Ryder’s Liège: Beautifully brutal fight to the end

As DS Matt White predicted (see preview below), today’s race would not finish in a big group as it has in the past. Instead, a group of three battled it out for the win, while the main ‘peloton’ - fractured by almost 30 hills - finished in several small groups. Ryder Hesjedal was the first of the Argyle Armada to cross the finish line.

After the finish, Ryder said, “Today was extremely hard but unbelievably beautiful!! I still don’t know the final results, but I know I finished in a group about 4 minutes down.”

“I was able to stay in the front over La Redoute and the Sprimont. But the new climb, which was second to last, was the end of seeing the front for me,” Ryder continued. “The race, as expected, blew to bits there. And still, it was a fight till the end for all the pieces left in the race!”

Slipstream Results
1. Alejandro Valverde 6:44′04″

51. Ryder Hesjedal +4′09″
90. David Millar +8′11″
112. Pat McCarty +12′00″
117. Huub Duyn +14′24″
118. Dan Martin +17′11″
DNF Jason Donald
DNF Killian Patour
DNF Christophe Laurent