2018 Grand Prix de Wallonie (1.1), Belgium

59th edition: Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Grand Prix de Wallonie podium history | 2017 edition | 2019 edition | Course map

Blegny - Citadelle de Namur, 205.9 km

Jasper Stuyven wins in Namur. Photo: Peter De Voecht/PN/Bettini

The race: Here's the report from winner Jasper Stuyven's Trek-Segafredo team.

Jasper Stuyven left no doubt who was the strongest in the 59th edition of the Grand Prix de Wallonie Wednesday, leading himself out in the sprint with five men on his wheel and taking the win by a bike length.

It was the teamwork before the traditional finale climb up to Citadelle de Namur that played an essential role in setting up Stuyven, who clearly was on a good day. Notably, Niklas Eg who pulled for 120 kilometers on the front with a Cofidis rider to help control and bring back the five-man breakaway.

“It was really cool racing today – the team controlled the race the whole day, right from the start. Neo-pro Niklas Eg did really a perfect job. Our goal was to make the race hard, and we did, and the team put me in a perfect position at 25-30kms to go. I had really good legs, so I decided to make the race hard myself from that point onward,” explained Stuyven.

With Irish powerhouse Ryan Mullen putting Jasper Stuyven in a great position in the final 25 kilometers, Stuyven took the race in hand. His attack created the first big selection, and just when the decimated bunch began to claw its way back, he attacked again on a climb with 16 kilometers to go, drawing out a select group of nine, with five riders chasing furiously behind.

“It was a pity that in the finale a few riders came back, and I had no one there to help, but Michael (Gogl) was still suffering from the jetlag (Gogl raced the Canadian classics with Stuyven -ed),” continued Stuyven. “But I had good legs, so I didn’t panic. When Barguil went at 1.5kms to go, I knew this was the move I had to counter. I decided to keep going full gas, and obviously, this meant I was racing in the front really early, but I knew that if I could take the last corner first, not many would be able to pass me.”

The two groups came together ahead of the climb to the Citadelle de Namur – not an easy finish after 200 kilometers – and Stuyven looked to have put himself into a precarious position when five riders came back to his wheel in the last 500 meters after going all-in for the final two kilometers.

With little choice, he continued to push the pace, taking the final sharp corner first, and jumping for the line. No one had an answer. He crossed the line with enough space to raise his arms and savor the victory.

Complete results:

205.9 kilometers raced at an average speed of 39.286 km/hr

1	STUYVEN Jasper	Trek-Segafredo	5hr 14min 28sec
2	CLAEYS Dimitri	Cofidis	s.t.
3	BARGUIL Warren	Fortuneo-Samsic	s.t.
4	VANENDERT Jelle	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
5	MARTIN Guillaume	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
6	DUIJN Huub	Veranda's Willems-Crelan	@ 5sec
7	HIVERT Jonathan	Direct Energie	0:07
8	CABOT Jeremy	Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
9	REZA Kévin	Vital Concept	s.t.
10	BENNETT Sean	Hagens Berman Axeon	0:08
11	ANTOMARCHI Julien	Roubaix-Lille Metropole	0:12
12	SEIGLE Romain	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
13	ALMEIDA João	Hagens Berman Axeon	0:14
14	DE GREEF Robbert	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	0:16
15	EIKING Odd Christian	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	0:23
16	BAKELANTS Jan	Ag2r La Mondiale	0:26
17	OLIVEIRA Rui	Hagens Berman Axeon	0:27
18	LE GAC Olivier	Groupama-FDJ	0:47
19	VAN DER HOORN Taco	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
20	MAISON Jérémy	Fortuneo-Samsic	0:51
21	KONOVALOVAS Ignatas	Groupama-FDJ	0:54
22	DELTOMBE Kevin	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	0:59
23	MÜLLER Patrick	Vital Concept	s.t.
24	SIMON Julien	Cofidis	s.t.
25	SPRENGERS Thomas	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	1:03
26	PEYSKENS Dimitri	WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic	1:28
27	PEREZ Anthony	Cofidis	1:34
28	BAUGNIES Jérôme	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	1:37
29	NEILANDS Krists	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
30	LEWIS Adam	T.Palm-Pole Continental	s.t.
31	PARET-PEINTRE Aurélien	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
32	DE WITTE Mathias	Veranda's Willems-Crelan	s.t.
33	BACKAERT Frederik	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
34	TURGIS Tanguy	Vital Concept	s.t.
35	IDJOUADIENE Pierre	Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
36	BUDDING Martijn	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
37	GUERREIRO Ruben	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
38	RUIJGH Rob	Tarteletto-Isorex	s.t.
39	PRODHOMME Nicolas	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
40	VAN GESTEL Dries	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
41	DOUBEY Fabien	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
42	BADILATTI Matteo	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
43	VAUGRENARD Benoît	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
44	VAN GINNEKEN Sjoerd	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
45	NAULEAU Bryan	Direct Energie	1:43
46	LUDVIGSSON Tobias	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
47	DEBUSSCHERE Jens	Lotto-Soudal	2:07
48	STOCKMAN Abram	Tarteletto-Isorex	2:24
49	TURGIS Jimmy	Cofidis	2:28
50	STOCKMAN Michiel	Tarteletto-Isorex	s.t.
51	VAN VUCHELEN Tom	AGO-Aqua Service	s.t.
52	VANTOMME Maxime	WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic	2:32
53	KEUKELEIRE Jens	Lotto-Soudal	2:34
54	TRONET Steven	Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
55	ALLEGAERT Piet	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
56	TURGIS Anthony	Cofidis	2:39
57	PESTIAUX Yann	AGO-Aqua Service	2:42
58	GERTS Floris	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
59	BONNAMOUR Franck	Fortuneo-Samsic	2:59
60	COURTEILLE Arnaud	Vital Concept	3:06
61	ISTA Kevyn	WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic	3:13
62	MONIQUET Sylvain	AGO-Aqua Service	3:16
63	DENZ Nico	Ag2r La Mondiale	3:19
64	WIRTGEN Tom	WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic	3:21
65	DE GENDT Aimé	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	3:26
66	LIETAER Eliot	WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic	s.t.
67	DUMOULIN Samuel	Ag2r La Mondiale	3:33
68	LEDANOIS Kévin	Fortuneo-Samsic	4:27
69	SEFA Ylber	Tarteletto-Isorex	7:13
70	WARNIER Antoine	WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic	7:16
71	VAN MELSEN Kevin	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
72	MAINARD Jerome	Roubaix-Lille Metropole	s.t.
73	DÍAZ José Manuel	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
74	SCHEIRE Ruben	Tarteletto-Isorex	s.t.
75	MAES Nikolas	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
76	PAGNAER Arthur	T.Palm-Pole Continental	s.t.
77	MORTIER Julien	WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic	s.t.
78	SLAGMULDERS Yorick	T.Palm-Pole Continental	s.t.
79	DOPCHIE Felix	AGO-Aqua Service	s.t.
80	VAN STAEYEN Michael	Cofidis	s.t.
81	VAN POPPEL Boy	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
82	DECLERCQ Benjamin	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
83	JENSEN August	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
84	VANHOUCKE Harm	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
85	SELLIER Simon	Direct Energie	7:21
86	LIVYNS Arjen	Veranda's Willems-Crelan	s.t.
87	JOLY Thomas	Roubaix-Lille Metropole	7:39
88	VAN GOETHEM Brian	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	7:48
89	MANZIN Lorrenzo	Vital Concept	9:56
90	DIDIER Laurent	Trek-Segafredo	12:01
91	MULLEN Ryan	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
92	GOGL Michael	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
93	BOUCHER David	Tarteletto-Isorex	s.t.
94	GOLDSTEIN Roy	Israel Cycling Academy	s.t.
95	NAESEN Lawrence	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
96	SIEBERG Marcel	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
97	MORICE Julien	Vital Concept	s.t.
98	LEIGH Andy	Tarteletto-Isorex	s.t.
99	ARMIRAIL Bruno	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
100	CORNU Jérémy	Direct Energie	s.t.
101	MEIJERS Jeroen	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
102	DE BONDT Dries	Veranda's Willems-Crelan	s.t.
103	PETIT Tomas	T.Palm-Pole Continental	s.t.
104	VANDENBERGH Stijn	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
105	HOELGAARD Daniel	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
106	FARAZIJN Maxime	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
107	BAGDONAS Gediminas	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
108	KØRNER Max Emil	T.Palm-Pole Continental	s.t.
109	RICE Michael	Hagens Berman Axeon	s.t.
110	GÈNE Yohann	Direct Energie	s.t.
111	LE BON Johan	Vital Concept	s.t.
112	LE ROUX Romain	Fortuneo-Samsic	s.t.
113	MOINARD Amaël	Fortuneo-Samsic	s.t.
114	LEYSEN Senne	Veranda's Willems-Crelan	s.t.
115	DEVOLDER Stijn	Veranda's Willems-Crelan	s.t.
116	BROWN Jonny	Hagens Berman Axeon	s.t.
117	ZIJLAARD Maikel	Hagens Berman Axeon	s.t.
118	JOURNIAUX Axel	Direct Energie	s.t.
119	OLIVEIRA Ivo	Hagens Berman Axeon	s.t.
120	TASSET Marvin	AGO-Aqua Service	12:10
121	DE SY Vincent	T.Palm-Pole Continental	15:09

Course map:

2018 GP de Wallonie map