Fleche Wallone/Waalse Pijl, Cat 1.1

Route map and profile map

Results and Reports

As it Happens

 
 1. Laurent Jalabert
 2. Luc Leblanc
 3. Alex Zulle
 4. Michele Bartoli
 5. Marco Pantani
 6. Pascal Lino
 7. Andrea Noe
 8. Beat Zberg
 9. Benoit Salmon
10. Richard Virenque

16h09 - In last climb Laurent Jalabert wins De Waalse Pijl/Fleche Wallone 1997 in 5h07'30" with Luc le Blanc on 18 seconds. 3: Alex Zulle, 4: Bartoli, 5: Pantani

16h06 - Last climb on Mur de Huy and last kilometer

16h04 - Le Blanc (not the best friend of Jalabert) mostly in the wheel of Jalabert

16h02 - Still 5 km - Jalabert looks stronger than Le Blanc.

15h59 - Jalabert/Le Blanc with group on 45" - still 7 km to go

15h57 - Big change for a French victory

15h55 - Jalabert/Le Blanc with group on 40"

15h53 - 14 km to go

15h51 - Jalabert and Le Blanc first at top Zaina felt back in group-Virenque.

15h47 - Only Jalabert and Le Blanc both to the top (still 1 km)

15h47 - Leaders Jalabert, Le Blanc and Zaina start climb Cote d'Ahin (at the top of 317 meter high still 10,5 km to go) - Peloton on 28"

15h44 - 3 leaders with group Virenque (around 20) on 16" and big peloton on 1'22"

15h40 - Still 20 km. Jalabert, Leblanc and Zaina still leaders

15h37 - 3 Leaders (Jalabert, Le Blanc and Zaina) with on 10" peloton with around 20 riders (with Pantani, Riis, Zulle, Breukink, Bouvard, Dufaux, Virenque, Diaz Justo, Robin, Lino, Coppolillo, Gianetti, Heppner

15h32 - Three leaders with peloton on 8" - still 26 km

15h30 - Laurent Jalabert, Leblanc and Zaina 100 meters in front of peloton with 20 riders (with Riis, Zulle)

15h25 - Leblanc, Laurent Jalabert, Zulle, Virenque leads the peloton

15h24 - Start climb of Cote de Bohissau

15h20 - Peloton complete. Still 32 km to the finish

15h17 - Still 15" for leaders

15h13 - Still three climbs: Cote de Bohissau (on 26 km before the finish), Cote d'Ahin and Mur de Huy - Leaders still 22" in front of peloton

15h11 - Still 40 km to go with 28 leaders, peloton on 26"

15h04 - Peloton on 36"

14h57 - Still 57 km to go

14h55 - Laurent Jalabert in the end of the big peloton

14h50 - Peloton on 41"

14h45 - 18 leaders (with extra Chiappucci, Herve, Bartoli) - peloton on 38"

14h35 - 8 leaders: Vasseur, Verbrugghe, Madouas, Puttini, Merckx, Boltz, Virenque, Laukka

14h30 - 6 degrees above zero

14h28 - First 3 riders on Mur de Huy: Virenque, Laukka and Vasseur On 9" seconds group with Boltz, Jaermann. First peloton on 30"

14h27 - after 130 km start second time climb Mur de Huy - peloton on 30"

14h22 - 16 leaders (on 40" peloton) with Merckx, Jaermann, Vasseur, Laukka, Veld, Van de Wouwer, Puttini, Virenque, Boltz, Baldinger, Nicolas Jalabert, Blaudzun, Madouas, Verbrugghe and some more.

3 degrees above zero at the 10.30 am start but dry weather - first climb Mur de Huy (on 93,5 km) nearly complete peloton - Johan Museeuw went with his family to the Ardennes. He trains for LBL next Sunday.

Preview

Sorensen is not starting. Mapei will start with only six riders. Carlo Bomans is out of the peloton for at least a few weeks. During a training ride on Monday he broke "zijn heilig been in zijn rug" (his Holy bone in his back!!!). Next Sunday (Luik-Bastenaken-Luik) Tafi will take the place of Bomans.

Route and Profile

Results and Reports

 1. Laurent Jalabert (Fra, ONCE)             5.07.00
 2. Luc Leblanc (Fra, Polti)              	0.19
 3. Alex Zulle (Sui, ONCE)        		0.50
 4. Michele Bartoli (Ita)
 5. Marco Pantani (Ita)   
 6. Pascal Lino (Fra)
 7. Andrea Noe (Ita) 
 8. Beat Zberg (Swi)
 9. Benoit Salmon (Fra)
10. Richard Virenque (Fra)
11. Mauro Gianetti (Swi)
12. Jean Cyril Robin (Fra)
13. Jens Heppner (Ger)
14. Michael Boogerd (Ned)
15. Rafael Diaz Justo (Spa)
16. Erik Breukink (Ned) 
17. Maarten Den Bakker (Ned)
18. Enrico Zaina (Ita)
19. Evgueni Berzin (Rus)
20. Bjarne Riis (Den)             	      all s.t. 

