With triumph, pride and exertion etched across his face, Bahrain Victorious’ 30 year old Belgian, Dylan Teuns, spread his arms wide and crossed the line of La Flèche Wallone several bike lengths ahead of the undisputed King of the Mur de Huy, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) & Aleksandr Vlasov (BORA-Hansgrohe).
“It’s unbelievable. It’s a dream that comes true to win today on the Mur in front of my fans, wife and family. It’s a super special one. I always dreamed of a classic victory and today it happens finally.”
Bahrain Victorious had shown strength in numbers earlier in the race, forcing a split when crosswinds threatened and continued to do so as more selections were made on the later climbs. First Jack Haig attacked on the Côte de Cherave, then Wout Poels went on the front just after the leaders went over the Mur for the 2nd of 3 times, and finally, Damiano Caruso put himself into the wind at the foot of the Côte d’Ereffe.
After the final 2 leaders – Soren Kragh Andersen (DSM) & Mauri Vansevenant (QST) – had been caught, Teuns, (3rd here in 2017) found himself in a large group of nearly 20 riders as the famous 800 meters of ‘The Mur’ rose like a wall ahead of them. Leaving the current Tour de France & world champions in his wake, Teuns wove his way through the group and was left alone with Valverde at the 300 meter mark. Despite all his experience, the 5 time Fleche winner simply couldn’t keep up with the Victorious hero of the day.
Dylan’s victory is the 14th of his career, and the first in a one-day race, although it crowns a super-successful April campaign: top ten finishes in 4 from 5 classics.
“The moment I crossed the flame rouge I was really confident. I had something left in the legs and made an extra acceleration and was enough to take the victory. I’m in the shape of my life, I showed that at the Classics. Now I’m heading to Liège with big motivation.”
It takes the tally to 13 wins by Bahrain Victorious riders in 2022, and comes after Matej Mohorič’s ‘monumental’ Milan-Sanremo performance a month ago.
Gorazd Štangelj, Sports Director in Wallone, commended the entire team’s performance on the day: “With the quality of the names on the start list I wouldn’t say we expected this result. We were fighting for a good result and we didn’t want to wait, so we tried some moves on the circuit, and kept Dylan & Wout for the finale. The best riders came to the bottom of the final climb but Dylan had incredible legs, and he showed he has that extra star quality today.”
2022 Fleche Wallonne Brief Results
- Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious) at 4h42’12”
- Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) at 2″
- Aleksander Vlasov (BORA hansgrohe) s.t.
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