Greig Leach

Great joy crossed the face of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) as he raised his arms in a victory salute. Valverde claimed is third career win in the last of the spring Monuments and in so doing, paid back all of the efforts his team had put into the race. The sorrow and frustration was etched across the face of Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx Quickstep). The young Frenchman just ran out of road as he sprinted towards the line. Claiming the final position on the podium was Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) followed by Rui Costa (Lampre Merida) and Romain Bardet (AG2R). Bardet was able to recover from his earlier attack to still finish in the top five. Again, the renaissance of French cycling continues with ever more young Frenchmen getting better and better results.