Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) triumphs atop Mur de Huy for the second year in a row. (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
For the second consecutive year, Julian Alaphilippe is king of the Mur de Huy, with the Deceuninck-Quickstep rider overhauling a promising surge by Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) in the closing metres to win La Flèche Wallonne.
Alaphilippe has now won three major one-day races this season: Strade Bianche, also over Fuglsang, and Milan-San Remo ahead of Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale).
It seems that only young Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon-Circus) has Alaphilippe's number when it comes to short, uphill finales, with the Dutch champion the only rider to best Alaphilippe in the Amstel Gold Race and in de Brabantse Pijl.
One cannot help but notice the effort of Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates), who climbed to third on the Mur de Huy, or that of Bjorn Lambrecht (Lotto Soudal), who made a career-best fourth on Wednesday after a sixth in Amstel and fifth in Brabantse Pijl.
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