Astana Pro Team went into the Flèche Wallonne pinning their hopes for a win on Enrico Gasparotto and Maxim Iglinskiy along with Andrey Grivko.

The latter led the remaining peloton to the base of the Muur de Huy but in the end the team came away empty handed.

Astana Pro Team Director Sportif, Zaini, acknowledged that the riders from the other teams were stronger and therefore sprinted uphill to the finish line first.

"It's a very steep climb, and there were a lot of riders in the final selection. We had a very good team today, and we really split the race apart in the finale, with a high speed and all of our best riders working at the front to put Enrico and Max in a good position. But the other riders were just stronger," Zanini said on the Astana website.

Astana Pro Team has one more Ardennes Classic to race, on Sunday, when Maxim Iglinskiy returns as the defending champion to Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and will be joined by Italian climber Vincenzo Nibali, an addition Gasparotto said he looks forward to.

"We are a strong team. At Liège we will have Nibali, and things will be different," Gasparotto said.