With the weather forecast for today’s Fleche Wallonne looking downright appalling, it should perhaps come as no surprise that Cadel Evans has withdrawn from competition as he continues to suffer from the sinus infection that forced his abandonment of last Sunday’s� Amstel Gold. In an official statement BMC Racing team doctor, the appropriately named Max Testa, said, ‘Cadel has the Tour of Romandie coming in one week and with this infection, we don’t want to take any risks… The weather won’t be helpful – it’s going to be rainy and cold.’ The decision leaves last year’s winner, Philippe Gilbert, without his team-mate but hopefully only metaphorically out in the cold.

Before the men take to the Belgium streets, Marianne Vos will be defending last year’s victory in La Fleche Wallonne Femmes, with Emma Pooley and Nicole Cooke chief British opponents, Pooley having won the event in 2010 and Cooke in 2003, 5 and 6.

Clearly it wasn�t enough for Omega Pharma-Lotto�s Philippe Gilbert to have won the Amstel Gold Classic last Sunday (April 17) as he yesterday stormed home to take another win at the Fl�che Wallonne making it an impressive two Ardennes Classic victories in just three days. The Belgian�s late attack with less than 300m left to go on the summit finish saw him crack this 75^th edition of the race in a time of 4:54:57, with Spain�s Joaquim Rodr�guez Olivier in second place on +3 for Team Katusha and the 2008 Olympic Road Race champion Samuel S�nchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) third on +5.

Gilbert later admitted to still feeling fatigued from last Sunday�s Amstel Gold (we certainly couldn�t tell) but remains cagily optimistic about his chances of winning three for three in this coming Sunday�s final chapter of the Ardennes Classics (Li�ge-Bastogne-Li�ge) commenting his chances: “It’s not impossible, I don’t rule out winning.�

Meanwhile in the 109.5k Fl�che Wallonne F�minine � which covers the same ascents as the men�s course but with two, instead of three, climbs over Mur de Huy � Marianne Vos hit first in 2:58:27 making her the only woman ever to have won the event four times.