La Flèche Wallonne 2015
| La Flèche Wallonne 2015 | |
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| Racing series | UCI WorldTour - Category 1.UWT |
| Host country |
 Belgium
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| Competition period | April 22, 2015 |
| overall length | 205.5 km |
| Starting field | 200 from 34 nations in 25 teams (of which 133 arrived at the finish) |
| winner | |
| Overall rating | 1. Alejandro Valverde (MOV) 5:08:22 h 2. Julian Alaphilippe (EQS) same time 3. Michael Albasini (OGE) same time  
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| course | |
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| ← 2014 | 2016 → |
The 2015 La Flèche Wallonne cycling race was the 79th edition of this cycling classic and took place on April 22, 2015. It was the second race of the “Ardennes Week” and was held on Wednesday between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège – Bastogne – Liège . The one-day race was part of the UCI WorldTour 2015 and within this the twelfth of 28 races. The total distance of the race was 205.5 kilometers. The winner was the Spaniard Alejandro Valverde from the Spanish team Movistar, ahead of the French Julian Alaphilippe from the Belgian team Etixx-Quick Step and the Swiss Michael Albasini from the Australian team Orica GreenEdge .
For Alejandro Valverde it was the third victory in the Walloon Arrow after 2006 and 2014 , thus defending his title from the previous year. In addition, he is now together with the Belgians Marcel Kint , Eddy Merckx and the Italians Moreno Argentin and Davide Rebellin the record winner in this race. In addition, it was the sixth Spanish victory in this race after the victories of Igor Astarloa ( 2003 ), Joaquim Rodríguez ( 2012 ) and Daniel Moreno ( 2013 ).
Attendees
overview
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The 17 UCI WorldTeams of the 2015 season were eligible to start . In addition, the organizer gave wildcards to eight UCI Professional Continental Teams . The 25 participating teams competed with eight drivers each. This resulted in a starting field of 200 drivers from 34 nations. The drivers included four Germans, one Austrian and eight Swiss.
Favorites
One of the biggest favorites to win was the Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (MOV). He was the defending champion and winner of 2006. This gave him the chance with a total of three successes to catch up with the previous record winners. Another aspirant for victory was Michał Kwiatkowski from Poland (EQS). As the reigning world champion, he had already won the Amstel Gold Race three days earlier. For him there was therefore the opportunity to win all three Ardennes classics for the first time since 2011, when Philippe Gilbert managed this feat. Another driver with a good chance of winning was the Spaniard Joaquim Rodríguez (KAT). He won the 2012 event and was able to finish the Tour of the Basque Country this season as the overall winner. In addition, the Irish Daniel Martin (TCG), the runner-up from last year, and the Colombian Sergio Henao (SKY), the runner-up in 2013 and the Tour of the Basque Country in 2015, had a good chance of winning. The extended group of favorites also included Daniel Moreno (KAT), Philippe Gilbert (BMC), Simon Yates (OGE), Rui Costa (LAM), Jakob Fuglsang (AST) and Lars Petter Nordhaug (SKY).
With Alejandro Valverde ( 2006 , 2014 ), Philippe Gilbert ( 2011 ), Joaquim Rodríguez ( 2012 ) and Daniel Moreno ( 2013 ), a total of four former winners of the Walloon Arrow competed.
route
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Routing
As the race had always started in a different Walloon city in previous years , a new starting location was chosen this time as well. Waremme was selected for the 2015 race . In addition, compared to the previous year, the Côte de Cherave was included in the program. In addition, the race distance increased by 6.5 kilometers from 199.0 kilometers to 205.5 kilometers.
The race starts in the city of Waremme. Waremme was the starting point of the race for the first time. From there, the route initially headed south. After 22.0 kilometers, the Côte des 36 Tournants was the first of eleven climbs of the day. After 84.5 kilometers, the drivers reached the city of Ohey . A circuit began there. On this lap the Côte de Bellaire and the Côte de Bohissau were passed first . This was followed by the first destination passage on the Mur de Huy at kilometer 118.0 . On the way back to Ohey, the Côte d'Ereffe was passed for the first time, until the starting point of the lap was finally reached again after 142.5 kilometers. From there it went back to the same lap for the time being. This means that the Côte de Bellaire, the Côte de Bohissau, the target passage (at kilometer 176.5) and the Côte d'Ereffe were each driven for the second time. However, the round was not finished again in Ohey. This time the route to the Côte d'Ereffe took a different course, before the drivers were back on the former circuit on the way to the Mur de Huy a few kilometers later. From there the route led on the same route towards the destination, the only difference being that the Côte de Cherave was also passed. The race ended after 205.5 kilometers in the town of Huy on the summit of the Mur de Huy.
