La Flèche Wallonne: Astana's Fuglsang claims second place atop Mur de Huy

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM - After an impressive final climb on the Mur de Huy, Jakob Fuglsang finished second in La Flèche Wallonne. He came close to victory, but it was Julian Alaphilippe who closed the gap and won the sprint. Another strong performance of the Astana Pro Team rider and his teammates after finishing third on Sunday in the Amstel Gold Race, the team's press office informs.

"This time I'm more happy with my podium than after the Amstel Gold Race, as La Flèche Wallonne normally doesn't suit me. It was a very nervous day with a lot of wind and crashes. We had the tactic that I had to try to stay as calm as possible until the final climb and to give it a try there. Not trying it in the final hundred meters, but right from halfway the climb to put the more explosive guys under pressure. That kind of succeeded, only thing was that Julian Alaphilippe couldn't be stopped. When he passed me I thought I could still overtake him before the finish, but I had nothing left for the final meters. I want to thank my teammates for their great work today, but also our sponsors like Samruk who's making this possible. I gave it all today and for this kind of finish, I can be happy with this result. It just shows that my shape is super good, that I can finish like this in a race that normally doesn't suit me. I'm happy for that and I look forward to Sunday, hopefully, that will be another nice race for us," said Jakob Fuglsang.

A hard and windy day in Belgium at La Flèche Wallonne, with a nervous peloton in the final. Just before the day's breakaway got caught, there were multiple attacks and Spanish champion Gorka Izagirre made it in a chasing group. In the hectic final, both Omar Fraile and Ion Izagirre crashed, but luckily they don't suffer any serious injuries. In the end, Gorka Izagirre did a final lead-out for Jakob Fuglsang towards the Mur de Huy. From this position, Fuglsang put on a high pace and created a gap with the reduced peloton.

It was only Julian Alaphilippe who could bridge the gap, together they sprint for the victory, with last year's winner Alaphilippe being the fastest in the final meters. It's the second podium for Jakob Fuglsang in the Ardennes classics, and the third one this Classics season after his second place in Strade Bianche. On Sunday, Liege-Bastogne-Liege awaits for Astana Pro Team, the fourth Monument of the 2019 season.

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