La Flèche Wallonne 2025, 23rd April

[Berniece]

Three minutes. The very best climbers don't take much longer over the Mur de Huy. But oh, how it will hurt again on Wednesday during La Flèche Wallonne. Even for these world-class athletes. In the meantime, television viewers – just back from the office or secretly lurking for a stream – can enjoy the struggle and a magnificent sprint. With Mattias Skjelmose, Thibau Nys, Remco Evenepoel and world champion Tadej Pogacar at the start, it promises to be a treat!

Profile
The ASO has redesigned the course of the Flèche Wallonne in a few places. Only the approach to Mur de Huy looks different. In the local circuit, the Côte de Cherave returns between the Côte d'Ereffe and the final climb to the Mur de Huy. This means we will have the same finale as in 2023.

Top Competitors
Complete startlist can be found here.

Weather
It will be around 18 degrees celsius in the afternoon, but there might be some showers. It's Monday morning when I wrote this, so this is still prone to change.

 

[Red Rick]

Van Eetvelt being there means there will magically be echelons in Fleche just so Van Eetvelt can miss it.

 

[search]

Looks like there will be no snow this year.

 

[Red Rick]

Obviously Pog is the big favorite still, but Fleche has historically produced some pretty surprising results so it's interesting who can be the outliers this year.

Nys could surprise but he should be a top 5 favorite anyhow. I think Enricky can get top 5 as well, I think his explosivity on short climbs gets a bit undersold. But then I check his results and he always bottles the Ardennes, I guess the spring schedule is too long for him

 

[Peyroteo94]

Rain on the menu?

 

[Berniece]

Rain on the menu?

Good point, added it to the OP. There is some rain to be expected in the afternoon.

 

[topcat]

Whereas Fleche is not the 6th monument (this is of course Milano-Torino), it is a great race.
Will Remco and Pog try their usual 150km attacks?
Will it come down to the last Mur?
Needless to say, Ala will have the last laugh.

 

[Samamba]

Van Eetvelt being there means there will magically be echelons in Fleche just so Van Eetvelt can miss it.

Only 2 beaufort wind thank god.
According to KMI possibly some intense showers of even thunderstormes from the afternoon on wards. At least he doesn't mind that.
He will probably completely on his own in a 50 man peloton in the run in to the Mur tho.

 

[tobydawq]

Before yesterday, I would have said this race would be the cycling version of an unstoppable force meeting an unmovable object. The unstoppable force being Pogacar and Evenepoel always opening the races much earlier than the final climb and the unmovable object being the fact that Flèche Wallonne always gets decided in a sprint on the Mur.

Now I think the unstoppable force will prove stoppable because I don't think Pogacar would risk going away early with Remco since he will then risk 1) being dropped which seems like a real possibility and 2) further fatiguing himself before the big one on Sunday. So I think he will play it conservatively for once. Remco could of course still be inclined to try early but I would think that this is less likely than if he could lure Pogi to go with him.

 

[RedheadDane]

Two very important pieces of information missing from the thread title.

1. The fact that it's a One-Day Classic.
2. The fact that it's the Men's race.

Anyway, he's not on the startlist (yet) but obvious Laurens Huys win is obvious. His name is literally Huys!

 

[Samamba]

I wonder if Pog is even going to start. Might just save himself for Liège if he's actually a bit tired.

 

[tobydawq]

Two very important pieces of information missing from the thread title.

1. The fact that it's a One-Day Classic.
2. The fact that it's the Men's race.

Anyway, he's not on the startlist (yet) but obvious Laurens Huys win is obvious. His name is literally Huys!

His name is almost pronounced like house, it's not even close to Huy.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

The 6th monument is finally here.

Alaphilippe to attack from the bottom of huy like bentancur in 2013 and ride away from them all.

 

[RedheadDane]

His name is almost pronounced like house, it's not even close to Huy.

That's just rude! Not your posts, but the way his name is pronounced.

