Eighth place at Fleche Wallone and happy about Rogers

Today Roman tallied his best result at the classic La Fleche Wallone after having finished in 8th position. The Spaniard Valverde celebrated the victory atop the Mur de Huy.

“I had better feelings about the race today than at the Amstel, both from the team´s perspective and from my personal view. The boys kept me well positioned all day long, especially Rory (Sutherland), Chris Anker (Sörensen) and Bruno (Pires) did a brilliant job. I meant to round it off with a great result in the finale but even though people say that this kind of finish should suit me I couldn’t have done better. Compared to other editions we were riding at a constant pace from the start of the climb, which I welcomed and many riders suffered.”

There was no room to play the tactics during the final meters. “You always deliver your best. Finishing eighth is not bad but, on the other hand, it is nothing to write home about. At Classics only the victories and podium placing count. Even so, I had better legs today than at the Amstel, those two easy days before the race did me clearly good.”

“With regard to the Lutych-Bastogne-Lutych, I am expecting a better performance. I won´t settle for eighth place there. Now I want to take a proper rest and we will recon some crucial sections of the race on Friday.”

Apart from his solid performance he was happy about his teammate Michael Rogers who will not be suspended by the UCI for his case. “It is great news for the team. We can capitalize on Michael´s experience and we are glad that he is back,” commented Roman on the comeback of the Australian.