Primoz Roglic snatches Liège-Bastogne-Liège from Julian Alaphilippe
Julian Alaphilippe was denied on the line by Primoz Roglic, already celebrating with his arms outstretched, Roglic dipped on his inside. Alaphilippe was later relegated to fifth for cutting up Marc Hirschi
Four of the biggest names in cycling in 2020 battled it out for the win as Liege-Bastogne-Liege came down to the most dramatic of finishes.
Julian Alaphilippe thought he'd won it as he crossed the line with his arms raised, but the Frenchman didn't see Primoz Roglic coming up on his inside to snatch victory by the finest of margins.
World Champion Alaphilippe was subsequently relegated to fifth by the commissaires in any case after cutting across the line of Marc Hirschi during the sprint in a move that took both Hirschi and Tadej Pogacar out of contention.
“I started my sprint at 200 meters to go, but then I made that mistake, for which I take full responsibility," Alaphilippe said in a statement released on Sunday evening
Exhausted looking Slovenian Roglic said: "It was just unbelievable, it was so close just never stopped believing and kept pushing to the last centimetre and I'm super happy that I managed to win.
Roglic's Tour de France heartbreak is somewhat redeemed by ticking off his first monument victory on his wish list.
"It was actually the first time I did the oldest race in the whole calendar and it was on my wish list to win a monument."
Greg Van Avermaet, Adam Yates and Jay McCarthy Crash Out
?? Interview ?? #LBL 2020 ???? @rogla ?? pic.twitter.com/UiukmrWknB
— Liège-Bastogne-Liège (@LiegeBastogneL) October 4, 2020
Greg Van Avermaet, Adam Yates and Jay McCarthy all crashed out of Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday after a nasty crash involving road furniture. The incident took out three of the bigger contenders in the Monument, with the Team CCC and Bora-Hansgrohe riders taken to hospital to treat their injuries.
A disastrous collision with an unmarked road sign led to three of the leading contenders crash out of Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday.
Greg van Avermaet and Jay McCarthy were seen on the ground after the incident, which saw the peloton ride straight into the road furniture during the one-day classic.
Bora later confirmed that McCarthy's injuries were not serious, but Van Avermaet suffered a number of injuries, including broken ribs, a broken spinal vertebra and torn shoulder ligaments.
VIDEO: 2020 Liège-Bastogne-Liège Highlights
2020 Liège-Bastogne-Liège Top 10
1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma 6:32:02
2 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb
3 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
4 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren
5 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep
6 Mathieu Van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix 0:00:14
7 Michael Woods (Can) EF Pro Cycling
8 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Team Sunweb
9 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
10 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers