La Flèche Wallonne 2026 start lists and favourites for the Mur de Huy?

The Amstel Gold Race is done. The final week of the spring classics is here — and the Mur de Huy is next. The Flèche Wallonne takes place on Wednesday, with both the men's and women's races offering another shot at glory before Liège-Bastogne-Liège closes the season on Sunday. IDL Pro Cycling brings you the up-to-date start lists at the time of writing.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates-XRG) sits this one out, keeping his powder dry for Liège. Remco Evenepoel has also confirmed he will not race, with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe opting to prioritise his recovery ahead of Sunday's Monument. And Matteo Jorgenson, who would have led Visma | Lease a Bike, is out after breaking his collarbone in Sunday's Amstel Gold Race.

That opens the door wide for the rest. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) is the man to beat — the 19-year-old Frenchman won the Tour of the Basque Country this month and now begins his Ardennes campaign in Huy.

France is well-represented across the field. Kévin Vauquelin (INEOS Grenadiers) starts despite crashing in the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday — he has finished second at the Flèche Wallonne in each of the past two years. Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) are among the other French names in contention.

Also worth watching: Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X), Ion Izagirre, Dylan Teuns (Cofidis), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché), Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Emirates-XRG), Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma | Lease a Bike).

The full official start list has not yet been published. This article will be updated when confirmed.

For a full breakdown of the contenders, see our Flèche Wallonne men's preview.

The women's race is equally stacked. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) returns to defend her title from a year ago, when she outsprinted Demi Vollering on the Mur de Huy on her debut at the race. It will not be easy. Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike) are all among the favourites.

Further names to watch: Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), Amstel Gold Race surprise winner Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ), Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez), Noemi Ruëgg (EF-Oatly), Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ), Liane Lippert (Movistar) and Femke de Vries (Visma | Lease a Bike).

The full official start list has not yet been finalised. This article will be updated as and when more names are added.

For a full breakdown of the women's contenders, see our women's Flèche Wallonne preview.