Alaphilippe to attack from the bottom of huy like bentancur in 2013 and ride away from them all.

And then be caught, and finish 3rd?

 

[Berniece]

I wonder if Pog is even going to start. Might just save himself for Liège if he's actually a bit tired.

Would make sense but I think he loves racing too much

 

[Red Rick]

Soo..

Mur de Huy climbing time predictions?

I have 2'43

 

[Froome]

Soo..

Mur de Huy climbing time predictions?

I have 2'43

Record time is 2'41 from Valverde right?

 

[Red Rick]

Record time is 2'41 from Valverde right?

2'40 according to the last time Mihai Simion made a post about it. Roglic and Alaphilippe

I vaguely remember Teuns and Pogacar winning it in 2'45 and 2'50 or something, and last year was the super hard rain edition so they went over 3 minutes

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

That's just rude! Not your posts, but the way his name is pronounced.



And then be caught, and finish 3rd?

The pronounciation of Huys is much closer to how "hers" is pronounced, than it is to either house or Huy.

Remco could of course still be inclined to try early but I would think that this is less likely than if he could lure Pogi to go with him.

Maybe if the race is made hard and there are not many domestiques left, it could be interesting for Evenepoel to try to go from far. If there are no teammates left with the chops to reel him in, then the other favorites have a decision to make. Going with Evenepoel to the final Mur in a long break will likely not end well for any of the other favorites, Pog included if his Amstel form is any indication.

 

[RedheadDane]

The pronounciation of Huys is much closer to how "hers" is pronounced, than it is to either house or Huy.

That's also rude...

 

[Samamba]

The pronounciation of Huys is much closer to how "hers" is pronounced, than it is to either house or Huy.


Maybe if the race is made hard and there are not many domestiques left, it could be interesting for Evenepoel to try to go from far. If there are no teammates left with the chops to reel him in, then the other favorites have a decision to make. Going with Evenepoel to the final Mur in a long break will likely not end well for any of the other favorites, Pog included if his Amstel form is any indication.

QS does have a strong team here, so I wonder if they are going to let UAE do their thing or try to make it hard themselves. I think it actually would benefit Remco a lot if it's hard. Fleche is a weird race where if not made hard some outsider could win it with a superday.

 

[Samamba]

Weather prediction seems to change constantly. More rain expected now during the race and also way more wind (4 beaufort) according to KMI. But mostly headwind on the parts where wind would matter most (like on top of the Mur).

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

QS does have a strong team here, so I wonder if they are going to let UAE do their thing or try to make it hard themselves. I think it actually would benefit Remco a lot if it's hard. Fleche is a weird race where if not made hard some outsider could win it with a superday.

They could set the pace themselves and make sure all the favorites are isolated early on. They could try and send strong riders in the break and let UAE chase... If they do neither of those things, one has to wonder what the point is of bringing a strong team in the first place.

But i don't know if Evenepoel wants to go deep 3 times in just 6 days time, with LBL coming up on Sunday.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

That's also rude...

Well it's not my fault, it's hers!

 

[Pantani_lives]

Huy is one of those words with an aspirated h, so “Le Mur de Huy” sounds like “the wall of yes”. It’s another cycling site with a Catholic background. The official street name is la Chemin des Chapelles. Along the climb are seven chapels: six small white ones, and a bigger one on top. The big chapel contains a statue of a black madonna, “la Vierge de la Sarte”. Once every seven years it’s carried through town during a procession.

The Mur de Huy has been the finish of this race since 1985. Local hero Claude Criquielion won that edition. The steepest bend was named after him. He took it on the outside to make it less steep. Back then cyclists struggled to reach the top. Nowadays with better material and preparation they go much faster. It’s an annual contest between the most explosive climbers.

Along the road there are photos of former winners like Criquielion, Verbrugghe, Aerts, Argentin and Valverde. They are the modern saints. It’s a nice place to visit, also outside of the cycling season.