2018 La Flèche Wallonne
The 2018 La Flèche Wallonne was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 18 April 2018 in Belgium. It was the 82nd edition of the La Flèche Wallonne and the seventeenth event of the 2018 UCI World Tour.
| 2018 UCI World Tour, race 17 of 37 | |||||||||||||
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Julian Alaphilippe, the race winner | |||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||
| Dates | 18 April 2018 | ||||||||||||
| Stages | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Distance | 198.5 km (123.3 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 4h 53' 37" | ||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||
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During the third and final ascent of the Mur de Huy, Quick-Step Floors rider Julian Alaphilippe accelerated near the summit, overtaking race leader Jelle Vanendert (Lotto–Soudal) in the last 100 metres of the race and dropping him. Alejandro Valverde, who had won the last four editions for the Movistar Team, staged a late fight-back and almost caught Alaphilippe, but Alaphilippe was able to kick again in the final metres to increase his lead, to win by four seconds from Valverde. It was the biggest victory of Alaphilippe's career at that point, becoming the first French winner of the race since Laurent Jalabert in 1997.