Lampre-Merida's jerseys were in the front of the race until 300m to the finish line of the Flèche Wallone (205,5 km) but then the ambitions for a top result in the Belgian World Tour race vanished.

Despite the addition of a new climb (Cote de Cherave, summit at 5,5 km to go), it was once again the Mur de Huy that decided the victory of the Flèche Wallone: Valverde won the race thanks to an action with 300 meters to go, beating Alaphilippe and Albasini.

Up to that moment, Lampre-Merida was focused on the support of captain Rui Costa, avoiding all the crashes that occurred in the final part of the race (only Serpa had to stop once in order to avoid a crash) and approaching the Cote de Cherave near the front of the bunch.

This climb reduced the group to 40 riders which hit the Mur de Huy with Rafael Valls in the first position and Rui Costa following him. The Portuguese rider set a constant, hard rythm until 400 meters to go, when the opponents passed him. He managed to reach the finish in 28th, 28" behind Valverde.

"I was aware of the fact that the Mur de Huy is more suitable to riders that are smaller and lighter than me and that can make explosive actions. These are not my characteristics," Rui Costa explained. "Despite this, I started this morning with the will of being competitive as usual and during the race I really wanted to finalize the perfect support from my team mates like Ulissi, Bono and Valls who helped me to avoid the crashes and in approaching the climbs in the best possible position. 

"During the final passage of the Mur de Huy, I tried to be in the front of the peloton, setting a pace that was suitable for me and hoping it would be enough but that wasn't the case."