Description
July 22, 2023
Tour de Wallonie 2023 – Stage 1 – Huy – Hamoir : 189,6 km
Founded in 1974 but raced by amateurs until 1996, the Ethias Tour de Wallonie is a five-day stage race held in the French-speaking south of Belgium.
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July 22, 2023
Tour de Wallonie 2023 – Stage 1 – Huy – Hamoir : 189,6 km
Founded in 1974 but raced by amateurs until 1996, the Ethias Tour de Wallonie is a five-day stage race held in the French-speaking south of Belgium. The Wallonia region also plays host to one-day races, the Ethias Tour de Wallonie is characterised by an abundance of short, sharp climbs and rolling roads. Nine WorldTour teams, five ProTeams, two Continental teams and one Cyclo-cross pro team will line up at this year’s race, with Alpecin-Deceuninck, Soudal-Quick Step, Ineos Grenadiers and Lidl-Trek all bringing strong teams. Alpecin-Deceuninck took the overall title with Robert Stannard last year, but the 24-year-old Australian will not be back to defend his crown. Instead, the likes of Mauro Schmid (Soudal-Quick Step), Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek) and Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) may all vy for the win. Alongside one lengthy time trial of 32.7km, the race is more akin to four separate one-day races than an actual stage race and – for that reason – tends to favour the Classics specialists like Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates), Dylan Teuns (Israel Premier-Tech), Niki Terpstra and Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroën) – all winners of this race in the past ten years. Since the race opened its doors to pro riders in 1996, only one has managed to win multiple editions – Van Avermaet in 2011 and 2013.
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed his first UCI victory since abandoning the Giro d’Italia with COVID-19 in May.
The Italian time trial champion was a surprise winner from the bunch sprint on a demanding stage from Huy to Hamoir, beating Davide Ballerini (Soudal-Quickstep) and Arne Marit (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty).
Sprinter Elia Viviani might have been getting a lead-out from his compatriot but in the uphill drag to the line, Ganna simply out-powered the entire field, leaving his teammate to finish fourth.
Results :
, Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek) and Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) may all vy for the win. Alongside one lengthy time trial of 32.7km, the race is more akin to four separate one-day races than an actual stage race and - for that reason - tends to favour the Classics specialists like Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates), Dylan Teuns (Israel Premier-Tech), Niki Terpstra and Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroën) - all winners of this race in the past ten years. Since the race opened its doors to pro riders in 1996, only one has managed to win multiple editions - Van Avermaet in 2011 and 2013.
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed his first UCI victory since abandoning the Giro d'Italia with COVID-19 in May.
The Italian time trial champion was a surprise winner from the bunch sprint on a demanding stage from Huy to Hamoir, beating Davide Ballerini (Soudal-Quickstep) and Arne Marit (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty).
Sprinter Elia Viviani might have been getting a lead-out from his compatriot but in the uphill drag to the line, Ganna simply out-powered the entire field, leaving his teammate to finish fourth.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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