Mattias Skjelmose carried from bike as only 44 riders finish wet, cold Flèche Wallonne

The men's Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday afternoon was battered by a deadly combination of crosswinds, rainfall and even snow at points, as Israel-Premier Tech's Stevie Williams won the most attritional edition of the Belgian Classic that we have seen in decades.

It was so difficult, in fact, that only 44 of the 174 starters actually made it to the finish after the fourth and final ascent of the iconic Mur de Huy. For the other 130 riders, Wednesday's race simply brought too much suffering in some of the worst conditions that the peloton has had to battle this season.

Read more: La Flèche Wallonne: Stevie Williams wins atop Mur de Huy in apocalyptic conditions

Although some were able to ride to the top of the three early ascents of the Mur de Huy and simply roll to their team bus as they threw in the towel, others were not so fortunate.

Lidl-Trek's Mattias Skjelmose was among those to suffer the worst, no doubt not helped by his slender climber's frame, and the Dane was eventually lifted off his bike by a team soigneur and carried to a nearby car. The runner-up from last year's race had been distanced from the peloton with a little over 60km to ride but valiantly rode on for a further 19km before being forced to exit the race.

The manner of Skjelmose's abandonment was particularly worrying, with the 23-year-old captured on video visibly shaking and unable to stand on his own two feet. With his jaw chattering under the cold and his legs looking close to giving way, it was up to a soigneur to bundle Skjelmose into his arms and seek shelter nearby.

Shortly after the race, his Lidl-Trek released a statement to confirm that the Dane's condition was on the up.

"We can confirm you that our riders, who suffered hypothermic symptoms (Skjelmose in particular) due to the bad weather, are feeling definitely better thanks to a warm shower, hot drinks and hot air in the team bus," wrote the team. "No major treatment are required and everything is definitely under control.

"We know there are quite impressive videos from fans about the moment he abandoned the race, but luckily we can confirm again he is OK."

Before the race, Skjelmose had been one of the day's big favourites, but many other key contenders left the race early as a result of the torrid conditions. Tom Pidcock of Ineos Grenadiers struggled as UAE Team Emirates forced a high pace at the front, with the Brit soon abandoning, and he was later joined by UAE's own Marc Hirschi, who won this race four years ago.

The only other former winner on the start list, Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech), also had to leave the race early, as did Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe).

Riders struggle to stand upright after the finish

Even among those who were able to finish the race, there was a mixture of disbelief and pain in equal measure beyond the line. Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) finished third behind Williams on the day, but when asked what his thoughts were as the Welshman attacked, the Belgian made it clear that his only ambition was to get to the warmth of his team bus.

"I think all my feelings were freezing, I do not have a lot of feelings anymore and I just wanted to go to the top as fast as possible because I was really cold and my legs are hurting," he said. "I think if I had my best legs then maybe I can follow Stevie but I was so cold and he was maybe a little less cold because he was still flying."

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Benoît Cosnefroy fought to a commendable fourth place, but was suffering all the way to the line as his body began to shut down

Finishing just behind Van Gils was Benoît Cosnefroy of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, whose face at the end of the race was one of shell shock. The Frenchman was pictured draped over a set of metal barriers as he pulled himself together for a quick interview.

"Honestly, for the last 100m I was completely frozen, I am in terrible shape now. The team tried to place me very well but now I am exhausted, I am very very cold. It was one of the worst days on the bike for me today and there was snow as well," he just about managed to respond, before having to retreat to the help of his soigneur.

Cosnefroy made note to thank Groupama-FDJ for giving him some energy gels in advance of the finish. On a day of suffering in conditions that were near freezing given the wind and rain, there was a collective spirit as the reduced peloton battled to the end.

Scandinavians impress as Uno-X Mobility pre-empt the snow

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Uno-X Mobility were the team of the day at Flèche Wallonne, with Tobias Halland Johannessen placing highest in sixth

Besides Williams' winning ride, the most notable performances of the day came from the Scandinavians within the peloton. Alpecin-Deceuninck's Søren Kragh Andersen attacked alone for over 40km in the finale, the last 20km of which was spent without his rain jacket as he sought every bit of aerodynamic advantage over the chasing peloton.

It was not to be for Kragh Andersen in the end, but the Dane's compatriots and nearby countrymen were a sight to behold in conditions that were not alien to the Scandinavians within the peloton. Remarkably, 10 of the 44 finishers on Wednesday hail from the region and towards the finish, it was the work of a full-strength Uno-X Mobility team that ensured the race would be decided on the Mur de Huy.

Looking noticeably chipper and fresh after the finish, Uno-X Mobility's Tobias Halland Johannessen revealed that his team had looked with delight at the weather forecast, which perhaps explains their fine performance in the rain.

"We were really prepared for the weather. We knew when it started to snow we just had to wait half an hour and the whole peloton would be gone. It gives us a lot of motivation to see that we had the full team in the end and we are really proud of the team," he said.

"It's a tough edition and it was a bit cold so it was hard to push through until the end, but I think we can be really proud of today."

Their performance did not go unnoticed by fellow pros watching from the comfort of their own homes. Despite Uno-x Mobility's enthusiasm, this year's Flèche Wallonne was not a race that many in the peloton will ever want to suffer through again.

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