Grand Prix de Wallonie 2023 [FULL RACE]

September 13, 2023

Grand Prix de Wallonie 2023 – Aywaille – Citadelle de Namur : 201,3 km

Falling late in the season, this one-day race held in the hilly Ardennes region of Southern Belgium offers Classics specialists one last chance to take a big win and lockdown a contract for the following year. The race traverses similar ground to the other Ardennes Classics, with short, sharp climbs the real flavour of the day. The GP de Wallonie is one of cycling’s older one-day races and the third oldest Classic held in the Walloon region of Belgium. Since its first edition in 1935, the race has had many different start locations but has routinely finished in Namur, a Walloon city close to the Belgium-France border. Riders make their way to Namur via a hilly route that snakes its way through much of the Ardennes and tackles several of the region’s toughest climbs – like the Côte d’Ermeton and the Côte de Lustin – along the way. The race then finishes with one final climb up to the iconic Citadelle de Namur, one of the highest points in the city. With up to four climbs often falling in the final 20km this can be a very difficult race for one team to control. It also falls at the end of the season, with half of the peloton eager to impress new teams, and the other half exhausted after a whole season of non-stop racing. As a result we’re often treated to one incredibly open race and one that sees courageous attackers.

Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar Team) secured the victory at the one-day Grand Prix de Wallonie, outsprinting late-race breakaway rival Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) at the Citadelle de Namur.

Teuns was the first to surge in the final, but Serrano closed the gap and then won the sprint for the day’s victory.

“An incredible victory. We had been looking for this success all season. I came here last year, and I really liked the race. This year, I came with every intention, and with luck, strength and success, I have been able to achieve it. A tough and difficult race, but I did it,” Serrano said.

“Dylan Teuns is someone who has a lot of skill and strength in this type of ending, and with that attack, he made it very difficult for me. I tried to start and counteract him, and finally, I was able to pass him in the sprint.”

Teuns said that due to the sharp corner taken at high speeds, he had to brake, which he felt might have cost him the win, “I am, of course, disappointed. The last corner was difficult, and I arrived there at too high a speed. I had to brake, and that allowed Serrano to pass me.”

Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Dstny) finished three seconds behind the pair in third, with world champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) finishing just off the podium in fourth place.

The peloton raced 201.3km from Aywaille to the Citadelle de Namur, along a challenging route that included three categorised ascents and then the climb to the finish line.

An early breakaway included Adam Lewis (Saint Piran), Mathias Norsgaard (Movistar) and Juillard Maximillien (Van Rysel), who set off with 183km to go, but they were caught by the peloton some 20km later.

That gave way to a flurry of new attacks as small groups of twos and threes managed to sneak off the front of the field. All were shortlived until mid-race when three riders, Dries de Bondt (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Pier-André Coté (Bingoal WB) and Kenny Molly (Van Rysel), cleared the field.

With 15km to go, Molly was the only rider left out front, but he, too, was reeled in as teams TotalEnergies, Uno X, Israel Premier Tech, and UAE Team Emirates led the field into the finale.

A crash took down world champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and two others, but he was able to get back in the field.

Onto the final climb, Teuns made his move from a shattered front group, but he was caught by Serrano in the closing metres.

Results :