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Liege-Bastogne-Liege: Roglic snatches win as Alaphilippe celebrates too early – and then gets relegated to fifth (+ video)

Deignan wins women’s race, while Ulissi takes Stage 2 at Giro d’Italia

An astonishing end to Liege-Bastogne-Liege today saw Primoz Roglic snatch victory from Julian Alaphilippe as the latter, riding his first race in the rainbow jersey of world champion, raised his arms in celebration too early and then found himself relegated for cutting across Marc Hirschi in the sprint. Meanwhile, Lizzie Deignan is back in the lead of the UCI Women’s WorldTour after winning the women’s race, while Diego Ulissi won Stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia.

Deceuninck-Quick Step’s Alaphilippe and Jumbo-Visma rider Roglic were in a select quartet contesting the closing stages of the oldest of cycling’s five Monuments, together with Marc Hirschi of Trek-Segafredo and Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates. They were joined in the closing few hundred metres by Bahrain-Merida’s Matej Mohoric, who opened up the sprint.

Alaphilippe seemed to have won and began celebrating early, but Roglic, throwing his bike at the line, pipped him to the victory by a matter of centimetres.

The world champion’s subsequent relegation was due to him veering sharply to his right to cut across Hirschi’s line metres short of the line, the Swiss rider somehow managing to stay upright and Pogacar also losing his momentum.

As a result, the day’s podium featured three riders who also took to the stage in Paris a fortnight ago at the end of the Tour de France, where Roglic had finished runner-up to Pogacar and Hirschi took the super-combativity award. And with Mohoric moving up to fourth, it also gave Slovenia three riders in the top four today.

Earlier in the race, CCC’s Greg Van Avermaet, Jay McCarthy of Bora-Hansgrohe and Mitchelton-Scott’s Adam Yates all crashed out, the incident caused when they hit a road sign on a traffic island that had no marshal positioned there to warn of the danger.

Deignan’s victory, meanwhile, continues a strong run of form since racing resumed in late July, with the rider from Yorkshire’s recent results including the GP de Plouay and La Course by Le Tour de France.

Her team-mate Ellen van Dijk, who had helped set up Deignan’s victory was third, with Mitchelton-Scott’s Grace Brown separating the two Trek-Segafredo riders after finishing in second place.

“I just felt the moment, and I think that comes from having confidence of being in this team and having directors who allow us to race on instinct,” said Deignan afterwards.

“The nicest thing about this team is that we're allowed to race on instinct and not to fear failure. It was Ellen who said to me: 'Lizzie, you have to go on La Redoute' and I did, and didn't look back, and I just won.”

Deignan, who said that she knew she had won in the last 500 metres, added: “It was really close, Grace Brown was coming up really hot behind me, and I knew how good of a time trialist she is, and I was getting more and more legless.

“In the end, I started to try and chase the motorbikes in front of me rather than think about her behind me because mentally, it cracks you if you think like that.”

Meanwhile, on Sicily, Ulissi outsprinted Bora-Hansgrohe’s three-time world champion, Peter Sagan, to win the second stage of the Giro d’Italia in Agrigento. Filippo Ganna of Ineos Grenadiers, winner of yesterday’s opening time trial, retains the overall lead.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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3 comments

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peted76 | 4 years ago
2 likes

LBL - bit of a bitter taste about that final sprint.. Four superstars get to the line together and it goes a bit wrong.. JA would have crossed the line first if he'd not have put his hands in the air, which takes a little bit away from Rog's victory. But we all could see that Hirschi had the best sprint in that group and was looking fresh so he'd have probably won it if JA hadn't swerved into his tyre who in turn knocked into Pog. Just one big pooh show of a sprint IMO. Shoulda woulda coulda.. but a confusing end to a monument which had such a good last 15km of racing. 

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Organon | 4 years ago
0 likes

2nd on TDF > World Championship. WC is just a day race, don't forget that, Julian.

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WiznaeMe | 4 years ago
0 likes

Watch this sprint it really takes the biscuit.  The commentary needs no translation either!

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