23. Michael Andersson (Swe)      		4.15
29. Bo Hamburger (Den)                  	5:00
34. Michel Lafis (Swe)                  
39. Marty Jemison (USA)                 
40. Joona Laukka (Fin)                  
46. Michael Blaudzun (Den)              
60. Tyler Hamilton (USA)                
62. Peter Meinert-Nielsen (Den)      		s.t.
70. Darren Baker (USA)                  	5:54
72. Christopher Boardman (Gbr)          
74. Scott Sunderland (Aus)              
79. Bobby Julich (USA)               		s.t.

Fleche Report

Last year's winner was American Lance Armstrong and in the races Palmares there are 35 Belgian victories, 12 by Italians and 7 by French. Belgians Marcel Kint and Eddy Merckx and Italian Moreno Argentin each won the race on three occasions.

Frenchman Laurent Jalabert, from Team ONCE, has won today the cycling Classic Fleche Wallone for the second time in three years with an 18 second advantage over his compatriot Luc Leblanc, ex-world champions. Jalabert left Leblanc behind in a climb located at one kilometer from the finish and his ONCE teammate completed ONCE's success by taking third in the race.

Jalabert achieves his second win at the Belgian race, which he already won in 1995 and his eight win this season. Jalabert crossed the finish line 19 seconds ahead of Luc Leblanc and 50 ahead of Alex Zuelle, after which came in the peloton at the same time.

Jalabert definitely left behind his followers, amongst which were Leblanc and Italian Enrico Zaina, at 28 kms. from the finish, on the eight climb of the race. Leblanc left Zaina at 14 kms. from the finish on the penultimate climb.

More Reporting

Jalabert, who rides for the Spanish Once team, crossed the line 19 seconds ahead of former world champion Leblanc. Jalabert's Swiss team mate Alex Zuelle edged out six other riders to take third place 50 seconds behind.

Jalabert, quickly tailed by Leblanc and Italian Enrico Zaina, broke free on the eighth climb of the event some 28 kms from the line.

The Frenchmen left Zaina behind on the penultimate climb 14 kms from home and were more than 50 seconds clear of a group of 20 riders at the start of the 1,300-metre hill, the Wall of Huy, which had to be climbed three times during the race.

``What can you say. It's not a surprise. He's flying again,'' Belgian Axel Merckx said.

World champion Johan Museeuw of Belgium skipped the Fleche Wallonne race, preferring to focus on Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege World Cup event.

``Jalabert is certainly the favourite for Sunday,'' said Merckx whose father Eddy has won the Fleche Wallonne three times, the last one 25 years ago.

Jalabert wins Fleche

Leblanc, unable to counter Jalabert on the 20-percent climb of the Wall of Huy, finished second 18 seconds behind.

Jalabert's teammate Alex Zulle led the chasing pack across the finish line, ahead of Italians Michele Bartoli and Marco Pantani.

Jalabert, the world's top-ranked cyclist, set the race alight some 25 kilometers (125 miles) from the finish when he broke away on one of the many climbs dotting the 200-kilometer (124-mile) trek through the woods of southern Belgium. Only Leblanc and Italy's Enrico Zaina could stay with him.

On the next hill, Jalabert again increased the pace and threw off Zaina.

Together with Leblanc, a former world champion, he built up a one-minute lead over the chasing pack with nine kilometers (six miles) to go, with only the decisive Wall of Huy climb to the finish to come.

Jalabert had already won the classic two years ago. Lance Armstrong, last year's winner, did not take part because he has not returned to racing after a battle with cancer.

The result makes Jalabert an overwhelming favorite for Sunday's World Cup classic Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the oldest race on the cycling calendar.

Frenchman Laurent Jalabert surged away from compatriot Luc Leblanc less than one kilometre from the finish at the summit of a steep hill to win the Fleche Wallonne cycle race for the second time in three years on Wednesday.

Jalabert, who rides for the Spanish Once team, crossed the line 19 seconds ahead of former world champion Leblanc. Jalabert's Swiss team mate Alex Zuelle edged out six other riders to take third place 50 seconds behind.

Jalabert, quickly tailed by Leblanc and Italian Enrico Zaina, broke free on the eighth climb of the event some 28 kms from the line.

The Frenchmen left Zaina behind on the penultimate climb 14 kms from home and were more than 50 seconds clear of a group of 20 riders at the start of the 1,300-metre hill, the Wall of Huy, which had to be climbed three times during the race.

``What can you say. It's not a surprise. He's flying again,'' Belgian Axel Merckx said.

World champion Johan Museeuw of Belgium skipped the Fleche Wallonne race, preferring to focus on Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege World Cup event.

``Jalabert is certainly the favourite for Sunday,'' said Merckx whose father Eddy has won the Fleche Wallonne three times, the last one 25 years ago.