Moreno wins Fleche-Wallonne cycling classic

HUY, Belgium (AFP) –

Spanish cyclist Daniel Moreno Fernandez celebrates while crossing the finish line and wins on April 17, 2013 the 77th edition of the Fleche-Wallonne 205 km one-day cycling race, from Binche to Huy in Belgium. Moreno won the second of the Ardennes Classics, the Fleche-Wallonne, on Wednesday giving his team Katusha their second successive victory in the race.

Spaniard Daniel Moreno won the second of the Ardennes Classics, the Fleche-Wallonne, on Wednesday giving his team Katusha their second successive victory in the race.

The 31-year-old – whose team leader Joaquim Rodriguez won last year – beat two Colombians Sergio Henao and Carlos Alberto Betancur to the line in the 205km race.

Rodriguez failed to mount a challenge as the effects of his fall in last weekend’s Amstel Gold Race took their toll.

Moreno, whose previous best win was a stage in the Tour of Spain, made the decisive burst when he passed the world time-trial champion Philippe Gilbert, who had gone after Betancur, on the final climb.

The third and final Ardennes one day classic is the Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday.