On Wednesday afternoon, Dylan Theuns became the first Belgian rider in more than a decade to win La Flèche Wallonne, as the Diest native beat five-time winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in Mules de Uy.

The Victorious leader from Bahrain said later that he was riding Mules de Uy on the day Philippe Gilbert won it in 2011 as the second race of his three consecutive Ardennes victories.

After his victory, Tuns said he had a "love-hate" relationship with the race, especially the final climb, which features a double-digit gradient reaching 26%.

"I don't know if I have a passion for the race," he said. It's a love-hate relationship." If I didn't have the legs I had today, I wouldn't be in a good position, and I'm very happy with the legs I had today."

Tens can now add the World Tour Classic to his career, which includes two stages of the 2017 Tour de Pollogne and Tour de France. The 30-year-old has been in good form in recent weeks, recovering from a COVID-19 infection he contracted at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in February.

Earlier this month, he finished sixth in the Tour de Flanders, followed by top 10 finishes in the Amstel Gold Race and Brabantspaille, as well as his Paris-Roubaix debut.

"There was a big surprise on Wednesday. They didn't have enough riders to let me compete in Roubaix. I'm good on cobblestones, so they said they'd use me early in the Classic."

"To be honest, I didn't like the stress in the first sector, but I didn't feel super bad on the cobblestones. But when we got into Allenberg, I thought, what am I doing here?

As a light climber/puncher, Tuns found himself in a more favorable position on Wednesday and surged to victory over Valverde in a race where he finished third back in 2017.

"I knew I had to be in a good position before the climb," Teuns said of the final climb of Mul de Huy. He added: "[At the moment of the attack] I was a little stressed, I didn't think about it, I just tried to do my best to make a good position.

"When Valverde went, I knew he was going to go. It was a perfect moment for me too. I felt Valverde coming back, but I had the legs to accelerate a bit more."

Tuns, who has benefited from training with 1999 Flèche winner Michele Bartoli, said, "He has given me a lot of confidence," and that he feels victory and a podium finish are not far away based on his performance in the spring classics earlier this month. He proved that at Mule de Uy.

"Catalunya felt good," he said of his first race back after 10 days of rest and only four weeks of training after the COVID-19 infection.

"Then I fought in the Classics and got good results. But podiums and wins were never far away. I had some bad luck. Today I was able to turn that around.