Team HTC Highroad had one of the strongest line-ups in the peloton in Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne, and sought to make the most of that in the way that it tackled the race. It threw down the gauntlet early on, and when Evelyn Stevens attacked a long way out, it meant that the onus was on the other teams to chase.
Ultimately Marianne Vos and Emma Johannson were too much to beat, but former world champion Judith Arndt took a solid third place.
“We tried to race aggressively. We have really good riders, so we tried to use them all. It doesn’t make sense to arrive at the final climb with six riders. We really tried to play our cards,” she told VeloNation shortly after the race.
“It was my part [role] to try to be as fresh as possible for the last climb. I think third is a good result, but actually I wanted to win. We tried everything but couldn’t have done more. Vos is just an exception rider. Last year she had a bad day here, but this time she had a good day."
Stevens put in a very impressive ride, being clear for a long time. She indicated that it was all part of trying to open up the race, and also to help the team’s leaders for the finale.
“We started with Audrey, Charlotte and Amanda being really aggressive, trying to make the race. I went sixty kilometres out, over the top of the climb. I didn’t think I would be out there for so long…I was out there until ten or fifteen kilometres to go.
“We were just trying to race aggressively. We had a strong team, we were trying to play our cards.”
Vos was too good this time round, but that team strength and group unity will doubtlessly pay off in other events this season.