Tadej Pogacar ignites La Flecha Wallona with Mikel Landa third

BARCELONA, 19 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The cyclist Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) won La Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday, disputed between Herve and the Mur de Huy over 194.3 kilometers, by beating the wall after almost 4 and a half hours of racing over the Danish Mattias Skjelmose (Trek- Segafredo) and the Spanish Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious), third.

The Slovenian ‘prince’ is still sweet at this start of 2023 and adds this Walloon Arrow, the first of his record, to the recent victories in the Amstel Gold Race or Tour of Flanders. This time, without attacks in the distance, just climbing the ramps of the Wall of Huy better than anyone.

In a poster that already left him as a clear favourite, the test was reaching a known end; fight between ‘roosters’ in the final climb. And, there, Tadej Pogacar is unstoppable. Of the few, or the only one, who made a large part of the climb sitting down, he changed his pace about 150 meters from the finish line and no one could follow him.

Looking back, contemplating the decline of his rivals and that nobody had his legs, the Slovenian managed the wall and its almost 20 percent gradient in some sections almost perfectly. He gave the feeling that he could do better, but it was not necessary to demand more of his legs. Why look for more watts of power if no one had the ones he put up?

Pogacar started 2023 winning the Jaén Paraíso Interior Classic, he continued winning in the Tour of Andalusia and Paris-Nice, and despite losing the ‘Monument’ of Milan-Sanremo, he conquered the Tour of Flanders for, in the Amstel and in this Arrow Valona, ​​show that you are even stronger than in the past.

Already in the final climb to the Wall of Huy, of 1.3 kilometers at 9.5 percent of average slope, the only leader who tried to attack -and he already reached 300 meters from the finish line- was the Frenchman Romain Bardet (Team DSM), but Tadej Pogacar was very well positioned in the lead and followed him.

Shortly after he accelerated, without attacking as such, and his change of pace was enough for the rest to look at him from a distance, trying to follow his wake. Among them, an outstanding Mikel Landa who was third, arriving with the same time as Pogacar and Skjelmose, second.

It was not the day for Enric Mas (Movistar Team), who started the Wall too late and entered the finish line 17th, 15 seconds behind Pogacar. Roger Adrià (Kern Pharma Team) and Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) also ‘shot’ a good Arrow, 12 and 13 respectively, 9 and 10 seconds behind the winner.

It was a Walloon Arrow of many attacks and escapes. The Danish Soren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) stood out, who spent practically the entire race on the run, changing breakaway partners, to be caught 6.5 kilometers from the end. The last survivor was Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-Quick Step), neutralized on the Wall.