LA FLÈCHE WALLONNE : INFO WITH ONE DAY TO GO
April 18 th 2023 - 18:35
· A 175-strong peloton will start the 87th edition of La Flèche Wallonne tomorrow. One rider stands out: two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar, who has proven already how good he can be in one-day races. His stated goal is winning all three Ardennes classics, and he began his quest as he should by claiming Amstel Gold Race.
· Pogacar is facing off some decent contention tomorrow, though. Both his main rivals from last Sunday, Ben Healy and Tom Pidcock, are also lining up tomorrow at the start of Herve.
· Without Alejandro Valverde in the bunch, Mikel Landa is Spain’s main candidate for a good result tomorrow. As for France, Cofidis’ Victor Lafay is one of the main men to watch after his victory in the Classic Grand Besançon Doubs.
Jean-Michel Monin: “They will have to think long and hard on how to exhaust the best rider in the world”
The absence of Alejandro Valverde and Julian Alaphilippe deprives the Flèche Wallonne of seven out of its nine latest victors. Take Dylan Teuns off the equation as well, and that leaves Marc Hirschi as the sole former winner of this event to take the start tomorrow. Just four other riders have stood at the podium in Huy: Michal Kwiatkowski (3rd, 2014), Diego Ulissi (3rd, 2019), Benoit Cosnefroy (2nd, 2020) and Michael Woods (3rd, 2020). The main favorite is yet to make this list: his name is Tadej Pogacar, and his best result to date on this race is 9th. He doesn’t need to come up with a surprising move in order to win tomorrow, according to race official Jean-Michel Monin. “He is in great shape, he is confident, and he bears a meaningful psychological advantage on his rivals. He just needs to make it in a good position to the Mur de Huy, and then let his legs do the talking.” What can the other contenders do to beat him, then? “They will have to think long and hard on how to exhaust the best rider in the world,” says Monin. “They may try to isolate him, but he has proven hard to beat even in those circumstances. Anyway, they will stand an even lesser chance of victory if they wait for the Mur de Huy.”
Playful Tadej is the man to beat
Following a decade of tight-controlled efforts and races in road cycling, there is this new breed of riders in the peloton, those who make audacious moves to surprise their rivals – and sometimes their own, too. None like Tadej Pogacar. “He launched his attack earlier than expected at Amstel Gold Race,” says Tomas Gil, sports director for UAE Team Emirates, of his race-winning ride last Sunday. “But it’s alright. Tadej is unpredictable and playful. If he attacks, it means he is feeling well.” Coming fresh off winning the last two classics he took part in, and unanimously regarded as the best rider in the world, the Slovenian is the man to beat tomorrow in the slopes of the Mur de Huy. “We come in high spirits and we know we are the main favorites,” states Gil. “Of course, the final kilometres will be more chill if Tadej is already solo and with a fair advantage over his chasers. But it’s difficult to anticipate, and we need to manage his efforts because there is still a long season ahead of us.”
“The opportunities to anticipate are limited”
The Ineos Grenadiers approach this Flèche Wallonne with a clear leader in Tom Pidcock, who was 6th atop the Mur de Huy in 2021. “He is a strong rider for short, steep climbs like Huy,” says Steve Cummings, one of the team’s DSs for this race. “He missed part of the Spring because of a concussion, but my guess is race by race he will get better. He already had a very good race on Sunday at Amstel Gold Race, tactically and technically. Even if he didn’t have the legs to follow the best rider in the world, he still raced all the way to the finish and landed a good podium.” Steve Cummings took part seven times in the Flèche Wallonne as a rider – he knows this event, and its terrain. Is it wise to go early to try and catch off-guard that ‘best rider in the world’ he was talking about, Tadej Pogacar? “Historically, it’s difficult to anticipate. Some wind is forecast, and that can be a factor – I don’t think it will be a decisive one, yet we will have to watch out. All in all, I think the opportunities to anticipate are limited.” Will Pogacar himself anticipate? “Anything is possible, but I don’t think it will happen.”
Bahrain places its hopes in Mikel Landa despite recent sickness
Even if 2022 winner Dylan Teuns now races in the Israel-PremierTech outfit, Bahrain Victorious is still the defending champion of the Flèche Wallonne. As such, it approaches the race with a line-up packed with contenders for a good result. Wout Poels bears the team’s best record on this race, as he has participated 12 times on this event with the 4th place he got in 2016 as his best performance to date up the Mur de Huy. Yet Bahrain’s main hope for tomorrow is Mikel Landa. “He has had a cold, but after what he showed in the Tour of the Basque Country, I'm confident he will perform,” says the team’s DS, Roman Kreuziger. The Spanish cyclist himself downplays expectations a bit. “I'm not sure about my shape. After the week I've had, I will be looking to enjoy the race and assess my form afterwards." Fellow Basque rider Pello Bilbao, Switzerland’s Gino Mader and Slovenia’s Matej Mohoric complete the affluent list of assets that Bahrain Victorious has assembled for this Flèche Wallonne.
“A rich treasure chest full of prospects” for EF Education-EasyPost
Right before the team meeting held on Tuesday afternoon in Herve, we run into Tom Southam, DS for EF Education-EasyPost. And we ask: with which prospects do you approach this Flèche Wallonne? “With a rich treasure chest full of prospects,” he answers with a wit. “The Ardennes has always been a happy hunting ground for this team, with Michael Woods, Dan Martin… or Neilson Powless, who was up there in Liège already last year. We have a handful of riders who are very capable of shining here, like Neilson himself or Esteban Chaves, and then there is Ben Healy, who is in the form of his life and stepping above what people thought.” No surprise that Healy like hilly classics, yet the quality and consistency of his performances over the last month has been eye-catching. “To win Larciano was kind of within expectations, unlike his 2nd place in the Amstel Gold Race, on which he was racing against the best riders of the world. It was inspiring for Ben to find himself in that company and still feel strong. Our question mark is how he will cope with the distances this week.” Healy was second to Pogacar in Amstel. What can he and his team do tomorrow in order to beat the Slovenian rider? “It’s difficult because Tadej is unpredictable and uses his team really well. You can’t say you only hope for a mistake, but we are ready to take the chance if there is a chink in their armor.”
Victor Lafay: “You might find your legs empty with 300 meters to go”
Last weekend was a successful one for Cofidis, as the French squad collected two wins in the Classic Grand Besançon Doubs, with Victor Lafay, and the Tour du Doubs, with Jesús Herrada. With a solid line-up including both victors and two renowned riders such as Ion Izagirre and Guillaume Martin, the French team seems poised to deliver a nice performance tomorrow at La Flèche Wallonne. “I was looking forward to reach this event on my top shape,” says Lafay. “It’s the ideal race for uphill finishers, so it suits me perfectly. I’m getting to know the race in general and the Mur de Huy in particular quite well. You need to ride in ‘economy mode’ and reach the base of the final climb as fresh in your legs as possible, to later save your maximum effort for the last few hundred meters. Otherwise, you might find your legs empty with 300 meters to go.” The Cofidis’ rider is facing the same conundrum as the rest of the contenders – how to beat Pogacar? “Some teams might try to catch him off-guard, but I for one will rather wait and focus on the final climb in order to claim a top10 result – maybe even a top5. We all dream of winning, but I don’t want to burn my legs trying to follow him if he attacks with 40 kilometres to go.”