I have a soft spot for watching the Fleche-Wallone race... to me, there's something kind of romantic about the fact that it just always comes down to that final hill. I think it is something that every cyclist can relate to, sprinting against your buddies for that final town sprint line. There are other races, with huge climbs and epic mountain passes, races with nasty cobble stone sectors and all of that good stuff, but there's something about that short, steep Mur de Huy that is so relatable to me... maybe because its one of the few world tour races that is most similar to the kind of small farm roads that I ride on in NJ, with short, sharp climbs.
Yesterday's race was exciting, first with Kwiato trying to bridge up to the break early, then with Nibbles Jack Haig catching and pushing the break... it was more exciting than previous editions, but once again, it still comes down to the final hill. Alaphillipe played it perfectly... having Schachmann up the road really allowed him to just sit back and not force his hand. He can be a little over-ambitious at times and I think that the make up of riders up the road calmed his tendencies a little... in a sense, he saved his matches for when he really needed them. I really like watching him race. He's always fighting, climbing, descending.
this picture says it all.
