Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) won the race he has always dreamt about when he took a fantastic sprint win in Ans at the end of the 100th edition of the final and biggest of the Ardennes classics, Liege-Bastogne-Liege. In a surprisingly, non-selective edition of the race, he stayed glued to Alejandro Valverde's wheel on the final rise to the finish in Ans and when the Movistar leader had caught Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) just before the line, he opened a powerful sprint to take a convincing victory in the world's oldest classic.

 

Heading into the Ardennes classics, the Orica-GreenEDGE team said that Simon Gerrans was strong enough to win the Amstel Gold Race but that a top 10 was probably the maximum achievable in the harder Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Today, however, the Australian champion proved his team wrong when he took a fantastic and emotional win in the 100th edition of his dream race.

 

Everything played into the hands of the strong Australian as the race proved to be much less selective than usual and it was a big group of around 30 riders that arrived together at the bottom of the final small rise to the finish in Ans. At that point, Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r) and Giampaolo Caruso had a small 10-second gap while Orica-GreenEDGE and BMC were chasing hard with Pieter Weening and Samuel Sanchez.

 

That hard-working pair swung off at the bottom of the climb, opening the door for Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida) to attack as the peloton slowed down a bit. Defending champion Daniel Martin (Garmin), Bauke Mollema (Belkin) and a very active Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff-Saxo) tried to join him while Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r) followed suit a little further behind.

 

Martin was on a roll, however, and he easily passed Niemiec while also riding away from everyone else and it seemed that he was about to catch the front duo. Sensing the danger, Caruso attacked and easily got rid of Pozzovivo who was passed by Martin.

 

Behind, the favourites had to send a big thanks to Kreuziger who rode hard on the front of a small group containing the likes of Gilbert, Gerrans, Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Alejandro Valverde, Niemiec, Mollema, Tom-Jelte Slagter (Garmin) and Bardet. When Valverde was close enough to the summit, he made his lethal attack but Gerrans was and Kwiatkowski were glued to his wheel.

 

The trio passed Pozzovivo and caught Martin just in the final left-hand bend. At this point disaster struck for the defending champion as the Irishman went down and Valverde had to swerve to avoid being brought down as well.

 

Caruso was still a few metres ahead but Valverde opened a long sprint. Just as he reached the lone Katusha rider, however, Gerrans made his effort and from there the outcome was never in doubt. He quickly passed Valverde who could only roll across the line in a distant second.

 

Kwiatkowski crossed the line in third to take his second Ardennes podium while a fantastic Caruso held onto fourth. Pozzovivo was rewarded for his efforts with fifth while Tom-Jelte Slagter won the sprint for 6th ahead of Kreuziger and Gilbert.

 

The win was Gerrans' second in a monument after he won the 2012 Milan-Sanremo and caps a stellar Ardennes campaign that also saw him finish third in the Amstel Gold Race. For Valverde, it was another bitter experience after he had already been beaten into third in last year's edition of the race.

 

Gerrans' win brings the spring classics season to a close and we now head into the big stage races. First up is the Tour de Romandie which continues the WorldTour with a start on Tuesday.

 

The 100th edition of the race

In 2014 Liege-Bastogne-Liege could celebrate its 100th anniversary and the route had been slightly modified to visit all the historic climbs. As usual, the riders headed over 263km from Liege to Bastogne and back to a finish in Ans on the outskirts of Liege. After an easy opening part with only one climb, the ascents came in quick succession at the end, with the remaining 9 climbs coming on the run back towards Liege. As usual the finale was expected to kick off on the Cote de la Redoute 44km from the finish while the Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons and the Cote de Saint-Nicolas were set to decide the race in the finale.

 

The race took off from Liege at 10.00 with two very prominent non-starters as neither Chris Froome and Carlos Betancur turned up at the sign-in. Froome had been withdrawn as a precautionary measure due to a mild chest infection while Betancur was ill. The Colombian was at the start but as he wasn't feeling well, his team decided not to let him start.

 

The break is formed

The race got off to a fast and animated start but the pace was not as furious as it was in the beginning of the Fleche Wallonne where the riders covered 49km during the first hour of the race. After 6km of racing, things were still together but the elastic briefly seemed to have snapped when five riders got clear just moments later. However, they were quickly back in the bunch.

 

Instead, Pirmin Lang (IAM), Michel Koch (Cannondale), and Jaco Venter (MTN-Qhubeka) took off and they were joined by Matteo Bono (Lampre-Merida), Pieter Jacobs (Topsport Vlaanderen) and Marco Minaard (Wanty) at the 12km mark. The peloton seemed to be content with the situation and allowed the gap to grow massively.

