The French have a really appropriate saying for when a favourite controls the race to such an extent that you can only admire what happened. The 110th edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège was a perfect example of what they call “une démonstration.”
Rarely in professional cycling does the plan that was so carefully worked on beforehand and then drilled into the riders in the pre-race briefing follow that script to the letter. Somewhere along the route, there’s usually a mishap of some sort or a tactical move from the opponents that disrupts things.
