2011 La Flèche Wallonne
Encyclopedia
The 2011 La Flèche Wallonne was the 75th running of La Flèche Wallonne
, a single-day cycling race. It was held on 20 April 2011 over a distance of 201 kilometres (124.9 mi) between Charleroi
and Huy
in Belgium
, and was the eleventh race of the 2011 UCI World Tour
season.
As he had done in the closing stages of his winning performance at the Amstel Gold Race
three days prior to La Flèche Wallonne, 's Philippe Gilbert
attacked on the final uphill climb – the Mur de Huy
– to the finish and accelerated away from the field, gapping them by three seconds to take victory and his third classics win in the space of a week, having also won the Brabantse Pijl
; the first rider to win all three in the same season. Gilbert also became the first Belgian to win La Flèche Wallonne since Mario Aerts
won the race in 2002. Second place went to – just like he did in the Amstel Gold Race – Joaquim Rodríguez
of , with Samuel Sánchez
finishing third for , five seconds behind Gilbert.
La Flèche Wallonne
La Flèche Wallonne is a major men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Belgium.The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège...
, a single-day cycling race. It was held on 20 April 2011 over a distance of 201 kilometres (124.9 mi) between Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
and Huy
Huy
Huy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the sillon industriel, the former industrial backbone of Wallonia, home to about two-thirds of the Walloon population...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and was the eleventh race of the 2011 UCI World Tour
2011 UCI World Tour
The 2011 UCI World Tour was the third edition of the ranking system launched by the International Cycling Union in 2009. The series started with the Tour Down Under's opening stage on 18 January, and consisted of 14 stage races and 13 one-day races, culminating in the Giro di Lombardia on 15...
season.
As he had done in the closing stages of his winning performance at the Amstel Gold Race
2011 Amstel Gold Race
The 2011 Amstel Gold Race was the 46th running of the Amstel Gold Race, a single-day cycling race. It was held on 17 April 2011 over a distance of and was the tenth race of the 2011 UCI World Tour season....
three days prior to La Flèche Wallonne, 's Philippe Gilbert
Philippe Gilbert
Philippe Gilbert is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . Gilbert is a classics specialist...
attacked on the final uphill climb – the Mur de Huy
Mur de Huy
The Mur de Huy is a high hill located in Huy, Belgium. It is also known as le Chemin des Chapelles because of the seven chapels along its route. This climb is famous for being part of the route of La Flèche Wallonne professional cycling race....
– to the finish and accelerated away from the field, gapping them by three seconds to take victory and his third classics win in the space of a week, having also won the Brabantse Pijl
Brabantse Pijl
The Brabantse Pijl is a Flanders Classics road bicycle race held annually in Flemish Brabant, Belgium. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2011, it was upgraded to a 1.HC event...
; the first rider to win all three in the same season. Gilbert also became the first Belgian to win La Flèche Wallonne since Mario Aerts
Mario Aerts
Mario Aerts is a professional road bicycle racer since 1997. He has since shifted residence to Molenstede and currently rides for , and has done so since 2005 under the team's various names....
won the race in 2002. Second place went to – just like he did in the Amstel Gold Race – Joaquim Rodríguez
Joaquim Rodríguez
Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver is a Spanish professional road racing cyclist. He has been competing since 2001, and currently rides for the UCI ProTour team .- Palmarès :2001...
of , with Samuel Sánchez
Samuel Sánchez
Samuel Sánchez González is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He was the gold medal winner in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Men's Road Race. In recent years Sánchez has proven himself in hilly classics and stage races as one of the most important riders in the peloton...
finishing third for , five seconds behind Gilbert.
Teams
25 teams were selected to compete in the 2011 La Flèche Wallonne. All UCI ProTeams were represented as well as seven UCI Professional Continental teams. The teams that competed were:Results
| Cyclist | Team | Time | World Tour 2011 UCI World Tour The 2011 UCI World Tour was the third edition of the ranking system launched by the International Cycling Union in 2009. The series started with the Tour Down Under's opening stage on 18 January, and consisted of 14 stage races and 13 one-day races, culminating in the Giro di Lombardia on 15... Points |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4h 54' 57" | 80 | ||
| 2 | + 3" | 60 | ||
| 3 | + 5" | 50 | ||
| 4 | + 6" | 40 | ||
| 5 | + 6" | 30 | ||
| 6 | + 6" | 22 | ||
| 7 | + 6" | 14 | ||
| 8 | + 9" | 10 | ||
| 9 | + 12" | 6 | ||
| 10 | + 12" | 2 |