Daniel Martinez nearly brought Ineos Grenadiers to the podium of the Classic in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but after a photo finish, he narrowly lost out to Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), who finished third.

The race was won by Remco Evenpole (Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl), who rode alone with 29km to go, while Quinten Hermans (Intermarché-Wantigover) won the sprint in second place, 48 seconds behind.

Martinez's fourth-place finish was all the more remarkable given that he was one of several riders from the Ineos Grenadiers team to start La Doyenne while suffering from stomach problems. One of several riders on the Ineos Grenadiers team, he stood at the start of La Doyenne while suffering from a stomach complaint.

"It was really tough," he said. 'I woke up this morning feeling a little sick and not feeling very well. There were crashes and stress, but in the end I felt really good. I managed to hold off an attack on the climb. But at a crucial moment in the race I dropped my chain and was fixing it when Lemko attacked." [Tom Pidcock was involved in a group crash with around 60km to go, while Carlos Rodriguez and Omar Freire were unable to finish due to illness.

"It was a tough battle of attrition," said Geraint Thomas. 'Omar and Carlos in particular got a little out of shape. Especially Omar and Carlos were a little bit sick."

Then a crash disrupted the peloton and Pidcock had to expend energy to catch up. Thomas missed the fallen riders and joined the lead group, and Michal Kwiatkowski was on Evenpoel's wheel at the critical moment, but the Polish rider did not have the legs to chase.

"I saw Dani taking his chain off, so I waited for him and put him back in front. 'I saw Dani taking the chain off, so I put him back in front of me. Unfortunately, Lemko had enough of a lead to get away with it."

Ineos Grenadiers finished its classic campaign with the organization's most successful races, including Dylan Van Barre's Paris-Roubaix win, Kwiatkowski's Amstel Gold Race win, and Magnus Sheffield's Brabantspijl win. Martinez's fourth place in Liège was also his best result in a Classic race to date.

"Overall, Dani finished on the podium in fourth place and was very close to a photo finish.