Van der Breggen wins fourth consecutive La Flèche Wallonne

On Wednesday, reigning WorldTour champion Anna van der Breggen took her fourth consecutive La Flèche Wallonne after a leading quartet was caught halfway up the Mur de Huy. It was the Dutch rider’s third WorldTour victory of the season after series opener Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders.

? #FWWomen – Top 5 ?
? Anna van der Breggen (DLT)
? Ashleigh Moolman (CBT)
? Megan Guarnier (DLT)
4. Annemiek Van Vleuten (MTS)
5. Amanda Spratt (MTS) pic.twitter.com/XD1sLC4EKn

— La Flèche Wallonne (@flechewallonne) April 18, 2018

The Route

The ladies’ edition of La Flèche Wallonne was 118.8-km, with all the climbs in the finishing circuits. First, the riders would roll a larger circuit that was to the south of the men’s big loop before taking on the Cote d’Ereffe, Cote de Cherave and the Mur de Huy twice, the big showdown on second passage of the Huy.

#FlecheWallonne – Ladies version also today.

Route: https://t.co/i9kNj7Rix8 pic.twitter.com/PiOnzNMVUh

— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) April 18, 2018

The Breakaway

Several moves failed to gain traction over the first 35-km before Swiss Doris Schweizer scampered away. Four chasers bridged over the Team Virtu rider. Meanwhile, Sunweb’s Coryn Rivera and Mitchelton-Scott’s Jolien D’hoore both crashed in separate incidents. The leading quintet hit the first ascent of Cote d’Ereffe with a 1:37 lead.

With 40-km to go the break had been corralled by a group of 40. France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, the 2014 world champion, was very active, and she was in a high-powered quartet that dashed away before the first climb of the Huy.

It was Ferrand-Prevot, Megan Guarnier, Amanda Spratt and Janneke Ensing who were the rabbits for the rest of the favourites over the Huy and into the final lap.

Lead group of 4 over the top of the Mur. @MeganGuarnier among them #FWWomen pic.twitter.com/yd2RYizkgV

— Billy Crane (@erabu) April 18, 2018

The Huy

It was tense over the next 25-km as the teams who missed out on the break worked hard to bring back the foursome. Finally, with just 500-metres and the wall to go, the quartet submitted. Van der Breggen wound up and struck for the triumph. Guarnier placed third, with South African Ashleigh Moolman (Cervelo-Bigla) the runner-up–both women earning their first WorldTour podiums of the season.

Van der Breggen and Gaurnier’s Boels-Dolmans teammate Karol-Ann Canuel was the top Canadian at 22nd.

2018 La Flèche Wallonne
1) Anna van der Breggen (The Netherlands/Boels-Dolmans) 3:10:14
2) Ashleigh Moolman (South Africa/Cervelo-Bigla) +0:02
3) Megan Guarnier (U.S.A./Boels-Dolmans) s.t.
22) Karol-Ann Canuel (Canada/Boels-Dolmans) +0:47
51) Alison Jackson (Canada/TIBCO-SVB) +5:45