Snow, rain and cold made for an epic battle in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, won by Wout Poels (Sky) today. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s Enrico Battaglin dealt best with the horrible weather conditions. He held on in the first group and eventually finished 46th place.

"It was a very tough race with the rain, cold and snow. I fought to hold my position in the first group, but on the Saint Nicolas climb, the lights went out slowly," said the Italian. "I'm sorry I didn't have it. This was the first time I did this race, so I lacked some experience. Hopefully next year will be better."But I'm happy with my form. The next course I will race is the Giro d'Italia. I'll try to go for a stage victory."

"Before the race we were hoping for a place in the top 10 with Robert Gesink, but unfortunately that didn’t work out. We were just not good enough today," LottoNL-Jumbo sports director Addy Engels explained. "Of course, the cold weather played a role. Some ride physically and mentally better in it than others do. That's no excuse because all the riders have to ride in these circumstances."If you look at the results of the Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, then it was a disappointing Ardennes campaign. This was the last classic. Now we focus on the next races, like the Tour de Romandie and Giro d’Italia."