 

A big gap

When it had reachd 12.50, BMC started to control the situation as they asked Stephen Cummings to up the pace a bit but the advantage was still going up. At the 35km mark, it was 14.20 and it reached 15 minutes 6.5km further up the road.

 

Movistar now asked Jose Ivan Gutierrez to join Cummings but as they headed up the day's first climb, the Cote de La Roche-en-Ardenee, the gap was 15.45 Jacobs was the first to crest the summit to take an early lead in the mountains classification.

 

More teams start to chase

Lotto Belisol now also joined the chase as they were hopeful for Jelle Vanendert, and that stopped the upwards trajectory of the gap. For a long time, Gutierrez, Cummings and Sander Armee swapped turns on the front to keep the gap stable at around 15.30 and they soon got a bit of assistance from Serge Pauwels (OPQS).

 

While Koch won the special sprint in Bastogne at the 100km mark to score a 5000 euros cash prime, the quartet of chasers continued to work together to keep the situation under control. With 149km to go, Martin showed his intention as he asked his Garmin teammate Thomas Dekker to assist in the chase.

 

Porte at the back

Passing through the feed zone, it became apparent that Richie Porte (Sky) was not feeling well as he briefly got distanced before being brought back by teammate Danny Pate. However, he spent most of the day at the back of the peloton and never featured at the pointy end of the race.

 

Jacobs was again the strongest on the Cote de Saint-Roch while Koch, Bono and Venter briefly lost contact before rejoining the break after the top. In the peloton, the pace was modest but the gradual elimination had now started.

 

Schleck drops off

With 100km to go, Andy Schleck (Trek) fell off the pace and he abandoned a few kilometres later, citing knee pain. A little later, the battle for position really started as the Cote de Wanne would signal the start of the hard part of the race.

 

A small crash with the likes of Jan Bakelants (OPQS), Louis Meintjes (MTN) and Kreuziger briefly split the peloton in this hectic phase as Tony Martin had now taken control for OPQS. Meanwhile, Minnaard fell off the pace in the break while Jacobs again led the group over the top.

 

OPQS take control

Europcar and OPQS battled hard for the best position at the bottom of the climb while a big group rejoined the bunch after having been caught behind the crash. Meanwhile, Gutierrez, Martin and Carlos Verona (OPQS) set a steady pace up the climb.

 

Jacobs was again the best in the break on the Cote de Stockeu while Martin and Kwiatkowski got a gap on the descent to enter that climb a little ahead of the rest of the peloton. They were quickly brought back into the fold and instead Martin, Verona and Marcus Burghardt (BMC) led the peloton up the climb.

 

It's over for Rodriguez

Surprisingly, Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) got dropped and he was clearly suffering from his Amstel Gold Race crash. Moments later, he would leave the race.

 

Over the top of the Cote deStockeu, the attacks started from the peloton when Jeremy Roy took off. Over the next kilometres and all the way up the Cote de Haute-Levee, Kevin Reza (Europcar), Pieter Serry (OPQS), Nathan Haas (Garmin), Pierre Rolland (Europcar), Julian Arredondo (Trek), Peter Velits (BMC), Michael Albasini (Orica.GreenEDGE), Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin), Lieuwe Westra (Astana), Andriy Grivko (Atstana), Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale), Bram Tankink (Belkin), Eduard Vorganov (Katusha), Ion Izagirre (Movistar), Fabio Felline (Trek), Benat Intxausti (Movistar), Marco Marcato (Cannondale), and Michael Rogers (Tinkoff-Saxo) were just some of the riders to be involved in attacks but nothing stuck,

 

Costa crashes

As the peloton caught Minnaard, a crash brought down Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), David Lopez (Sky), Andres Torres (Volombia), and Michal Golas (OPQS) and unfortunately the world champion was out of the race. Up ahead, BMC started to control the situation as Peter Velits hit the front.

 

The Slovakian set a steady pace that allowed the gap to remain stable at around 5 minutes. He got some assistance from Perrig Quemenur (Europcar) and those two riders started to bring down the gap.

 

Tinkoff-Saxo up the pace

On the Cote de la Vecquee with 62km to go, Tinkoff-Saxo took control with Michael Rogers setting a hard pace that increased the gradual elimination. Over the top, Eduard Beltran (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Quemeneur continued the pace-setting until the battle for position for the Cote de la Redoute started.

