<p>HUY, Belgium — Julian Alaphilippe earned his third victory in the Flèche Wallonne one-day classic on Wednesday, overtaking Spanish Vuelta champion Primoz Roglič on the final ascent to the finish line.</p>
<p>Roglič, the Tour de France runner-up, attacked up the grueling Mur de Huy about 350 meters from the finish but couldn’t hold off the 28-year-old Frenchman, who also won in 2018 and ’19.</p>
<p>The Deceuninck-Quick Step rider finished the 194-kilometer (120-mile) course in 4 hours, 36 minutes, 25 seconds. Roglič was credited with the same time and 40-year-old Alejandro Valverde of Spain was third, six seconds back.</p>
<p>Alaphilippe wagged his finger and smiled after edging the Slovenian at the finish of the 85th edition of the race.</p>
<p>The peloton swallowed up the last of a breakaway group with only 1.5 kilometers left when French rider Maurits Lammertink was caught at the bottom of the Mur de Huy.</p>
<p>Before the race, Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar and defending champion Marc Hirschi were last-minute withdrawals after their UAE Team Emirates team had two positive coronavirus tests, even though the team was previously vaccinated.</p>
<p>In the women’s race, world champion Anna van der Breggen won for the seventh straight time by outclimbing Kasia Niewiadoma on the final ascent.</p>
<p>“I think It was the most difficult one. I’m really happy to finish it off like that,” the 31-year-old Dutch rider said.</p>
<p>Last year’s Flèche Wallonne was pushed back to September because of the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
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