Cyclingheroes

Kirchen wins Fleche Wallonne
Home
Contact
Special Coverage Vuelta Espana 2008
Saul's corner
Interviews
Race reports
Peloton TV
Picture gallery
Other stories
Riders diaries
Live coverage
Cyclingheroes Forum
Book reviews
Doping
Special Coverage
Hall of Fame
Cyclingheroes shop
Race calender
Cyclinheroes Flash-news archive
Links

23.04.2008/ Showing all favourites his backwheel, Kim Kirchen (High Road)) captured his first Fleche Wallonne success after finishing second of the race back in 2005. Under heavy rain, the final decision took place as expected in the terrifying climb up the Mur the Huy. Silence-Lotto's Cadel Evans came in second and Italian rider Damiano Cunego (Lampre) came in third.
© Cyclingheroes
Kim Kirchen surprised all favourites.... (© Cyclingheroes)

Under a bright sunshine and rather warm temperatures 199 riders started the 72nd edition of the 199.5 kilometres long Fleche Wallonne. During a first hour where the riders covered a distance of 47.7 kilometres, immediatly after the start there were series of attacks but no group managed to get away. After the bunched pack cleared the Mur in Huy (km 65.5) for the first time with Ardila (Rabobank) making it first to the top ahead of Tschopp (Bouygues Telecom) and Andy Schleck (CSC), the real action eventually begun during the climb up the Côte d’Ereffe (km 84) where 15 men broke away followed by a group of five including the likes of Philippe Gilbert (Francaise des Jeux) and Alexander Kolobnev (CSC).

19 MEN IN THE LEAD

In the second climb up the Mur de Huy (km 95) 19 riders attacked: Marcus Fothen, Andrea Moletta (both Gerolsteiner), Vincente Garcia-Acosta (Caisse d'Epargne), Fernandez de la Puebla (Saunier Duval), Vladimir Efimkin (AG2R), Andy Schleck, Niki Sörensen (both CSC), Johan Tschopp (Bouygues telecom), Francis Mourey (Frances des Jeux), Pauriol (C.A), Addy Engels (Quickstep), Bileka, Jürgen Van den Broeck (both Silence-Lotto), Marco Pinotti (High Road), Huub Duyn (Slipstream Chipottle), Alexander Kolobnev (CSC), Paul Martens (Rabobank), Philippe Gilbert (Francaise des Jeux) and Simon Spilak (Lampre). At kilometre 115, the front men could enjoy a maximum advantage of 2’50 over the pack. The pace in the main field started increasing with the Cofidis men leading the chase. Seeing the gap seriously dropping down, three men decided to take off in the climb up the Côte de Thon (km 149.5): Jürgen Van Den Broeck (Silence - Lotto), Niki Sörensen and Andy Schleck (CSC).

THE RAIN SHOWS UP

Ten kilometres later while heavy rain showers hit the race, the front group joined up together again while the pack carried on moving closer. With less than 40 kilometres to go, Vladimir Efimkin took off, chased and caught by Nicky Sorensen (CSC). Time had come for local hero Maxime Montfort to give it a go as the Belgian took off on a counter-attack. Eventually nine men bunched up together in the lead with just under 30 kilometres to go: Andrey Grivko (Milram), Laurens Ten Dam (Rabobank), Bert De Waele (Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner), Vladimir Efimkin (AG2R), Niki Sörensen (CSC), Maxime Montfort (Cofidis), Addy Engels (Quickstep), Matthew Lloyd and Jürgen Van Den Broeck (both Silence - Lotto).

WEGMANN LEADS BEFORE THE FINAL BATTLE

Twenty-five kilometres away from the finish line, Andriy Grivko decided to take off on his own. A strong effort that saw the Ukrainian enjoy a 30” lead over a fifty-man group led by the Caisse d’Epargne boys. The Ukrainian was eventually caught in the penultimate climb up the Côte d’Ahin. Immediately after it was Gustav Larsson’s (CSC) turn to break away. The Swede caught by Alexander Efimkin (Quickstep) and Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner) enjoyed a few kilometres in the lead before suffering a fall with under ten kilometres to go. German National Champion Wegmann then made his effort in impressive fashion and even reached the final kilometre mark with a lead of 20 seconds over a group with all favourites.

