Flèche Brabançonne: Julian Alaphilippe falls, Magnus Sheffield wins

A race with hilly landscapes, the Flèche Brabançonne, which is part of the so-called Ardennes sequence, was disputed this Wednesday under an almost permanent drizzle. The young American neo-professional Magnus Sheffield, 19 (Ineos-Grenadiers) managed to isolate himself in the final part to win with a comfortable lead (about forty seconds) over the small group of strong men who had took the lead. Among these, Benoît Cosnefroy, unfortunate second in the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday and obviously still having a great day, was once again content with the second step of the podium ahead of the Belgian Tim Wellens. The title remains in the Ineos house a year after the victory of Tom Pidcock, who finished this Wednesday 6th in the race. The local Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), still as invigorating, dynamited the race despite some signs of weakness, and had to settle for a runner-up (7th). Winner of the event in 2020, Julian Alaphilippe, who had ambitions for this race, fell about twenty kilometers from the finish following an error in driving the car of his own sporting director. This resulted in the fall of several runners. The French world champion finally left after first holding his arm and then giving up. According to our first information, he would not suffer from anything serious.