Without standing on the pedals! Pogacar wins the rain-soaked Flèche Wallonne with an explosive acceleration, ahead of Vauquelin and Pidcock

The men were released at the start in Ciney (under threatening clouds!) before noon local time. The start signal was the cue for five riders to attack immediately. While the battle for the early breakaway can usually last quite a while in this kind of race, things were decided quickly on Wednesday. Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Artem Schmidt (INEOS Grenadiers), Ceriel Desal (Wagner Bazin WB), Tom Paquot (Intermarché-Wanty), and Siebe Deweirdt (Flanders-Baloise) broke away from the peloton and gained a few minutes' lead.

With UAE Team Emirates - XRG, Lidl-Trek, Soudal Quick-Step, and, initially, Q36.5 Pro Cycling leading the chase, the peloton did not allow the five-man breakaway to get too far ahead. With 141 kilometers to go (it had started to rain), their lead was only three-quarters of a minute, which was the signal for Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers) to go for it.

The Dane was joined by Robert Stannard of Bahrain Victorious, who had returned after a doping suspension, in an attempt to catch up with the five leaders. With 137 kilometers to go, the pair succeeded, and the leading group grew from five to seven riders. The peloton was still behind the breakaway, just under a minute behind.

On the Côte de Petite Sommes, a sudden acceleration at the front ended Deweirdt's adventure in the breakaway group. Behind him, we saw the peloton pick up speed. Andreas Leknessund and Fredrik Dversnes decided to ride together towards the breakaway group. The Norwegian duo succeeded, leaving us with eight riders at the front with 100 kilometers to go. The peloton followed at just under two minutes.

It had been raining for quite some time, so the conditions for the riders were not ideal. Rain jackets were put on, while the perceived temperature dropped significantly. While it wasn't as cold and harsh as last year, the conditions were still pretty rough.

With 81 kilometers to go, the Côte de Cherave appeared for the first time on the local lap. Unfortunately, the pace on the 1.3-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 7.7% was too much for Paquot, reducing the leading group from eight to seven riders. There was no spectacular action on the first passage of the Mur de Huy, although the riders were completely soaked when they crossed the finish line.

Guglielmi was the next early breakaway rider after Paquot to drop his fellow breakaway riders. The six remaining riders at the front still did not get much leeway from the peloton. In the peloton, the men of Soudal Quick-Step set a strong pace in support of their leader, Evenepoel (together with UAE Team Emirates-XRG). The gap to the leading group gradually reduced to half a minute with 44 kilometers to go.

At that point, as the riders tackled the Côte de Cherave for the second time, the breakaway group's lead quickly melted away. The peloton, still led by Soudal Quick-Step and UAE, caught up rapidly. Several riders crashed in the short descent. After Desal lost control on the wet road surface, around twenty seconds later, riders in the peloton also crashed in that corner.

The biggest victim was Mattias Skjelmose. The Amstel Gold Race winner from Lidl-Trek was visibly suffering from his right arm, while other teammates of the Dane were also lying on the ground. Ilan van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step) was also involved. A little later, Lidl-Trek reported that Skjelmose had abandoned the race, while Van Wilder also had to record a 'DNF'. By then, only three Norwegians remained at the front: Dversnes, Leknessund, and Foss still had a 20-second lead over the peloton.

After the crash, the peloton broke up briefly in the wind in a somewhat chaotic phase. This did not last long, as the peloton (or what was left of it) quickly regrouped. The three tough Norwegians were still in front and defended their 20-second lead. On the Côte d'Ereffe, the peloton approached within five seconds, but then the trio stayed out of reach of the pack for several kilometers.

The question was still when the favorites would show themselves. Only the Côte de Cherave remained before the riders reached the final ascent of the Mur de Huy. The story ended at the foot of the Côte de Cherave for the three Norwegians at the front. At the same time, George Bennett (Israel-Premier Tech) also suffered mechanical failure at that (very unfortunate) moment.

UAE accelerated slightly on the climb, with Jan Christen leading the way and leader Pogacar on his wheel. Evenepoel was on the world champion's wheel, while the other big names managed to follow. However, the expected explosion of speed failed to materialize, so it seemed that, as usual, the decision would be made on the Mur de Huy.

With about 30 riders, they started the grueling Mur de Huy. Once again, Christen brought his leader to the front while Evenepoel and Ben Healy sat nicely on the world champion's wheel. Without standing on the pedals, Pogacar launched an impressive attack and immediately opened up a nice gap. Pogacar extended his lead on the steepest sections and sprinted to the top. The world champion brilliantly won the Flèche Wallonne, ahead of Kévin Vauquelin (second) and Tom Pidcock (third). Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) finished eighth in his debut, ahead of Evenepoel (ninth).