Sergio Henao captured a superb second place at Fleche Wallonne as the race once again came down to the Mur de Huy.
Moreno victory with final surge
Sergio Henao captured a superb second place at Fleche Wallonne as the race once again came down to the Mur de Huy.
The Colombian was positioned perfectly heading onto the brutal ramps of the final climb and had the strength to take Team Sky’s best result in the famous Ardennes Classic.
Daniel Moreno (Katusha) unleashed a decisive turn of pace in the final metres to distance everyone, with Henao having enough in the tank to come around compatriot Carlos Betancur after the AG2R-La Mondiale had hit out early.
As usual it was the famous climb that settled the race and Henao and team-mate Rigoberto Urán moved themselves to the fore on the fan-packed ascent.
World champion and former winner Philippe Gilbert took it up first after BMC Racing controlled the race for the vast majority of the 205-kilometre route.
Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) battled back from a puncture to narrowly miss out on the podium while Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) rounded out the top-five.
Down to the wire
196 riders rolled out of Binche with 12 tough climbs on the agenda in the middle race of the Ardennes trilogy.
Pirmin Lang (IAM Cycling) and Gilles Devilliers (Crelan) headed up the road early on and were joined by Jurgen Van Goolen (Accent.Jobs) to form the break of the day.
The gap spun out to a lofty 9:15 before the peloton, controlled for much of the day by BMC Racing on behalf of race favourite Gilbert, began to chase.
The trio were dragged back heading into the final 50km which only served as a springboard for a further move – Laurens ten Dam (Blanco Cycling) and Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) opening out a slender advantage heading up the Mur for the second and penultimate time.
The pace remained high over the penultimate climb of the Côte de Villers-le-Bouillet, BMC making life difficult for any potential attacks to go clear.
Team Sky arrived into the finale with numbers, neo-pro Josh Edmondson to the fore in his first Ardennes campaign before Henao took it up, pushing on past the tiring Gilbert and Betancur before Moreno finished it off in style.
Strong performance
After the race Sports Director Nicolas Portal again pointed to the improvement of the Colombian in what are significant WorldTour races.
“It was a very good ride from Sergio," he said. "I think he was a bit disappointed at the finish. Still happy with the result, but he felt like he really had the legs to win today.
“These are big races and he is visibly improving from last season. At Amstel he finished sixth, today second so he is clearly very strong. At the end he was a bit isolated as there were a few tired guys. Rigo was up there but missed the kick at the end but we’re happy with how the guys rode.
“Josh was up there too at the end. He did a great job to finish the race with the first guys. We know he is strong and this is yet more good experience for him.
“Now we have Liege on Sunday. Froomey will arrive as will a few other guys but everybody is naturally up for the race.”
