World champion Anna van der Breggen won the women's Fleche Wallonne classic race for the sixth straight time on Wednesday after beating the field to the finish line at the top of the Mur de Huy.
Four days after claiming the world champion's rainbow jersey, Van der Breggen was able to follow an attack from Demi Vollering on the steep climb to the finish line. Vollering ran out of gas in the final meters and Van der Breggen overpowered Cecilie Uttrup-Ludwig to prevail in the sprint.
Vollering completed the podium.
Dutch Anna Van Der Breggen, center, winner, of the Boels Dolmans team celebrates on the podium with Danish Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, left, runner-up, of Fdj Nouvelle - Aquitaine Futuroscope team, and Dutch Demi Vollering, third, of Parkhotel Valkenburg team at the end of the stage one the Belgian women cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Fleche Wallonne in Huy, Belgium, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. (AP Photo Olivier Matthys)
“I think it was the closest of every year. It means a lot," said Van der Breggen. "This finale is incredibly hard, winning six times is crazy.”
Van der Breggen, who also claimed gold in the road race at the 2016 Rio Olympics, secured a rare double at the world championships last week, winning both the road race and the time trial.
Normally scheduled in the spring, the Fleche Wallonne was pushed back to September because of the coronavirus pandemic that brought the cycling season to a halt for several months.
Dutch Anna Van Der Breggen, of Boels Dolmans team, celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the stage one of the Belgian women cycling classic and UCI World Tour race Fleche Wallonne in Huy, Belgium, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. (AP Photo Olivier Matthys)
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