Pogačar bags top-10 on steep Mur du Huy finish

Tadej Pogačar put in a confident display to finish 9th place in Flèche Wallone, the first of the Ardennes classics.

After a good team effort on the 202km course thanks to the pace set by the trio of Ravasi,Ardila and Muñoz the race whittled down to a select group of 50 riders.

Costa, Henao and Polanc were all present at the front to keep the pace high with Pogačar saving himself until the final climb of the 19% ascent of the Mur du Huy.

The victory on the day went to the in-form Swiss rider Marc Hirschi (Sunweb) with Pogačar 5’’ back in 9th place.

 
Pogačar: “The team worked really well today and I arrived to the Mur in a great position. I didn’t quite have the legs on the last climb but I’m not too disappointed with the result. I still had a bit of fatigue from the Worlds which was a very hard race. I’ll rest a bit and turn my focus to Liege on Sunday, it’s a course that suits me a bit better also.”

The Ardennes racing will resume on Sunday with ‘La Doyenne’ as the riders take on Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Fleche Wallone results

Marc Hirschi (Sunweb) 4:49:17
2. Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R) s.t
3. Michael Woods (EF) s.t
9. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) +5’’