J-Rod is Flèche Torpedo

Joaquim Rodriguez has come close to winning Fleche Wallonne before, finishing second for the last two years. This year he finally won, and he looked to be pretty pleased too.

The race unfolded much like Amstel Gold, only wetter. An early break went, it wasn’t allowed to get too far, and apart from a few late moves, it stayed together for a sprint up the Muy du Hoy. J-Rod had the best legs, and put plenty of distance between himself and the rest by the line.

Yet another good score for the Roulers then, there seems to be no stopping them. According to the scores for the day, Roulers beat my boys by 1 point. That doesn’t sound quite right to me though, as Jelle Vanendert’s points don’t seem to have been counted. Much as it pains me to say it, I think the Roulers deserve another 16 or so points, but I’m no George Chapman, so what do I know?

It’s all pretty much over at the top of the mini-league. It would take some sort of miracle for Roulers not to win, but there's still the lesser placings to fight for.

On Sunday then, it will be the end of the Spring Classics season, with Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Judging by the way the other Ardennes Classics have played out, I’m thinking it will all stay pretty much together, till the winner is decided on a sprint up the final climb.