So near but yet so far: Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) was the strongest challenger to Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) of all the contenders in this year's Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but alas, and as in Flèche Wallonne five days earlier, Martin could not out-power the Spaniard.
On this occasion, Martin's late attack in the final kilometre left all the field reeling, barring one rider – Valverde. The Spanish veteran, recognising that Martin's move was the most dangerous of them all, quickly closed the gap and then shot past the Irishman to take his fourth victory in La Doyenne.
Martin said that when he attacked on the final ascent to Ans, he was not thinking of Valverde, rather he had "no idea what happened behind. When I went I knew he was on my wheels and I thought I might have got the jump on him and maybe he would hesitate.
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"But obviously he was strong enough to come across to me and I had no idea if I even had a gap I just knew I had committed to the finish line and I just had to go.
"When Alejandro came past me in the corner, I just hoped nobody else would come past me as I was just trying to get to the finish line as fast as possible."
As Martin said afterwards, the lack of Ardennes Classics specialists of the caliber of Philippe Gilbert and Julian Alaphilippe in the Quick-Step Floors line-up made Liège-Bastogne-Liège a much harder challenge tactically than it might have been. But his team more than delivered.
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