Having taken the victory at Brabantse Pijl last week, Benoît Cosnefroy returned to Belgium to take on La Flèche Wallonne, coming into the race as one of the main favourites after finishing as the runner-up on the Mur de Huy at the 2020 edition of the race.
The riders faced brutal conditions throughout the day, with cold temperatures, hail and sleet all hitting the riders during the race. On the weather, the Frenchman said “I was frozen for the last 80 kilometres and didn't think I’d make it to the finish. It's been a long time since I finished in such a physical state”.
His Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale teammates brought him to the front of the race as they entered the final kilometre, with Cosnefroy going to the front on the slopes of the final ascent of the Mur de Huy.
On the work from the likes of Dorian Godon and Bruno Armirail, Cosnefroy said “the team placed me very well at the foot of the last ascent of the Mur de Huy, after which I wanted to manage my climb so as not to regret anything”.
Having led the group onto the toughest slopes of the Mur de Huy, Cosnefroy was simply unable to follow when the eventual winner Stephen Williams launched his attack in the final three-hundred metres and narrowly missed out on the podium with a fourth place finish behind Kévin Vauquelin and Maxim Van Gils.
On his result given the conditions, Cosnefroy said “I’m already happy to have been in the first group, which wasn’t easy with the cold rain and snow at times. But now I’m at the end and I’m really cold. It was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had on the bike”.
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