La Flèche Wallonne: September 30th, 2020

[Pantani_lives]

The fall has begun, so it's time for the spring classics! On Wednesday the first of two races in the Belgian Ardennes will take place. With its finish on the steep Mur de Huy La Flèche Wallonne can be seen as the unofficial world championship for uphill sprinters. In the past there were editions with successful longer attacks, but in the current decade it was always a game of waiting for that one explosion in the final km. Julian Alaphilippe is expected to show up for his first race in the rainbow jersey. Five time winner Alejandro Valverde won't be starting, but his absence will be compensated by the presence of some other big names, including two Slovenians. [Edited] [Note: Vote "Other" if you mean Alaphilippe".]

The course is different from last year, with the Côte du Chemin des Gueuses as the new penultimate climb. It's longer but less steep than last year's Côte de Cherave, and a bit further before the Mur. The final consists of three local laps with the trio Ereffe-Gueuses-Mur.

Climbs:
Côte de Trasenster(172 km)
Côte d'Ereffe (83 km)
Côte du Chemin des Gueuses (74 km)
Mur de Huy (64 km)
Côte d'Ereffe (51 km)
Côte du Chemin des Gueuses (42 km)
Mur de Huy (32 km)
Côte d'Ereffe (19 km) [2.1 km @ 5%]
Côte du Chemin des Gueuses (10 km) [1.8 km @ 6.5%]
Mur de Huy (0 km) [1.3 km @ 9.6%]

Recent winners:
2010 Cadel Evans
2011 Philippe Gilbert
2012 Joaquim Rodríguez
2013 Daniel Moreno
2014 Alejandro Valverde
2015 Alejandro Valverde
2016 Alejandro Valverde
2017 Alejandro Valverde
2018 Julian Alaphilippe
2019 Julian Alaphilippe

 

[SafeBet]

Final Mur de Huy looks a lot less steep than I remembered.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Final Mur de Huy looks a lot less steep than I remembered.

Yes, in modern cycling we've gotten used to even steeper murs. The steepest part is still 19% however.

 

[RedheadDane]

Is Alaphilippe seriously not riding?
According to this, he will ride, but I guess it could just be the author assuming that of course the two-time defending champion is gonna ride.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Is Alaphilippe seriously not riding?
According to this, he will ride, but I guess it could just be the author assuming that of course the two-time defending champion is gonna ride.

I made the mistake of trusting cyclingfever, where he was deleted from the start list yesterday evening. Other sources say he will start, so he'll probably ride indeed.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yes, in modern cycling we've gotten used to even steeper murs. The steepest part is still 19% however.

I think the reference is to the profile which seems to suggest the finish is not on the Mur at all!

Obvious van der Breggen win is obvious.

 

[Pantani_lives]

I think the reference is to the profile which seems to suggest the finish is not on the Mur at all!

Yes, that's weird. It's like that on the official website. Something must have gone wrong in the copying process. Riders will be in for a surprise if they trust that profile...

Now I wish I could find a way to replace "Other" by "Alaphilippe" in the poll...

 

[SafeBet]

I love the Vanendert option in the poll so much that I decided to vote for him.

 

[Pantani_lives]

I love the Vanendert option in the poll so much that I decided to vote for him.

Well, he made the top 10 five times and Valverde proved that you can win it at thirty-five...

 

[search]

those Ardennes classics could be more interesting than usual this year, with the fairly low-profile fields. Probably the best chance in a while for early attacks to stick

 

[dercuforever]

Yes, that's weird. It's like that on the official website. Something must have gone wrong in the copying process. Riders will be in for a surprise if they trust that profile...

Now I wish I could find a way to replace "Other" by "Alaphilippe" in the poll...

It is the same in PCM for AGR I think, quite tricky when you don't expect the last ramp and you are already toasted...

Maybe someone can follow Alaphilippe when he goes, but I doubt it.

 

[bob.a.feet]

I love the Vanendert option in the poll so much that I decided to vote for him.

I don't think you're ready for this Jelle

 

[Lexman]

Alaphilippe doesn't start he said himself he want to focus on LBL...

 

[Velolover2]

It should be a safe hat-trick for Alaphilippe if he is riding it.

If not, then it's a tie between the Slovenians.

 

[Lexman]

DQS confirmed on titter Tim Declerq replaces Ala

 

[Luthor]

Kwiato or Hirschi.
I'm not sure Roglic is coming. PCS and some sources say Dumo is there in his place. Roglic going for LBL, which imo would be the better choice.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Really not impressed with Alaphilippe skipping a major classic that he’s red hot favourite for. And I’m surprised Lefevere didn’t apply a boot to his rear end for even suggesting it.

with all of the traditional contenders in recent years either absent or apparently out of form it’s a big chance for someone with little pedigree in major hilly classics to get one on his palmares

 

[Red Rick]

Kwiato or Hirschi.
I'm not sure Roglic is coming. PCS and some sources say Dumo is there in his place. Roglic going for LBL, which imo would be the better choice.

Dumoulin already said he won't do FW. He wasn't on the list but might have gone all the same but they had ditched that idea.

 

[Leinster]

Really not impressed with Alaphilippe skipping a major classic that he’s red hot favourite for. And I’m surprised Lefevere didn’t apply a boot to his rear end for even suggesting it.

with all of the traditional contenders in recent years either absent or apparently out of form it’s a big chance for someone with little pedigree in major hilly classics to get one on his palmares

He's already won this one twice. It's the one on Sunday that's the big fish.

Lefevere likely remembers Kwiatkowski cramping up and barely surviving to the finish in Lombardia in his first race after winning Worlds, and doesn't intend to overpush Alaf.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

He's already won this one twice. It's the one on Sunday that's the big fish.

oh right that must explain why the winner of LBL never rides FW...

 

[Leinster]

oh right that must explain why the winner of LBL never rides FW...

They've never done it the week after winning the World Championships.

 

[richwallone]

Too soon after the WC win... It must have taken quite a bit out of him...

 

[Anderis]

It's a pity that Higuita doesn't seem to be in form recently, it would be interesting to see if he can become one of the main players in this type of races in the years to come.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Could be time for Diego Ulissi to shine. It's only 200k, his form seems to be fine and he was on the podium last year.

 

[yaco]

It's a wide open ace and a surprise victor is possible - It may be matter of throwing a few names in the air.