Tinkoff-Saxo’s Roman Kreuziger took matters into his own hands with a powerful move on Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons with 19.3km to go. After being caught on the last marked climb, Kreuziger hung tight to claim a fifth place behind race winner Alejandro Valverde in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
 
Following the finish, Tinkoff-Saxo sports director Sean Yates noted he was impressed by the strength of his Czech captain during the course of the race.
 
“Roman undoubtedly proved that he’s a strong rider and that Liège-Bastogne-Liège suits him. His attack on Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons put a lot of his rivals into the hurt-zone and hadn’t it been for Stybar sacrificing himself in the decimated group of favorites, the front trio with Roman could arguably have survived. However with that said, I believe we rode a proper race against some very strong opponents, who we knew would be hard to beat in a sprint for the line”, says Sean Yates.
 
Going into the race finale, after the steepest of the climbs Côte de Stockeu, Tinkoff-Saxo had six riders in the decimating peloton from where, among others, Manuele Boaro went on the attack. When asked to evaluate the team performance, Sean Yates states that he’s pleased to see a mounting shape among his riders.
 
“I think that we are much better shape-wise than some weeks ago. Roman was one of the strongest today and Kiserlovski was 18th and shows definite signs of improvement, while guys like Chris Anker, Majka and Boaro put in a good team effort. In general, I believe we are on the up and several of the guys continue to Tour de Romandie, where I hope they will continue in a strong fashion”, commented Sean Yates.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège was marked by 253km and an elevation gain of more than 4,000m. Going into the iconic Côte de la Redoute with 36km to go to the finish line in Ans, Tinkoff-Saxo was in the mix with several teammates left to protect Kreuziger. One of them was Robert Kiserlovski, who ultimately finished 18th, 44 seconds down on race winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar). According to Kiserlovski, his sensations have improved since the start of the Ardennes Classics.
 
“I felt pretty well today. Of course it’s a very hard race, one of the hardest classics but my condition has improved leading up to and during the Ardennes Classics. This is something I’m really happy with, as I was struggling to reach my normal level earlier in the season. I could sense that I had the legs to support Roman on La Redoute and on Roche-aux-Faucons, while I had to let go on Saint-Nicolas as the favorites attacked”, says Kiserlovski and adds:
 
“Today, Roman was our absolute leader and we also saw in the finale that he was going really well. Now, many of us continue to Romandie, where I want to continue building my shape, while delivering a good result for the team and doing my best for our common objectives”.
 
Alejandro Valverde beat Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-Quickstep) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) in a last sprint for the podium places, while Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) finished fourth just in front of Roman Kreuziger.