Daniel Martin concluded Flèche Wallonne on the podium for the third time in his career, after the 2014 and 2016 editions.
Daniel Martin was the best of the rest at the top of the Mur de Huy, coming one second behind the winner and notching up his sixth top-3 finish at a World Tour one-day race.
“This year’s Flèche Wallonne was strange, because we had a strong headwind on the Mur and the peloton was very nervous”, said Martin. “That made for a messy finish and as a result I didn’t have the best position on the climb, where my plan was to take Alejandro’s wheel. Although things weren’t perfect and I didn’t have good legs today, I managed to come back and grab second place at the end of the race, and this makes me look with optimism to Liège–Bastogne–Liège.”
“It was a course that provoked more attacks, and that was what we tried to do. But winning on the Mur has an art to it, and even if there was a bunch sprint at the top, Alejandro would still probably win it,” Martin argued.
“I have to wait until he retires. I hope I can beat him one day before that happens.”
