Surprise! Puck Pieterse beats Demi Vollering on the Wall of Huy and wins the Flèche Wallonne in her debut

While the men's race got underway before noon local time., the women's race did not start until later in the afternoon. This meant that the women started the 140.7-kilometer course in pouring rain, which made it a difficult and tough day in Belgium. The riders also had to complete two local laps, including the Côte d'Ereffe (2.1 kilometers at 5.6%), Côte de Cherave (1.3 kilometers at 7.7%) and, of course, the Wall of Huy (1.3 kilometers at 9.8%).

Two riders who were on the start list did not show up at the start. Anna van der Breggen, the Dutch rider from SD Worx-Protime who has won the Belgian classic no fewer than seven times, had not recovered sufficiently from illness and did not start in Huy as a precaution. Neve Bradbury (Canyon // SRAM zondacrypto) also did not start.

It took a long time for the early breakaway to materialize. For a moment, it looked like it might happen when four riders managed to break away from the peloton at 22 kilometers, but they were also caught again. As a result, the battle for a place in the leading group lasted quite a long time.

Two riders were given some leeway on the local laps around Huy: Dutch rider Anne Knijnenburg (VolkerWessels) and French rider Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly). The duo had a chasing peloton close behind, forcing Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) to drop back. Knijnenburg also had to drop back, first from her fellow breakaway rider and later from the peloton.

Meanwhile, there was a crash in the peloton. Lotte Kopecky was forced to stop due to a mechanical defect. After changing bikes, she got back into the peloton. With just under seven kilometers to go, it was also over for Kerbaol: the depleted peloton managed to catch her.

On the way to the Wall of Huy, World Champion Lotte Kopecky managed to stay in the leading group. At the turn onto the Wall of Huy, the Flemish rider tried to move up towards Demi Vollering's wheel. The Dutch rider started the steep final climb in second place.

Puck Pieterse also survived the final stretch and could start the final climb from the front. On the steep section of the wall, Juliette Labous attacked for her FDJ-Suez teammate Vollering, who in turn waited a long time before attacking. That attack never came. Instead, it came from beside her, where Puck Pieterse launched her sprint with 100 meters to go and crossed the finish line first. Vollering had no answer and finished second.