The only 22-year-old Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe sprinted to second place, ahead of the Swiss Michael Albasini and former winners Joaquim Rodriguez and Daniel Moreno.
It was the third win for Valverde in Walloon semi classic after 2006 and 2014. It also marked the fourth consecutive year that a Spanish rider was the best in Huy.
The 35-year old rider from Movistar is the first driver since Moreno Argentin (1990 and 1991) that the Flèche Wallonne win two years in a row. Nor should Valverde now with Argentin, Marcel Kint, Eddy Merckx and Davide Rebellin call record with three victories
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Tom-Jelte Slagter was the best Dutchman in ninth place, while Wilco Kelderman and finished tenth. Bauke Mollema came 19 seconds as nineteenth over.
Robert Gesink could get along in his first race since mid-February and was 25th. Laurens ten Dam took his comeback at the finish 101st, just over seven minutes of the winner
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Sick
Without the sick Westra started 199 riders to the more than two hundred kilometers to Huy.
Seven drivers quickly took a lead on the peloton. The Dutch Reinier Honig (Roompot) and Mike Teunissen (Lotto Jumbo) were joined by Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Jérôme Baugnies (Wanty Groupe Gobert), Daniele Ratto (United Healthcare) and Brice Feillu (Bretagne-Séché).
De Gendt, in 2012, third in the final standings of the Tour of Italy, was the front of the engine of the seven, who had a maximum lead of about eight minutes . Honig and Teunissen were by the high rate of the Belgian lossn on the Côte de Bellaire, with slightly more than fifty kilometers to go
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Crashes
In the peloton at that moment was all that nervous and that caused several crashes, with favorite Philippe Gilbert as the main victim. De Waal Sunday in their region Liège-Bastogne-Liège hopes to win, did considerable damage to his right and had to get off.
Daniel Martin, winner in 2013 in Liège, at that time was already at the plain gone and later became include the Sky duo Wout Poels and Lars Petter Nordhaug Jelle Vanendert and Samuel Sanchez involved in a crash. In the final, also pursued former Tour winner Chris Froome against the asphalt.
At the head of the race kept De Gendt, Ratto and Baugnies it ‘s longest full, but they had to resolve soon after Giovanni Visconti and Luis Leon Sanchez from the platoon had made the crossing to the leaders
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Nibali
Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali grabbed the Côte de Cherave, the new climbing six kilometers from the finish, for an attack, but that was countered by Tim Wellens.
The 23-year old Belgian Lotto-Soudal had at the base of the third and final climb of the Mur de Huy more than ten seconds ahead of his pursuers, but he was soon arrested.
The reason favorites then along the Wall of Huy on. Valverde put a hundred meters from the finish line, and no one could challenge the acceleration of the Spaniard
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