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Tony Gallopin wins the Grand Prix de Wallonie

Lotto Soudal's Tony Gallopin attacked with 1km to go on the Citadelle de Namur fending off Petr Vakoc on the line

It was the first victory for Gallopin since Stage 6 of the 2015 Paris-Nice. Etixx-Quickstep's Petr Vakoc's close second was impressive considering he raced the Grand Prix Montreal just three days before. Jérôme Baugnies (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) finished 3rd to complete the podium.

The 56th edition of the GP de Wallonie was held on a pretty traditional 205.5 km course that brought the riders from Beaufays on the outskirts of Liege to the Citadel in Namur. After a flat start, they headed into the Ardennes to tackle the early climbs of Cote de Saint-Hubet, Cote de Saint-Remacle and Cote de Werbomont after 31.3km, 44.8km and 59.1km respectively. The middle section of the race was pretty flat but things got much harder in the finale where three climbs in the final 50km preceded the final ascent to the citadel. First up as the Cote d’Emeton with 43.8km to go, then it was time for the Cote de Lustin 26.2km from the finish and the penultimate challenge was the Tienne aux Pierres with 18.4km to go. Finally, the riders tackled the final 2km climb that averaged 4.8%.

Gallopin already proved his class when he established a 7-rider group of favourites on the penultimate climb but then seemed to be out of the battle when the move was neutralized just as they hit the final 2km climb. However, he had kept something in reserve and with a powerful attack halfway up the climb, he dropped all his rivals. A furious chase of Petr Vakoc nearly paid off but Gallopin just had enough to hold the Czech off by mere centimetres.

Gallopin succeeds Lotto Soudal teammate Jens Debusschere who won last year. Gallopin will be racing at this Sunday's European Road Championships in Plumelec, Britany in France.

Grand Prix de Wallonie Results Top 10

1 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal   
2 Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step   
3 Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Wanty - Groupe Gobert   
4 Huub Duijn (Ned) Roompot - Oranje Peloton   
5 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits   
6 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal   
7 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Group Protect   
8 Rasmus Guldhammer (Den) Stölting Service Group   
9 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Fortuneo - Vital Concept   
10 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Stölting Service Group

VIDEO: GP Wallonie Final Kilometers

Tony Gallopin wins the Grand Prix de Wallonie

Lotto Soudal's Tony Gallopin attacked with 1km to go on the Citadelle de Namur fending off Petr Vakoc on the line

 
Tag: GPWallonie
 
Sep 14 2016 - NEWS: Tony Gallopin wins the Grand Prix de Wallonie