Tadej Pogacar bounced back in style after his Paris-Roubaix and Amstel Gold Race heartbreaks as he claimed a second Flèche Wallonne title with an early attack in the finale on Wednesday.
The world champion attacked when 400 metres from the finish on the brutally steep Mur de Huy and never looked back, prevailing over France’s Kévin Vauquelin and third-placed Tom Pidcock of Britain.
The Slovenian, who was pipped by Mattias Skjelmose at the Amstel Gold Race last Sunday and by Mathieu van der Poel at Paris-Roubaix after overcooking a turn, mastered the tough conditions as rain and cold weather affected the race throughout.
Sensing that his main rival, Remco Evenepoel, was struggling, Tour de France champion Pogacar launched his attack early on a hill averaging a gradient of 9.8% and quickly opened a seemingly unassailable lead.
Vauquelin distanced the skimmed bunch to take second place for the second year in a row while Pidcock grabbed the last place on the podium.
“It’s a beautiful place, but as a cyclist you don’t like it so much, such a tough finish,” said Pogacar, the Team UAE Emirates leader. “I accelerated and when I looked over my shoulder, no one was there. But really that’s the hardest kilometre in cycling. It’s a really great feeling, the weather wasn’t so good but winning again is all that counts. We worked well as a team today and we’ll have a similar one for Sunday at Liège.”
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Skjelmose had been highly fancied again, but the 24-year-old was one of several riders who slid out of the race on a slick corner around 40km from home on a day of unrelenting rain.