Simon Gerrans continued his return to form with a 12th-placed finish at Liège-Bastogne-Liège after Alexandre Vinokourov had proved too strong for Alexandr Kolobnev in a two-horse race at the line.

The Australian ended the penultimate Monument of the season just one minute 18 seconds behind Vinokourov - who had broken away from an elite group with Kolobnev on the last-but-one climb of the day before holding on doggedly towards the line.

Team Sky had worked solidly throughout the 258km trek around central Belgium, none more so than Steve Cummings who was just four seconds adrift of Gerrans in 24th position after an eventful ride, while Thomas Löfkvist was only nine seconds behind him in 31st.

Senior sports director Scott Sunderland explained: "The plan was to get four in the first group over the key climb of La Redoute (37km from the finish).

"But Bradley [Wiggins] had some bad luck because he flatted at that point. Chris [Froome] gave him his wheel so his chances were gone and that's where Steve went right into action and waited for him.

"Steve brought Brad back up, but then he was caught behind the crash of Tony Martin [HTC] and lost a few more places. Using energy in those two moments made it very difficult for Brad to get back into the race.

"Steve did a great job to get back himself in position and Simon was really good on that last climb.

"The team rode really well together over the three Ardennes Classics," added Sunderland. "The riders' morale and motivation were always high, we just lacked the little bit to finish it off.

"We can only learn from these races and some of the guys will go on to the Giro d'Italia where they can use these experiences."

Early break

Warm yet overcast conditions had greeted the peloton at the start of the day and seven riders managed to break themselves clear early on and build a lead of around eight minutes.

Landbouwkrediet's Dirk Bellemakers missed that initial move and spent the next hour and a half stranded in no man's land before finally bridging the gap to the leaders.

As the race progressed, Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) and Maxime Monfort (HTC Columbia) both tried their hand off the front of the chase pack as the leaders' gap diminished, and the bunch was eventually brought back together with around 49km of the race remaining.

Further attacks came thick and fast with the likes of Tony Martin (HTC-Columbia), Carlos Barredo (Quick-Step) and Bram Tankink (Rabobank) all testing their legs, but it was the elite group which formed on the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons that would ultimately prove decisive.

As several of the pre-race favourites jostled for position, Vinokourov (Astana) and Kolobnev (Katyusha) chose the perfect moment to make their move and held a 40-second advantage by the time they made it to the base of the Côte de Saint-Nicolas.

On that final ascent, Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) showed a sensational turn of pace to momentarily cut that gap in half, but that was as much as last week's Amstel Gold Race winner could muster and the lead duo pressed on unabated before Vinokourov made his final, powerful kick for victory 500 metres from the line.

Caisse d'Epargne's Alejandro Valverde claimed third place on the podium by outsprinting the week's other Ardennes Classics winners, Gilbert and Cadel Evans (BMC), in a three-way battle between the trio on the closing straight.