The refreshment zone for the race was a few kilometers behind the summit of the Mur de Huy in the village of Huy. This happened twice.
With the Mur de Huy, this race had the same finish as the third stage of the 2015 Tour de France . This stage started in Antwerp and ran exclusively through Belgium.
During the race, the provinces of Liège , Luxembourg and Namur in the Walloon Region were crossed in chronological order after the first run .
Climbs
Six different climbs were climbed during the race. However, since some of them were passed several times, there were a total of eleven climbs.
| Ascent (passage) | Kilometers from the start |
Kilometers to the goal |
length | average slope |
height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Côte des 36 Tournants (1/1) | 22.0 | 183.5 | 2.9 km | 4.8% | 213 m |
| Cote de Bellaire (1/2) | 92.0 | 113.5 | 1.0 km | 6.3% | 232 m |
| Côte de Bohissau (1/2) | 100.0 | 105.5 | 2.4 km | 5.5% | 220 m |
| Mur de Huy (1/3) | 118.0 | 87.5 | 1.3 km | 9.6% | 204 m |
| Côte d'Ereffe (1/2) | 131.0 | 74.5 | 2.1 km | 5.0% | 258 m |
| Cote de Bellaire (2/2) | 150.0 | 55.5 | 1.0 km | 6.3% | 232 m |
| Côte de Bohissau (2/2) | 158.5 | 47.0 | 2.4 km | 5.5% | 220 m |
| Mur de Huy (2/3) | 176.5 | 29.0 | 1.3 km | 9.6% | 204 m |
| Côte d'Ereffe (2/2) | 189.0 | 16.5 | 2.1 km | 5.0% | 258 m |
| Côte de Cherave (1/1) | 200.0 | 5.5 | 1.3 km | 8.1% | 195 m |
| Mur de Huy (destination) (3/3) | 205.5 | 0.0 | 1.3 km | 9.6% | 204 m |
Race course
The race started at 11:30 am in Waremme under a blue sky. There were quite a few falls during the race. Among others, it hit the co-favorites Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Daniel Martin (TCG), who then had to give up the race later. Even Chris Froome (Sky) came to fall. Although he was able to finish the race, he only ended up in 123rd place. Nine kilometers after the start, a top group of five formed. It consisted of Thomas De Gendt (LTS), Reinier Honig (ROP), Pieter Vanspeybrouck (TSV), Daniele Ratto (UHC) and Jérôme Baugnies (WGG). Shortly afterwards, Brice Feillu (BSE) and Mike Teunissen (TLJ) joined them, completing the breakaway group of the day. On the first climb of the day, the Côte des 36 Tournants, she had her maximum advantage of eight minutes. In the peloton , the pace was controlled by the Movistar and Katusha teams. On the first pass, 87.5 kilometers from the finish, the lead was only almost six minutes. During the second ascent on the Mur de Huy, the group disintegrated. Baugnies reached the summit first, but then only De Gendt could catch up with him. Meanwhile, there were also attacks from the main field on this rise. Giovanni Visconti (MOV) and Luis León Sánchez (AST) managed to break away and set off in pursuit of the leading drivers. They had caught up with them - together with the suspended runaway Ratto - a few kilometers later. On the next ascent, the Côte d'Ereffe, the two were able to break away from their companions. Against this mountain there were attacks in the main field. The escape attempts by Tejay van Garderen (BMC) and Louis Vervaeke (LTS) were quickly eliminated. On the penultimate ascent of the day, the Côte de Cherave, the two remaining leaders, Visconti and Sánchez, were caught up again. There were also attacks by Vincenzo Nibali (AST) and Roman Kreuziger (TCS). However, they could not break away. This was followed by an attack by Tim Wellens (LTS). He managed to pull out a small lead and go into the downhill as the leader. He was able to maintain the lead until the start of the climb to the Mur de Huy before the field overtook him. This included around 30 drivers. Rafael Valls and Rui Costa (both LAM) did the leadership work there and were also able to prevent Esteban Chaves (OGE) from attempting to escape at the Flamme Rouge . The field of favorites was still together shortly before the end and it was clear that the decision would only be made on the final climb. 200 meters before the finish line, the sprint decision came out of the field. Here triumphed Alejandro Valverde (MOV), who drove the sprint from the front before Julian Alaphilippe (EQS) and Michael Albasini (OGE). The other favorites Joaquim Rodríguez and Daniel Moreno (both KAT) only ended up in fourth and fifth place.
