Attritional isn’t usually a word used to describe Flèche Wallonne, but the term fit on a cold, wet, miserable day that saw fewer than 40 riders come to the base of the Mur de Huy in a group for the final ascent. Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) – who had signaled his form earlier in the race with a move – bided his time on the climb and launched a late attack with just 300 meters to go that saw little early response. The British rider, who also won the opening race of the WorldTour calendar, the Tour Down Under, held off a late surge from Arkéa-B&B Hotels’ Kevin Vaquelin for the win. Lotto Dstny’s Maxim Van Gils, another early season phenom, was third.
- The racing was dominated by absolutely atrocious weather, with rain, sleet, and even snow falling on much of the second half of the race. Terrible conditions + a finish that favors punchy climbers + a circuit that sends the riders past the buses for an easy climb-off/DNF meant that only 44 riders – a little more than a quarter of the field – even finished. More teams than not had just a single finisher, and five were full-team DNFs.
- Amid the horrid conditions, it was Uno-X Mobility – the only team to finish all starters – that looked most aggressive. While the team didn’t factor in either the early break or the chase, once the field hit the Mur circuit and the rain started to fall at roughly the midway point of the race they were a near-constant presence at the front of a field that rapidly dwindled to just 50 riders. When Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Søren Kragh Andersen got away it was Uno-X’s Markus Hoelgaard who (for a time) gave chase, and even after he was caught they did a majority of the pacemaking to keep the gap manageable.
- Williams served notice of his form with a probing attack around 30 km to go that drew out a promising batch of chasers in Vaquelin, Van Gils, EF Education-EasyPost’s Richard Carapaz, and Bahrain Victorious’ Santiago Buitrago. The group was ultimately caught with 15 km to go and Kragh Andersen re-absorbed on the final passage of the Côte d’Ereffe, setting up the usual high-speed bunch jostling for position into the crucial ascent of the Mur.
- It was Uno-X and Visma-Lease a Bike who led the charge, with Lidl-Trek’s Toms Skujinš taking over the pace on the early part of the climb. Tense, sometimes sharp-elbowed battles for position unfolded as riders waited for the opportune moment, but it was Williams who caught them by surprise with a strong move up the left side of the road. A few moments hesitation was all he needed and Vaquelin’s late surge fell just short at the line.
Brief analysis
- We can’t underscore just how bad the weather was today. Temperatures were around 5°C / 45°F for much of the day, and colder at times. While some bare legs were spotted, many of the riders were bundled up like for a cold training ride, with waterproof jackets, leg warmers, and other foul-weather gear. Williams, the winner, was even wearing a thermal cap under his helmet. (Second- and third-place finishers Vaquelin and Van Gils, however, went the Belgian hardman route without jacket or even knee warmers) while Van Gils inexplicably climbed the Mur with one glove, Michael Jackson-style.
- If Israel-Premier Tech finds its way back to the WorldTour after next year’s relegation cycle, it’ll have Williams to thank. Of its four WorldTour-level wins this season, Williams is responsible for three: a stage and overall at TDU and now Flèche Wallonne. This has clearly been a breakout year for the 27-year-old Welshman, who turned pro with Bahrain in 2019 and had a quiet few years before a stage win at the 2022 Tour de Suisse and a stage and overall at last year’s Tour of Norway gave notice to his abilities.
- Speaking of knocking on the door, Flèche Wallonne is the second WorldTour race this year where Arkéa – one of the smallest teams in the WorldTour – nearly upset the favorites themselves. Vauquelin’s second-place finish follows on Luca Mozzato’s performance at the Tour of Flanders, where he won the small-group sprint for second place behind lone leader Mathieu van der Poel. To top it off, another second-division ProTeam, Lotto Dstny, rounded out the podium, making this the only WorldTour race this season where ProTeams have taken more than one podium spot.
I do enjoy racing in this kind of weather and to come away with the victory, I am just over the moon.
Stephen Williams, obviously having more fun today than most
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