Pogacar rules the Mur
April 23 rd 2025 - 16:48
After a full day racing under the rain, the rainbow appeared at the Mur de Huy just in time. UAE Team Emirates’ Tadej Pogacar conquered the iconic wall that defines La Flèche Wallonne for the second time in his career with an amazing display of climbing prowess and aggressive, determined racing. The Slovenian rider was 10” quicker than Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) in the final ascent to become the first reigning Tour de France champion to triumph in these slopes since they were first used as the uphill finish of this event in 1985. Pogacar also became the seventh-ever rider to win this race in the rainbow jersey, 40 years after local legend Claude Criquelion won in this very spot while being world champion too.
174 riders took the start in the 89th edition of La Flèche Wallonne, held over 205,1 kilometres between Ciney and the Mur de Huy, at 11:36. There was one non-starter, Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). Five riders went clear as the flag dropped: Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Artem Shmidt (Ineos Grenadiers), Ceriel Desal (Wagner Bazin WB), Tom Paquot (Intermarché-Wanty) and Siebe Deweirdt (Flanders-Baloise). They quickly built a sizable gap, clocked at 2’30” by kilometre 12, yet were kept on a tight leash by the work of UAE Team Emirates, Lidl-Trek, Bahrain Victorious and Soudal-Quick Step. The latter team was particularly aggressive, bringing the lead of the breakaway down to 40” at kilometre 58 before receding in their pace-making.
Four attackers join the day’s breakaway from the peloton
It was exactly at that point that Ineos Grenadiers’ Tobias Foss jumped from the bunch, hoping to join his teammate Artem Shmidt and finding the company of Bahrain Victorious’ Robert Stannard in his pursuit. The duo succeeded in their bid at kilometre 70, making it seven riders at the head of the race. Two Uno-X Mobility riders, Andreas Leknessund and Frederik Dversnes, also attacked from the peloton as it climbed the Côte de Petite Somme (km 85,8) and made it to the front at kilometre 106, by when the breakaway had lost Deweirdt.
Skjelmose crashes out of the race
The eight-strong group held a 1’35” lead on the peloton as the race entered the final circuit with 99,3 kilometres to go. Paquot got dropped in the first climb to the Mur de Huy (km 130,8), where the seven remaining riders at the front enjoyed a 52” advantage. The head of the race steadily lost both ground and members. Guglielmi was dropped in the Côte d’Ereffe (km 149,6), and likewise for Shmidt and Stannard in the Côte de Cherave (km 162,3), while Desal crashed out of contention in a right-hand turn with 41 kilometres to go. It was on that very spot that Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) went down, along with other key riders like Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike), Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates) or Ilan van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step). As a consequence of this incident, the Danish cyclist had to pull out from the race shortly after.
UAE Team Emirates sets Pogacar up for impressive victory
Just three Norwegian riders (Foss, Leknessund and Dversnes) were left at the head of the race in the second-to-last climb to the Mur de Huy (km 168), with a lead of just 10” on the bunch. Despite several skirmishes behind, they managed to keep the peloton at bay all the way to the foot of the Côte de Cherave (km 199,5). It was there that UAE Team Emirates unleashed two accelerations with Felix Grossschartner and Jan Christen, followed by a fast descent from Tadej Pogacar himself to further stretch things out. A mere 30 riders hit the Mur de Huy in contention for the win. Jan Christen marshaled them in the first ramps. An acceleration from Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) with 500 meters to go was the sign for Pogacar to take off and triumph while his rivals fought tooth and nail for the scraps.
