Dylan Teuns: "Maybe the strongest rider won today, yes"

Dylan Teuns is no stranger to big wins, having two triumphs at the Tour de France just to name a few, however today's win at La Flèche Wallone was perhaps the most impressive in his career as he directly beat world-class competition to win his first one-day race.

"I have no words for it. It is unbelievable. I've always dreamed of this. I was in the perfect position at the start of the Mur de Huy. At 500 meters from the finish I was briefly closed in by a riders from BORA-hansgrohe and Movistar but I knew Alejandro Valverde where he was going to accelerate. He always does that in the same place and that's perfect for me too. I felt that I still had something left and I persevered," Teuns said in a post-race interview.

Bahrain - Victorious came into the Belgian race with many cards to play, however it was expected that Teuns would be their leader taking into account his recent results in the cobbled classics where he finished in the Top10 at the Tour des Flandres, Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold Race. He entered the final ascent to the Mur de Huy in strong position, and benefited from that to have the legs to attack in the long final 200 meters.

Teuns added: “Maybe the strongest rider won today, yes. I have never been so strong in the spring. I'm always good in the summer, but in the spring sometimes great and sometimes not so much. But now I ride very consistently all spring.”

“I have secretly always dreamed of this. I have always believed in myself. It is exactly five years after I was on the podium here and I have continued to believe that one day it would still work," he concluded. With this win, Teuns has put himself high up the ranks for Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège, whilst Bahrain will present a very varied team capable of spreading chaos in the peloton.