal and Amy were already in the breakaway when we first drove up the Wall. The climb just in front of the wall they drove so hard that no one could attack and I could focus on the final on the Wall. So after all their hard work, I felt a bit of pressure to win here again and luckily it worked out.”
Report (Men)
Buoyed by brilliant performances and wins across the team since the season restart, a fantastic ride from the team at Fleche Wallonne today saw Marc Hirschi able to deliver a ferociously punchy ride up the steep slopes of the Mur de Huy to add another win to the team’s tally of 2020 victories.
Today the riders lined up for Flèche Wallonne, in an unusual autumn slot on the calendar. Thankfully the rain had cleared away as they set out from Huy, with the tough and testing parcours ahead of them and the famous finish atop the Mur de Huy. It didn’t take long for a breakaway of four riders to establish themselves at the head of the race, with the quartet quickly building up an advantage of almost eight minutes.
Alongside some other teams, Felix Gall came to the front of the bunch to help set the tempo as they attempted to slowly reel in the breakaway as the kilometres and climbs ticked by. Coming onto the Mur de Huy for the first time it was Mark Donovan and Robert Power who took over with over with 60 kilometres to go, as the pace increased even further.
However, the breakaway put up a good fight out front and ensured that the peloton kept the speed high for the rest of the afternoon. Thymen Arensman, Michael Storer and Ilan Van Wilder helped to keep Hirschi safe as the race careered towards its conclusion and the final ascent of the Mur de Huy.
Last-man standing from the breakaway, Vansevenant, was caught inside the closing three kilometres, setting up a showdown for the win on the brutally steep slopes. Timing his effort to perfection, Hirschi waited and waited, before launching a devastating kick in the closing 100 metres to take a spectacular win; the 13th victory for Team Sunweb’s Men’s Program in 2020 and Hirschi’s second professional win.
“Today we did a perfect race I think,” explained an elated Hirschi at the finish. “We controlled it from the start onwards. There was only a break of four guys ahead and we helped to set the pace which was really good. When we came onto the final laps the guys always kept me in a good position and followed the attacks. It came all together towards the last climb and I was able to to enter the climb in a good position. I wanted to wait a little bit and used the other guys on the climb. With around 100 metres to go I felt that it was the right moment and started my sprint. I managed to open a gap and could take the win. It was a perfect job from the team today and I’m happy that I had the legs to finish it off. I’m proud of how the team worked today. I didn’t make any mistakes in the finish and I’m really happy to take my second pro win. I’ll enjoy the win now in the next few days before I fully focus on Sunday again.”
Team Sunweb coach Michiel Elijzen added: “The race went really well for us today. We wanted a small break so that we could control the race from the peloton as we knew Marc was one of the favourites on the final climb. Vansevenant put in a really strong ride out front but in the end we were never in trouble in the peloton. The guys did a really good job to keep an eye on Marc and protect him throughout the day, as well as cover any possible breaks. Marc then had the legs on the final climb and finished it off in a great way for us.”
Results (Women)
| 1 | Anna Van der Breggen (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam | 3:17:28 |
| 2 | Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope | 0:00:02 |
| 3 | Demi Vollering (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg | 0:00:06 |
| 4 | Elizabeth Deignan (GBr) Trek-Segafredo Women | 0:00:11 |
| 5 | Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo Women | |
| 6 | Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) CCC-Liv | |
| 7 | Mikayla Harvey (NZl) Equipe Paule Ka | |
| 8 | Liane Lippert (Ger) Team Sunweb Women | 0:00:18 |
| 9 | Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv | 0:00:22 |
| 10 | Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-Sram Racing | 0:00:25 |
Results (Men)
| 1 | Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb | 4:49:17 |
| 2 | Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale | |
| 3 | Michael Woods (Can) EF Pro Cycling | |
| 4 | Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
| 5 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Israel Start-Up Nation | |
| 6 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers | |
| 7 | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:05 |
| 8 | Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo | |
| 9 | Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates | |
| 10 | Simon Geschke (Ger) CCC Team | 0:00:10 |