Bob Jungels wins Liege-Bastogne-Liege

Bob Jungels produced a stunning long-range solo attack to win the 2018 Liege-Bastogne-Liege – his first victory in a Monument.

Jungels saw his opportunity after the peloton had climbed the Cote de Roche-aux-Faucons with 18.6km to go, and he finished 37 seconds clear of Michael Woods.

The 25-year-old became the third Luxembourg rider to win the Ardennes classic – after Marcel Ernzer (1954) and Andy Schleck (2009) – and made it 27 wins this season for his Quick-Step team.

“I was feeling really good all day long and fortunately nobody came back,” Jungels told Eurosport after breaking his Monuments race duck.

“But I didn’t believe it until there was nobody here on the line. It’s incredible, I just can’t believe it. It’s pretty unreal.

“I was waiting for such a big result for a long very time, and I’m just so glad the teamwork and hard work during all those years paid off.”

Jungels quickly gained a lead of 30 seconds on the flat run towards the final classified climb of the Cote de Saint-Nicolas.

He had had just over 50 seconds lead when he hit the bottom of the climb as the chase group, including the likes of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step) and Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal), failed to make a cohesive effort to chase him down.

Jungels was able to celebrate some distance from the line with Woods (EF Education First-Drapac) battling Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) for second.

Bardet had led most of the way up the final climb, but he was unable to stop Woods from rounding him in the final 100 metres and sprinting in for second place.

Alaphilippe took fourth in the chasing group at two seconds back, with defending champion Valverde ending up 13th.

Holland’s Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolman) had earlier won the women’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege for the second time.

Van der Breggen, fresh from her victory at Fleche Wallonne last week, surged clear to finish six seconds ahead of Amanda Spratt and nearly a minute from Annemiek van Vleuten (both Mitchelton-Scott).