Maxim Iglinskiy claimed the biggest victory of his career after a brave late charge at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Surprise winner takes spoils in Belgium
Maxim Iglinskiy claimed the biggest victory of his career after a brave late charge at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
The Kazakh rider hunted down Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) on the industrial run-in to Ans, catching and passing the Italian as the riders headed under the one-kilometre mark before powering to a 21-second victory.
The win saw Astana take their second win during the Ardennes Classics after Enrico Gasparotto, who also clinched third on the day, claimed Amstel Gold a week previous.
The monument provided a spectacular finish as an elite selection formed on the penultimate Côte de la Roche au Faucons climb.
Not content to sit in, Nibali kicked on again, quickly taking 23 seconds as the riders behind looked at one another to close down the gap.
Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Iglinskiy were the first to give chase, yet indecision reigned in the group behind as the riders sat up, unwilling to do the work on the run up to the Côte de Saint-Nicolas.
That group of favourites were forced to sprint it out for third, 36 seconds back, with Thomas Voecker (Europcar) and Dan Martin (Garmin-Barracuda) rounding out the top five.
Classics finale
In mixed conditions typical of the Ardennes, the final race in the Spring Classics got under way, yet the riders had to wait until 45 kilometres before a move was finally allowed off the front.
Three riders were joined by a further trio to combine into a six-man collective, building up a handy maximum advantage of 12 minutes and 35 seconds before Katusha began to set a tempo.
On the run back up from Bastogne the climbs arrived thick and fast, RadioShack-Nissan hitting the front on the Cote de Stockeu as the peloton began to fracture.
Over the Haute-Levee a counter attack kicked out of the bunch with Vasili Kiryienka (Movistar), David Le Lay (Saur-Sojasun) and Pierre Rolland (Europcar) heading up the road and bridging to the original escapees.
BMC Racing and Lotto-Belisol took up the chase on the lead-up to the Cote de la Redoute, yet surprisingly no big attacks went off the front with the favourites content to watch each other
The combined weight of climbing soon began to add up as the bunch found itself whittled down to around 35 riders, with things finally exploding on the penultimate ramp.
Nibali looked to have the race sewn up with a gutsy attack yet Iglinskiy would not be denied, dropping Rodriguez before powering into the lead for a superb victory.