Result
UCI WorldTour
La Flèche Wallonne was a 4th category race within the UCI WorldTour 2015. This is why the ten best drivers - provided they drive for a UCI WorldTeam - received points for the UCI WorldTour Ranking with the following points distribution:
| placement | 1. | 2. | 3. | 4th | 5. | 6th | 7th | 8th. | 9. | 10. |
| Points | 80 | 60 | 50 | 40 | 30th | 22nd | 14th | 10 | 6th | 2 |
Final score
199 of the 200 registered drivers started, of which 133 made it to the finish.
| space | driver | nation | team | time | Points |
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| 1. | Alejandro Valverde | ESP |
Movistar team | 5:08:22 h (39.985 km / h) |
80 |
| 2. | Julian Alaphilippe |
FRA
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Etixx-Quick Step | same time | 60 |
| 3. | Michael Albasini |
SUI
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Orica GreenEdge | same time | 50 |
| 4th | Joaquim Rodríguez |
ESP
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Team Katusha | same time | 40 |
| 5. | Daniel Moreno |
ESP
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Team Katusha | same time | 30th |
| 6th | Alexis Vuillermoz |
FRA
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Ag2r La Mondiale | + 0:04 min | 22nd |
| 7th | Sergio Henao |
 COL
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Team Sky | same time | 14th |
| 8th. | Jakob Fuglsang |
 THE
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Astana Pro Team | same time | 10 |
| 9. | Tom Slagter |
 NED
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Team Cannondale-Garmin | same time | 6th |
| 10. | Wilco Kelderman |
NED
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Team Lotto NL-Jumbo | same time | 2 |
Web links
- Official website (French and English)
- Flèche Wallonne 2015 in the database of Radsportseiten.net
- 79th La Flèche Wallonne (1st UWT) in the ProCyclingStats.com database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Valverde wins Fleche Wallonne. In: DW.COM. Deutsche Welle , April 22, 2015, accessed April 26, 2015 .
- ↑ Stephen Puddicombe: Fleche Wallonne 2015 preview. In: Cycling Weekly. Time Inc. (UK) Ltd., April 21, 2015, accessed April 26, 2015 .
- ^ Richard Windsor: Who do the bookies back for La Flèche Wallonne 2015? In: Cycling Weekly. Time Inc. (UK) Ltd., April 20, 2015, accessed April 26, 2015 .
- ↑ Christine Kroth: Preview 79. Flèche Wallonne. In: LiVE-Radsport.ch. LiVE-Radsport, April 21, 2015, accessed April 26, 2015 .
- ↑ Daniel Hagen: Tour de France 2015 - 3rd stage. In: Radsport-Seite.de. Daniel Hagen, accessed April 26, 2015 .
- ↑ Felix Griep: Valverde repeats last year's victory at Flèche Wallonne - Albasini for the second time on the podium. In: LiVE-Radsport.ch. LiVE-Radsport, April 22, 2015, accessed April 26, 2015 .
- ^ Daniel Hagen: Wallonischer Pfeil 2015. In: Radsport-Seite.de. Daniel Hagen, accessed April 26, 2015 .
- ↑ Results La Flèche Wallonne (BEL / UWT) - 2015. (No longer available online.) In: uci.ch. Union Cycliste Internationale , April 22, 2015, archived from the original on June 20, 2015 ; accessed on April 26, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
