La Flèche Wallonne 2023, one day classic, April 19 (men's)

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Krzysztof_O

Krzysztof_O

Jul 7, 2013
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So we will see if FW is indeed Pog's kryptonite. I think he heavily underperformed here so far and I predict a stellar performance (will I be wrong again, like last year?). How about his team doing strong work on Cherave to make the group smaller and more tired?
 
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Bardamu

Bardamu

Jul 13, 2016
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In a year where Remco also rides it they'll open the race earlier. Not yet this year.
 
Gigs_98

Gigs_98

Feb 18, 2015
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I think it was in 2018 when Nibali attacked on the penultimate Mur forcing a break that almost made it. What probably killed them was Lotto hopelessly riding for Tim Wellens who obviously couldn't win.

It was a bit of a tragic ending but man, those moments when I actually thought Schachmann could win it were magical.
 
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hayneplane

Sep 4, 2017
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Gigs_98 said:
I think it was in 2018 when Nibali attacked on the penultimate Mur forcing a break that almost made it. What probably killed them was Lotto hopelessly riding for Tim Wellens who obviously couldn't win.

It was a bit of a tragic ending but man, those moments when I actually thought Schachmann could win it were magical.
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That was a really fun edition. Most years are just a 5 minute highlight show. Fun in its own way when the field is stellar but this year we need to see a team willing to rip up the script.
 
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Anderis

May 10, 2013
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Red Rick said:
What is the chance of Pogacar actually not waiting for the final Mur? Could even just start shifting on the penultimate Mur to be a recovery merchant again.
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I was just thinking about this. Given how Pogacar hasn't shone in this race before but also the way he won Amstel or Flanders this year, his team should drill all the climbs starting from the first Mur de Huy and he himself should attack on the penultimate Mur de Huy. If the race explodes from afar, it's difficult to see him getting beaten. The startlist doesn't have a lot of riders who are really good on the flat.
 
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Amazinmets87

May 12, 2015
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Anderis said:
I was just thinking about this. Given how Pogacar hasn't shone in this race before but also the way he won Amstel or Flanders this year, his team should drill all the climbs starting from the first Mur de Huy and he himself should attack on the penultimate Mur de Huy. If the race explodes from afar, it's difficult to see him getting beaten. The startlist doesn't have a lot of riders who are really good on the flat.
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I'm no fan of the one-sided dominance of Pog, but I'd sign up for this result. Any reprise from the monotony of the drag race up the Mur would be welcome.
 
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BigCoward

Mar 16, 2021
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Can't see them wanting to make it a war of attrition when he knows his big goal is to come, and has to race a rested and peaking Remco.
 
D

dobrien

Jul 10, 2009
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BigCoward said:
Can't see them wanting to make it a war of attrition when he knows his big goal is to come, and has to race a rested and peaking Remco.
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This is hard to say; we're talking about someone with phenomenal recovery, one of the greatest GT/all-around riders of this or any other generation. I have to think that with only 194k to cover and 4 days of recovery perhaps he and his team might think that's enough? On the other hand you're completely right; in LBL he'll be coming up against what will surely be a hyper-motivated Remco, who will be licking his chops at the thought of playing giant-killer on home soil while wearing the rainbow jersey. It's pretty interesting story line developing!
 
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Logic-is-your-friend

Logic-is-your-friend

Jun 7, 2011
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Blanco said:
He would win, easily...
Pog still didn't master the Mur, he maybe needs to drill it from the bottom with Hirschi and Ulissi. Anyway, if not him, than probably Higuita.
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Higuita was only 4th on Malhao this year, behind Pidcock, Almeida and Van Wilder. It's not an exact copy of Mur, but i think it comes pretty close and should actually suit Higuita better than Mur since it is a bit longer and the steepest section is a tiny bit less steep.

What are the other Mur-like finishes we have seen this year that might give us some sort of reference?
 
tobydawq

tobydawq

Nov 16, 2013
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Logic-is-your-friend said:
Higuita was only 4th on Malhao this year, behind Pidcock, Almeida and Van Wilder. It's not an exact copy of Mur, but i think it comes pretty close and should actually suit Higuita better than Mur since it is a bit longer and the steepest section is a tiny bit less steep.

What are the other Mur-like finishes we have seen this year that might give us some sort of reference?
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I actually would say that because it's longer and less steep it would suit Higuita less than the Mur.

He just needs to not have Juan Pedro López right in front of him when he launches.
 
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ice&fire

Jul 1, 2015
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Logic-is-your-friend said:
Higuita was only 4th on Malhao this year, behind Pidcock, Almeida and Van Wilder. It's not an exact copy of Mur, but i think it comes pretty close and should actually suit Higuita better than Mur since it is a bit longer and the steepest section is a tiny bit less steep.

What are the other Mur-like finishes we have seen this year that might give us some sort of reference?
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There were two in Andalucia. Pog won both ahead of Mas.

Edit: there were actually three. Wellens won one and Pog was the best of the GC on that one.
 
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search

Aug 29, 2009
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tobydawq said:
I actually would say that because it's longer and less steep it would suit Higuita less than the Mur.

He just needs to not have Juan Pedro López right in front of him when he launches.
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that finish in Izulia was actually the first time I've really seen him looking strong on steep stuff. I always rated him higher on flat(ter) finishes, tbh.
 
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Mayomaniac

Mayomaniac

Apr 10, 2019
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Bagioli to finish top 5. He said that Sunday he was too far behind when the group got away. A nice result here and Sunday will be the whole team working for Remco (his words, not mine).
 
Blanco

Blanco

Jun 6, 2017
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Logic-is-your-friend said:
Higuita was only 4th on Malhao this year, behind Pidcock, Almeida and Van Wilder. It's not an exact copy of Mur, but i think it comes pretty close and should actually suit Higuita better than Mur since it is a bit longer and the steepest section is a tiny bit less steep.

What are the other Mur-like finishes we have seen this year that might give us some sort of reference?
Click to expand...
He looked sharp to me recently at Itzulia, while Pidcock I would say is slightly below that level he had at Malhao and Strade Bianche. May be that I'm wrong though...
 
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search

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it's not like he has looked anywhere close to what he was capable of last year so far this season, though. Maybe those personal issues he brought up recently play a part as well there.
 
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