New time trial and road world champion Anna van der Breggen has won the Fleche Wallonne classic one-day race in Belgium for a record sixth time.
The Boels-Dolmans rider now holds the record for most wins following a drag up the legendary Mur de Huy.
Marc Hirschi of Sunweb took the men’s race with a powerful acceleration up the same climb.
Just a few minutes before, breakaway rider Mauri Vansevenant bizarrely left the road and crashed into bushes.
The Deceuninck-Quick Step rider recovered well to try to hold on to his lead but was caught by the peloton.
Hirschi, 22, beat Benoit Cosnefroy of AG2R La Mondiale and EF Pro Cycling’s Michael Woods.
Swiss Hirschi took cycling by storm following some battling performances during September’s Tour de France, in which he won the overall most combative rider prize and the 12th stage.
In the women’s race, 30-year-old Van der Breggen beat Demi Vollering of Parkhotel Valkenburg despite her attempts to breakaway up the Huy.
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope tried to go with Van der Breggen but could not hold on.
Her sixth win in the race – achieved in consecutive years from 2015 – takes Van der Breggen one clear of fellow Dutch rider Marianne Vos.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s second stage of the men’s Binck Bank Tour was cancelled as restrictions in some areas of the Netherlands were tightened following a rise in coronavirus cases.
The stage race is expected to resume on Thursday with an 11km time trial.