EVANS NOT STRONG ENOUGH FOR KIRCHEN

Not enough however for Wegmann who couldn’t do much In the final climb up the Mur de Huy as the big guns prepared for the final battle. The first man to attack was to be Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans. Hanging on in the Australian’s wheel, Kim Kirchen finally gave all he had to conquer his first ever Fleche Wallonne, overtaking Evans in the last few metres. Damiano Cunego (Lampre) had to settle for third spot ahead of Gesink and Dekker (both Rabobank) and therefore failed in his quest for an Amstel-Fleche-Liege treble.

"I thought it was too big a gear, I went up the last 300 metres in 53x21." Kim Kirchen said. Kirchen continued by saying: "but I was stronger than three years ago - when I also waited until almost the last possible moment to attack. That time, in 2005, I finished second, but on this occasion I’ve taken the most beautiful victory of my career. Often I’ve left it too late to win, and after attacking I kept on thinking I would get caught, but it didn’t happen."

Rabobank young guns Thomas Dekker and Robert Gesink impressed many followers with a strong performance. Robert Gesink said: "This was the best we could do. Maybe I could have ended up on the podium because I overtook Cunego on the finish, but he countered that. A shame. But otherwise I am definitely satisfied. Second-year professional and a fourth-place finish here. That boosts morale."

Gesink knew what he was in for because the rider had been present last year as well. Then he misjudged his position at the start of the wall and started the extremely steep climb, which he subsequently completed fastest of all, too far in the back. The ninth place was a good result. On Wednesday he was again one of the fastest. In spite of that, Gesink does not think the Wall really suits a climber like him. "I am not that good at explosive climbs. I can handle the inclination, but there are men who are extremely explosive on these short parts. I like it better when a climb last a little longer."

During the first part of the concluding climb both Gesink and Dekker sat back and observed the developments, but both came on strong in the last two hundred meters. Gesink: "I know that the rider who has saved most will win here. I held back as much as I could during the race and on the Wall I chose to let it go for a moment. I think that was a smart decision, because we overtook a bunch of guys at the end. But some of these men are still just a little too explosive for me on a climb like this."

But when are you ready to seize power in such a classic? Gesink: "I am 21 and I am new to the game. In a race like the Flèche Wallonne it also boils down to some experience and toughness. I am obviously mostly lacking in that area. But that also goes for Thomas. The men that finish in front of us are all quite a bit older. They will have to try and defeat us when we are that age."

"It was certainly not the outcome we'd hoped for because everything looked great for us until it started to rain. We were extremely unlucky and Sastre, Kroon and in the end Gustav Larson crashed after we'd been sitting up front throughout the race," explained Team CSC sports director Kim Andersen.

"Our tactics were to make the race as tough as possible and try to be part of as much action as possible. With Nicki Sørensen, Andy Schleck and Kolobnev in what could've been the decisive break it all looked perfect especially since Nicki and Andy were still feeling strong towards the end. Eventually when they were caught the rain set in and so did the crashes. Things started to look up again though when Gustav made a brilliant attempt at the end, but when he crashed as well there was nothing left for us to do as the others were unable to make it back to the front. It's a shame our result didn't match up to our efforts by far, but I do think we have every reason to be hopeful about the big finale on Sunday [Liege - Bastogne - Liege, editor]."

Join forum and discuss the Fleche Wallonne 2008

Picture gallery: Fleche Wallonne 2008 (3 pages)

Back to:

Race reports

Results Fleche Wallonne 2008
 
1 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team High Road                                  4.35.29 (43.45 km/h)
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto                                    0.01
3 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre                                          0.02
4 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                                            
5 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank                                            
6 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                      
7 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas                                      0.08
8 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                             0.10
9 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Barloworld                               0.15
10 John Gadret (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                                0.20
11 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                                   
12 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner                     
13 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                          
14 Iouri Trofimov (Rus) Bouygues Telecom                               0.24
15 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                    
16 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Quick Step                                  0.26
17 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems                             
18 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval - Scott                      0.29
19 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                0.32
20 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux                             
21 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                     
22 Moises Duenas Nevado (Spa) Barloworld                               0.37
23 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner                   0.40
24 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram                                      
25 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto                                    
26 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas                                        0.42
27 Kevin Ista (Bel) Agritubel                                          0.45
28 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2r - La Mondiale                           0.46
29 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott                         0.49
30 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                   0.53
31 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                                       0.54
32 Igor Astarloa Ascasibar (Spa) Team Milram                              
33 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank                                   0.56
34 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank                                      1.02
35 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas                                       1.09
36 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                  1.12
37 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Crédit Agricole                                1.17
38 Andry Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram                                      1.25
39 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30           1.34
40 Christophe Rinero (Fra) Agritubel                                      
41 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre                                        1.40
42 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre                                           1.42
43 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step                          1.50
44 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Cycle Collstrop                                1.51
45 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step                                     
46 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Silence - Lotto                             2.33
47 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank                                         2.38
48 Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                    
49 Mario Aerts (Bel) Silence - Lotto                                   2.47
50 David Millar (GBr) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30             2.49
51 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas                                         
52 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux                            2.56
53 David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott              3.02
54 Hugo Sabido (Por) Barloworld                                           
55 Sven Renders (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen                              3.05
56 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2r - La Mondiale                             
57 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Française des Jeux                         3.08
58 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone                 
59 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen                             
60 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole                                 3.10
61 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                              3.18
62 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom                                 3.24
63 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen                           
64 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Cycle Collstrop                                3.28
65 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr) Silence - Lotto                              3.35
66 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step                                        3.41
67 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre                                        
68 René Mandri (Est) AG2r - La Mondiale                                3.58
69 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                        4.01
70 Bert Scheirlinckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner              4.31
71 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems                       4.45
72 Ruben Lobato Elvira (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott                     4.51
73 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux                                4.56
74 Kenny Van Der Schueren (Bel) Cycle Collstrop                        5.09
75 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2r - La Mondiale                 5.13
76 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                                            
77 Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Skil-Shimano                                  
78 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                                           
79 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC                                    
80 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone               5.16
81 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) Française des Jeux                         5.19
82 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                                 5.22
83 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2r - La Mondiale                                
84 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto                         5.24
85 José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott              5.37
86 Alberto Fernandez De La Puebla Ramos (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott    6.03
87 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Liquigas                                           
88 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank                                         6.15
89 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen                             6.19
90 Vincent Jérôme (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                               6.26
91 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Team High Road                            6.35
92 Michal Golas (Pol) Cycle Collstrop                                     
93 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                            
94 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                    6.43
95 Francis Mourey (Fra) Française des Jeux                                
96 Serguei Klimov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems                         6.48
97 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems                               
98 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                              6.50
99 Andy Cappelle (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner                  6.55
100 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Agritubel                                   7.21
101 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone             7.22
102 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team High Road                                 7.26
103 Adam Hansen (Aus) Team High Road                                      
104 Iñaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                          
105 Juan José Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                    7.38
106 Maxime Méderel (Fra) Crédit Agricole                               7.44
107 Riccardo Riccò (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott                         8.22
108 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team CSC                                 9.02
109 Daniel Martin (Irl) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30           9.40
110 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre                                     9.44
111 Michael Barry (Can) Team High Road                                 9.48
112 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott              9.50
113 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems                          9.54
114 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel                                  9.56
115 Christopher Froome (Ken) Barloworld                                   
116 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram                                      9.58
117 Hubert Schwab (Swi) Quick Step                                    10.06
118 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Silence - Lotto                           10.07
119 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale                            10.08

Get news and updates of our live coverage calender and the latest information about our new project www.peloton.tv  .  Subscribe to our newsletter:

Subscribe to cyclingheroes_eng
Powered by sports.groups.yahoo.com

Link: New Cyclingheroes Website

Custom Search

By clicking to an outside link from our website, you automatically release us from any and all liability. Cyclingheroes has no control over the content of outside links, or sites linked from there, nor do we endorse anything that may be of a illegal and/or vulgar nature. Cyclingheroes provides outside links only as a free service to our readers.