 

Imanol Erviti took over for Movistar while the escapees hit the climb with a 2. 30 advantage. Again Martin took control for OPQS in the run-in to the climb and he set the pace on the lower slopes while Koch and later Lang got dropped from the breakaway.

 

Attacks on la Redoute

Jacobs and finally Venter were also unable to keep up with Bono who crested the summit as the lone leader. Meanwhile, Warren Barguil (Giant-Shimano) launched the first attack from the peloton while Bakelants, Mirko Selvaggi (Wanty) and Stefan Denifl (IAM) took off in pursuit.

 

Arredondo joined that trio and they dropped Selvaggi. Bakelants and Arredondo made it across to Barguil while Ben Hermans was now chasing hard in the peloton.

 

Venter and Bono lead the race

Arredondo and Barguil got caught while Bakelants gave it another go, passing Koch in the process. He was joined by Albasini and Ion Izagirre but BMC brought it back together.

 

Venter had now rejoined Bono and they were 30 seconds ahead of Jacobs who would later be joined by Lang. In the peloton Tom Wellens (Lotto Belisol) made an attack but Herman kept things under control for BMC.

 

More attacks

Ag2r now hit the front with Mikael Cherel and their hard work was enough to catch the two chasers. On the Cote des Forges, Bono again dropped Venter while Ag2r continued their hard pace-setting.

 

Alex Howes attacked from the peloton and caught Venter just at the top. He quickly left him behind while Simon Clarke (Orica), Amael Moinard (BMC), Serry, Enrico Gasparotto (Astana), Matteo Montaguti (Ag2r), Ion Izagirre, Rolland, Fabio Felline (Trek) and Chris-Anker Sørensen (Tinkoff-Saxo) set off in pursuit.

 

Ag2r chase hard

That move was neutralized and instead Jerome Baugnies (Wanty) joined Howes who had dropped Venter. Later Dennis Vanendert (Lotto), Sørensen and Weening also joined the move but when Ag2r hit the front with Ben Gastauer that group was also caught.

 

Christophe Riblon was the next to set the pace and his hard pace was enough to catch Bono at the bottom of the Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons with 20km to go. Montaguti took over on the slopes until Arrendondo launched the first attack.

 

Arrendondo and Pozzovivo get clear

He was joined by Pozzovivo but Gilbert quickly closed it down with Barde on his wheel. Valverde, Vanendert, Kwiakowski, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) were the next to join them but as it slowed down, a lot fo riders made the junction.

 

Arredondo and Pozzovivo attacked again and this time they got a solid gap. Samuel Sanchez (BMC) took off in pursuit while Vanendert, Damiano Cunego (Lampre), Kreuziger and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and later also Ivan Santaromita (Orica), Rolland, Gasparotto and Alexandr Kolobnev joined him on the descent.

 

Movistar take control

Movistar took control of the chase and brought that dangerous group back. Kreuziger tried again and was joined by Nibali and Caruso but Valverd quickly realized the danger and bridged across. Gilbert and Lars-Petter Nordhaug (Belkin) followed suit and the next to make the junction were Vanendert, Bardet and Kiwatkowski.

 

As it slowed down, Nordhaug and Kreuziger attacked but they had no success and instead a bigger group gathered. Cyril Gautier (Europcar), Denifl, Wellens, Fuglsang, Niemiec and Barguil all tried to attack but as Sanchez hit the front, things got back under control.

 

Back together for Saint-Nicolas

Clarke took a short turn on the front before the Izagirre brothers set a hard pace that prevented any further attacks. They caught Arredondo and Pozzovivo and so 25 riders hit the Cote de Saint-Nicolas in the front group.

 

Weening and Clarke set the pace at the bottom until Denifl took off. He quickly got a big gap before Sanchez again started to chase for BMC.

 

Caruso and Pozzovivo make their move

The attacking started for real when Caruso attacked Pozzovivo and Mollema tried to join but only the Italian made it. They passed Denifl and crested the summit as the leaders.

 

Over the top, a group of favourites with Valverde, Gilbert, Mollema, Martin, Moreno, Gerrans, Kreuziger, Vanendert, Bardet, Kwiatkowski, Arredondo and Slagter were in pursuit of the leaders but there was no cooperation. Valverde tried to take off but he didn't get clear and instead more riders rejoined them.

 

Rolland, Nordhaug, Nibali and Vanendert all made attacks until Sanchez again stated to chase. With 1.5km to go, he had brought the gap down to 9 seconds and then it was time for Weening to take over. The Dutchman led the group onto the final climb from where the hectic and dramatic finale started, with his teammate Gerrans taking a fantastic win.