The Day of the Wall of Huy
The finale of La Flèche Wallonne is one of the most recognizable and iconic in international cycling. The legendary Mur de Huy (Wall of Huy) (1.3 km at 9.6%), which the men must tackle three times and the women twice, once again hosts the finish line for both races. This greatly conditions how these two races are run, as they are usually decided on the final ascent.
La Flèche Wallonne is the second of the three races that make up the Ardennes Triptych, along with Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which next Sunday marks the definitive conclusion of the big spring classics.
Men’s race: route and favorites
The men’s race is made up of 200 km and 3,100 positive meters distributed over several climbs, most of them concentrated in the final circuit, which the riders must complete three times. As we said, however, everything is usually decided on the final climb to the Mur de Huy (1.3 km at 9.6%).
Tadej Pogačar (1200), Remco Evenepoel (1200), Stephen Williams (400), Mattias Skjelmose (1000), Thomas Pidcock (800), Santiago Buitrago (800), Romain Grégoire (600), Marc Hirschi (600), Maxim Van Gils (600), Thibau Nys (600), Tobias Johannessen (600), Jonathan Narvaez (400), Guillaume Martin (400) or Ben Healy (600) are some of the favorites.
Women’s race: route and favorites
The women’s race totals 140 km and 2,200 meters of positive elevation. In this case, women must complete two laps of the circuit, and as in the men’s race, everything is usually decided on the final ascent.
The start list for the women’s race is still in an initial phase two days before the race, but already features big names such as Demi Vollering (1200), Elisa Longo Borghini (1200), Anna Van Der Breggen (200), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (1200), Juliette Labous (1000), Liane Lippert (1000), Évita Muzic (800), Puck Pieterse (600), Yara Kastelijn (800) or Kimberley Le Court (200).
Photo: © La Flèche Wallonne / A.S.O. / Gaëtan Flamme