Walloon Arrow: Julian Alaphilippe won for the third time

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In the women’s race held a few hours earlier, Katharzina Neviadoma (Canyon-SRAM) took second place, losing only to Dutch Anna van der Bregen (SD Worx), who won for the seventh time.

The decisive battle for victory – between women and men – took place, as usual, on a short but steep ascent to the finish line.

Alaphilippe met Roglic in the last meters. Valverde, the five-time winner of the event, lost six seconds ahead, and Kwetkovsky – 32 seconds. The pole has already been in the top ten in Walloon stock several times, and in 2014 stood on the third tier of the podium.

Alaphilippe broke a series of very unsuccessful starts. He only had his second victory of the season on Wednesday, having triumphed over a month ago at the Terino-Adriatico stage.

– This success makes me very happy. Few cyclists have won here the world champion jersey (former was Australian Cadell Evans in 2010 – PAP). I used my knowledge of the passage to Mur de Huy – Alaphilippe, also Arrow award winner in 2018 and 2019, commented.

Shortly before the start, the Emirates team withdrew from the competition. Swiss winner Marc Hershey last year and Tour de France winner Tadej Bojacar. The reason is two cases of coronavirus infection in the team. One of the injured is the Italian player, Diego Ulyssi.

The Walloon Arrow is the second race in the Ardennes Triptych. Belgian Wout van Aert started it victorious last Sunday in the Amstel Gold Race (did not start on Wednesday). The last chord next Sunday will be the oldest of the classics and one of the five so-called Traces of Cycling – Liège – Baston – Liège.