Australia’s Simon Gerrans claimed victory in the 100th edition of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Classic in a sprint finish yesterday.
Simon Gerrans of Australia celebrates after crossing the finish line of the 100th Liège-Bastogne-Liège Classic race. Photo: Laurent Dubrule / Reuters
Defending champion Dan Martin of Ireland took the lead with just 1km to go, but he crashed on the final left-hand corner when his back wheel went from under him under pressure from Spain’s Alejandro Valverde.
Gerrans then made his move, just holding off Valverde and Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski in a drawn-out sprint over the uphill finish.
Valverde finished second and Kwiatkowski was third in the 263-km race.
“Everybody was really tired coming into the finish, and fortunately I was well placed,” Gerrans said.
“I was confident that I could beat these guys in a small sprint. But after 260k of racing, anything is possible, so I gave it my maximum.”
The Tour de France winner Chris Froome was forced out of the event just before the start due to a chest infection. – The Guardian
