After 198.6 kilometres in some of the most adverse weather conditions, Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) triumphed at the Fleche Wallonne 2024. The Briton took the decision on the Mur de Huy, which is over 20 per cent steep, and won ahead of Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) and Maxim van Gils (Lotto-Dstny). Many of the highly rated favourites such as Thomas Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) were left behind early on in the rain, wind, hail and sometimes snow. Only 44 riders reached the finish line. There were shocking pictures of Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), who suffered hypothermia.
Fleche Wallonne 2024: Stephen Williams saves a narrow lead to the finish line
A group of around 30 riders, some of whom were frozen through, set off together on the final ascent to the Mur de Huy, which had to be crossed four times. The riders waited a long time before Williams attacked with a good 300 metres before the finish line and took a narrow lead over the line.
"What a day! I am so happy. I can't believe I won the Fleche Wallonne. I love racing in weather like this. The guys gave me fantastic support all day. That it's the win is something very special," said the frozen and thickly wrapped up winner Stephen Williams at the finish.
La Fleche Wallonne 2024 - Results: the top 10
- Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) 4:40:24
- Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) +0:00
- Maxim van Gils (Lotto-Dstny) +0:03
- Benoit Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +0:03
- Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:03
- Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +0:10
- Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) +0:10
- Dorian Godon (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +0:10
- Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:10
- Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) +0:10
How the Fleche Wallonne 2024 went
After the start, a four-man breakaway group initially formed: Lilian Calmejane (Intermarche-Wanty), Alan Jousseaume (TotalEnergies), James Whelan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi). They were joined a little later by two more companions, Igor Chzhan (Astana Qazaqstan Team) and Johan Meens (Bingoal-WB). In the peloton, the favourite teams Ineos Grenadiers and Lidl-Trek were in control and allowed the escape group to pull away to a maximum of around 4:30 minutes.
Bad weather makes Fleche Wallonne 2024 an ordeal
As the final circuit began, it started to rain, with hail in places and even some snow in the finish area. This made conditions more difficult and the peloton became increasingly fast. Jousseaume stopped to put on a rain jacket. This took so long that it cost him his place in the leading group.
The peloton flew apart on the edge of the wind due to the adverse conditions. Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) and Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) got into difficulties - Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) and Thomas Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) also crashed and had nothing more to do with the outcome of the race. Around 70 kilometres before the finish, the breakaway group had already been dropped by the peloton.
Strong group around Williams and Carapaz
Sören Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) then took heart, broke away as a soloist and built up a lead of more than a minute. On the third passage of the Mur de Huy, a new strong chasing group formed out of the peloton with Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious), Maxim van Gils (Lotto-Dstny), Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education EasyPost).
In the thinned-out peloton of around 25 riders, Uno-X Mobility took responsibility, kept the gap to the chasing group at 25 seconds and closed the gap again 16 kilometres before the finish.
Decision at the Mur de Huy
With 14 kilometres to go, the main group caught up with Kragh Andersen in the Cote d'Ereffe. The decision was made on the Mur de Huy. Around 30 riders tackled the final climb together. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale initially set the pace for Benoit Cosnefroy, before Visma | Lease a Bike took over again briefly.
In the end, it was Stephen Williams who launched his attack around 300 metres before the finish. Cosnefroy tried to respond. But the Frenchman's legs exploded. His compatriot Kevin Vauquelin got a second wind and came threateningly close to Williams. But it was not quite enough to catch up with the professional from Israel-Premier Tech. The 27-year-old secured the first victory for a Briton at the 88th edition of the Fleche Wallonne.
