Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won Liège-Bastogne-Liège for the fourth time in his career, topping Quick-Step Floors' Dan Martin and Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) with his signature late attack.
But the victory was shrouded in sorrow as the peloton mourned the loss of Italian Michele Scarponi, who was killed while training the day before the race. Valverde dedicated the victory to the fallen Astana rider, and promised to donate his prize money to Scarponi's family.
“This win is for Michele Scarponi. He was a good friend of mine,” Valverde said, fighting back the tears. “It hurts to think he’s gone, I’ll miss him. I’ll give all my prize money from this victory to his family. This win is also dedicated to him.”
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Valverde went into the race as the overwhelming favourite after winning Flèche Wallonne for the fifth time, but his victory was in doubt as Cannondale-Drapac's Davide Formolo put in a strong solo attack that lasted until 500m to go.
Martin jumped across to the Italian, who quickly faded back, but Valvede latched onto Martin's wheel at the final turn and from there was unstoppable.
“The team was fantastic, we worked excellently. We controlled the break because it was dangerous," Valverde said. “On the last climb Dan Martin attacked really hard but I managed to reach him at the right moment to then sprint to the finish line.”
— Liège-Bastogne-Liège (@LiegeBastogneL) April 23, 2017
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