Preview Flèche Wallonne 2023 | Pogacar has to stay sharp for Wall of Huy

This edition of the Flèche Wallonne is a special one, as it is the first time without Alejandro Valverde. The multiple winner of La Flèche finished second behind Dylan Teuns last year, but ended his cycling career towards the end of 2022.

In any case, there is a relatively good chance that we will have a "new" winner in Huy, as triple winner Julian Alaphilippe will also not be at the start. Dylan Teuns and Marc Hirschi, who won the race in 2022 and 2021 respectively, are not at their best this spring, and thus do not stand much of a chance of winning.

2022 Dylan Teuns

2021 Julian Alaphilippe

2020 Marc Hirschi

2019 Julian Alaphilippe

2018 Julian Alaphilippe

2017 Alejandro Valverde

2016 Alejandro Valverde

2015 Alejandro Valverde

2014 Alejandro Valverde

2013 Daniel Moreno

The Flèche Wallonne is a race that traditionally revolves around only one hill, but we sometimes conveniently forget that there are actually eleven hills included in the course. Two of them are situated in the first hour of the race, before entering the local circuit around Huy after just over one hundred kilometers.

The Côte d'Ereffe (2.1 kilometers at 5 percent), Côte de Cherave (1.3 kilometers at 8.1 percent) and, of course, the Mur de Huy (1.3 kilometers at 9.6 percent) must each be conquered three times, although the final showdown will of course erupt on the third of those three hills.

Because no matter what changes the organizers make to the course, that last 1.3 kilometers is so steep that anticipating it is a pipe dream in the Flèche Wallonne. It may be a flaw in the race, but at the same time, it's also part of its charm.

30.3 km: Côte de Trasenster (3.3 km at 4.9%) 39.0 km: Côte des Forges (1.3 km at 7.8%) 101.3 km: Côte d'Ereffe (2.1 km at 5%) 114.1 km: Côte de Cherave (1.3 km at 8.1%) 119.7 km: Mur de Huy (1.3 km at 9.6%) 138.6 km: Côte d'Ereffe (2.1 km at 5%) 151.4 km: Côte de Cherave (1.3 km at 8.1%) 157.0 km: Mur de Huy (1.3 km at 9.6%) 175.8 km: Côte d'Ereffe (2.1 km at 5%) 188.6 km: Côte de Cherave (1.3 km at 8.1%) 194.2 km: Mur de Huy (1.3 km at 9.6%)

While the weather during Sunday's Amstel Gold Race was disappointing, it is expected to be much better on Wednesday. Weather stations estimate it will be around 14 degrees Celsius, with a brisk wind from the norhwest.

Start: 11:45 a.m.

Finish: 4:20 p.m.

The top favorite for the Flèche Wallonne is named Tadej and he is from Slovenia. In the Amstel Gold Race, Tadej Pogacar demonstrated once again that he is currently the number one man to contend with in all races he enters, and that will be no different for the Flèche Wallonne. There was some doubt in recent weeks as to whether he would start, but he is expected to be there on Wednesday. With Marc Hirschi and Diego Ulissi alongside him, he has former winners and podium contenders of this race by his side.

Two guys were able to keep up with Pogacar during the Amstel Gold Race: Tom Pidcock and Ben Healy. The former stated that there is nothing wrong with his explosiveness, but that he struggles a bit in longer races – over two hundred kilometers. Healy, on the other hand, demonstrated that his second place in the Flèche Wallonne was no fluke – he even managed to be a threat to Pogacar in the final stage. Let’s put both of these riders on the list for the Wall of Huy as well.

For the Flèche Wallonne (and of course Liège-Bastogne-Liège), a whole bunch of fresh riders are also diving in. Take Enric Mas, for example, the man who was able to challenge Pogacar in the Italian races last fall. Or his compatriot Mikel Landa, the runner-up in the Tour of the Basque Country. Also making their entrance are Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), Victor Lafay (Cofidis), Romain Bardet (Team DSM) and Daniel Felípe Martinez (INEOS Grenadiers).

And then there are the well-known wall climbers. Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) and Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) already made it to the podium here in 2020, while the latter also has last year's winner on his team. However, Dylan Teuns is still recovering from an illness, so it’s very questionable whether he will appear at the start in top shape. The same goes for Alpecin-Deceuninck leader Quinten Hermans.

Groupama-FDJ is starting with two leaders. Valentin Madouas probably delivered the most impressive performance during the Amstel Gold Race – after Tadej Pogacar, of course. The Breton’s entire buttocks were chafed after the massive crash towards the Loorberg, but he still finished eleventh after a hellish comeback. David Gaudu had an off day in the South of Limburg last week, but he is also one of the riders who should be able to handle the Wall of Huy well.

Jumbo-Visma also has two key riders: Tiesj Benoot and Attila Valter. The Belgian and the Hungarian are not among the top favorites, but should be able to achieve good results. Valter in particular is a man who should be able to handle a hill as steep as the one in Huy excellently.

BORA-hansgrohe is showing up at the start without Aleksandr Vlasov, last year's third-place finisher. However, Sergio Higuita and Jai Hindley, who could brighten up the rather lackluster spring of Ralph Denk's team, will be at the start for the German squad.

Also starting in the Flèche Wallonne are top-ten finishers from the Amstel Gold Race such as Andreas Kron, Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Andrea Bagioli (Soudal-Quick Step) and Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo). For completeness’ sake, we also mention Warren Barguil (Arkéa Samsic) and Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty).

Top favorites: Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) and Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers)

Shadow favorites: Enric Mas (Movistar), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ)

Longshots: Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën Team), Attila Valter, Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma), Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) and Victor Lafay (Cofidis)

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The Flèche Wallonne can be watched Wednesday on Sporza (Éen, starting at 2 p.m.), NOS (NPO 1, starting at 2:15 p.m.) and Eurosport, which is on the main channel starting at 2:30 p.m. The finish is expected between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Tom van der Salm (Twitter: @TomvanderSalm) | email: [email protected])