Spanish Roger Adria of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the one day cycling race Grand Prix de Wallonie 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Roger Adrià wins Grand Prix de Wallonie(Image credit: Getty Images)
Roger Adrià powers past Alex Aranburu for Grand Prix de Wallonie victory(Image credit: Getty Images)
Roger Adrià wins Grand Prix de Wallonie(Image credit: Getty Images)
Spaniard Roger Adrià (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) outsprinted compatriot Alex Aranburu (Movistar) to win the one-day Grand Prix de Wallonie.
Clément Champoussin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) held off Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) for the final spot on the podium.
Aranburu led through the final left-hand corner for the final 250-metre straightaway to the signature finish to the Citadel of Namur, but Adrià struck with a vicious acceleration just before the line to swipe the victory.
Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty) joined Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel-Premier Tech) in a two-rider breakaway with 14km to go. Zimmermann then attacked on the final 2km of the climb but was caught by the chasers with 500 metres to go after a false flat, setting up the Spanish sprint.
“I felt really good the whole day, really strong. The team supported me very well and put their trust in me. They were really committed to helping me take the win here," Adrià said in a team statement.
"In the sprint, I had really good legs, and I was in a good position in the finishing straight. I’m really pleased that I could finish it off to take the win.”
The peloton raced 202.3km from Blegny to the Citadelle de Namur, the fourth consecutive year with the climb of the Citadel deciding the winner of the one-day race.
The first 55km of the route included two categorised ascents and rolling roads through Vallée de la Molignée. The route became hilly again for the final segment, passing over Côte Ermeton (2.1km at 4.1%) and taking on an uphill intermediate sprint. An uncategorised climb of the Route Merveilleuse (1.9km at 5.3%) follows as the appetizer that led into the final 9km for the finish at the Citadel of Namur.
An early breakaway included Gleb Brussenskiy (Astana Qazaqstan), Jan Sommer (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Arno Claeys (Team Flanders-Baloise), Kenny Molly (Van Rysel-Roubaix), Michiel Lambrecht (Bingoal WB Devo), and Mulu kinfe Hailemichael (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), who set off in the opening 15 kilometres. The six riders built a margin of four minutes quickly, then held steady with a little more than two minutes ahead of the peloton for the next 100km.
The lead group saw their long day in the breakaway wither away as a mass of riders, led by Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lotto-Dstny, swarmed them on the final classified climb at Ermeton with under 44km to ride. Among the contenders in the lead group included Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Dstny) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty).
Lotto-Dstny took over the pacemaking as the road descended slightly towards the intermediate sprint, placed atop Tienne aux Pierres at Wépion (3km at 5.2%).
Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Deceuninck) hit the gas on a flat section of road along the banks of the Meuse River and with under 25km to go he gained 22 seconds on the peloton, led on the wide roads by five riders from Lotto-Dstny.
Once at the base of the climb for the 3km ascent to the sprint line, Riesebeek was back in the peloton. Just past the left-hand corner that led to the smaller road on the climb, two riders touched wheels and crashed near the front of the large pack, disrupting the momentum briefly.
The pace rebooted with a long line of riders processing up the climb, Emil Herzog of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe pulling for almost the entire climb and more blue kits from Alpecin-Deceuninck and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale in the mix. The Lotto-Dstny riders were now scattered.
Once over the top Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel-Premier Tech) accelerated away and was followed by Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty), now just 14km to go. No organised chase formed on the narrow roads with the final climb approaching.
At the base of the twisting ascent to the Citadelle de Namur, where the pavement met the cobbles, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Uno-X Miblitiy took up the chase to catch the leaders, who had a 28-second advantage. Zimmermann then accelerated for a solo ride with 1.8km to go, but could not hold off the charge from behind and faded before the final 500 metres.
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).
