LIVE La Flèche Wallonne 2025 | Evenepoel aims to shake things up in Huy race, will Pogacar, Nys and Skjelmose play along?

For years, the Mur de Huy was the playground of Alejandro Valverde, who won the race five times. After that, Julian Alaphilippe won three times; in 2020, Marc Hirschi, both riding for Tudor, took the victory. In 2022 (Dylan Teuns), 2023 (Tadej Pogacar), and 2024 (Stephen Williams), we saw 'new' winners on the list of winners of the Walloon race.

Many people will remember last year's edition in particular. The peloton was completely surprised by heavy rainfall, which brought the temperature down to freezing point. Many riders dropped out, after which Williams surprisingly proved the strongest on the final climb.

2024 Stephen Williams
2023 Tadej Pogacar
2022 Dylan Teuns
2021 Julian Alaphilippe
2020 Marc Hirschi
2019 Julian Alaphilippe
2018 Julian Alaphilippe
2017 Alejandro Valverde
2016 Alejandro Valverde
2015 Alejandro Valverde

This season, the Flèche Wallonne route has been modified again to create a more attractive race scenario. Last season, A.S.O. opted for an extra local lap, meaning the Mur de Huy had to be tackled four times. In exchange, the Cote de Cherave was removed as the opening climb, but it will return to the race in 2025 after a year's absence.

The race will start in Ciney. After 15.4 kilometers, the first real obstacle will be the Cote d'Yvoir (2.1 km at 6.0%), followed by Rochefort and Huy. After passing the Cote de Petite Somme, the riders will arrive at the finish line for the first time after 130 kilometers, followed by another pass after 168 kilometers. Will we see some explosive action there?

The Cote de Cherave (1.3 km at 8.1%) is back compared to last season. Combined with the Cote d'Ereffe (2.1 km at 5.0%), this makes for a nice introductory section before the Mur de Huy, where the race could break open. After 204 kilometers, we arrive at the foot of the 1.3-kilometer climb for the last time, with an average gradient of 9.6%.

"The approach to the Mur de Huy has become more difficult than in previous editions, with the Cote d'Ereffe. That's not an easy one," said Remco Evenepoel. "So we can take a different approach and hopefully get something done there. We won't take Thibau Nys to Huy on a free ride; we will race."

Climbs
15.4 km: Cote de Ver (1.4 km a 5.7%)
85.8 km: Cote de Petite Somme (1.2 km a 8.0%)
112.3 km: Cote d'Ereffe (2.1 km a 5.0%)
125.1 km: Cote de Cherave (1.3 km a 8.1%)
130.8 km: Mur de Huy (1.3 km a 9.6%)
149.6 km: Cote d'Ereffe (2.1 km a 5.0%)
162.3 km: Cote de Cherave (1.3 km a 8.1%) 
168.0 km: Mur de Huy (1.3 km a 9.6%)
186.8 km: Cote d'Ereffe (2.1 km a 5.0%)
199.5 Cote de Cherave (1.3 km a 8.1%) 
205.2 km: Mur de Huy (1.3 km a 9.6%)

Weather
It isn't expected to turn out as crazy as last year, but rain is forecast for Wallonia on Wednesday. Temperatures will be around 16 degrees Celsius with little wind.

Times.

Cycling fans were treated to a spectacular show in the Amstel Gold Race, but what can we expect on Wednesday in the Flèche Wallonne? Tadej Pogacar proved unbeatable in the Netherlands, but on Wednesday, he will face another challenge that suits him well: the Mur de Huy. After the Gold Race, Pogacar said that he had his sights set on Liège and that he would use the Flèche Wallonne to stretch his legs after his efforts on Sunday.

Remco Evenepoel also fell just short in South Limburg, but he gained extra confidence for the upcoming races after his weekend with a victory in the Brabantse Pijl and second place in the Amstel. The Belgian rider from Soudal Quick-Step, surrounded by Max Schachmann, Ilan Van Wilder, and Mauri Vansevenant, still prefers a long final despite showing the necessary explosiveness. That way, he can make his mark on the race.

Who won on Sunday? That's right, Mattias Skjelmose! The Dane finished second in Huy in 2023 and is, therefore, also a contender, but with Thibau Nys, he may have an even bigger contender at his side at Lidl-Trek. "I have to be realistic. I've said it before, and I'll repeat it: if anyone can beat Tadej on the Mur de Huy, it's Thibau. When he's on form, he's our man. But when I finished second behind Tadej two years ago, Giulio Ciccone was fifth. So it's possible to have several riders in contention. But we're riding to win, and Nys is the only one in the peloton I can see beating Tadej there," said Skjelmose after the Gold Race.

Someone else who should do well in Huy is Tom Pidcock. The Q36.5 rider started four times before the race, with sixth place as his best result and two DNFs. On Wednesday, he will once again be a contender, as will some of the other riders from the chasing group in the Gold Race: Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike), Louis Barré (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech).

Julian Alaphilippe showed just a glimpse of his talent on Sunday at Tudor, while Marc Hirschi failed to make his mark. Nevertheless, these men can build on a good track record in the Walloon race. Riders who crashed on Sunday, such as Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa - &B Hotels), and Cristian Scaroni (XDS-Astana), hope to recover from the Gold Race. Defending champion Stephen Williams is also still struggling.

Among the 'new' names are Daniel Felipe Martinez (Red Bull), Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Enric Mas (Movistar), and Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto). A place in the top five would be a great result for them, as it would be for Mauro Schmid, Ben O'Connor, Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike), and Cofidis rider Alex Aranburu.

Top favorites: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)

If you want to watch La Flèche Wallonne 2025 live on Wednesday, tune in to 'Home of Cycling' Eurosport, NOS, or Sporza (VRT 1). The broadcast will start at 2:30 PM local time (08:30 AM EDT), 2:10 PM local time (08:10 EDT), and 1:45 PM local time (07:45 AM EDT), respectively.