FLÈCHE WALLONNE 2021 : INFO WITH ONE DAY TO GO

April 20 ^th 2021 - 17:46

Key points:

• On the eve of the 85th Flèche Wallonne, the main contenders looked ambitious and cautious at the same time. The defending champion Marc Hirschi leads a team where the ambitions will be split with the Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar, while Primoz Roglič discovers the Mur de Huy.
• The 2021 edition will also see the return of the World Champion Julian Alaphilippe as well as Alejandro Valverde, two experts who claimed seven successes on the Mur de Huy.
• On the Flèche Wallonne Femmes, the World Champion Anna van der Breggen will also attract most of the attention as she aims to claim a 7th victory in a row.

MONIN : “A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO GO TO HUY”

It is quite unusual for cyclists to ride their bikes within a facility usually dedicated to basketball. But on Wednesday, the peloton of the 2021 Flèche Wallonne will start from the Dôme, where the players of the Spirou Charleroi Basket Club are used to shine. The capital of comics welcomed the start of the race from 1998 until 2012, and this return to Charleroi gives a new tone to the route as Jean-Michel Monin, head of the race, explains: “The route to go to Huy is different, so we reach the finale going through an area with lots of very steep climbs on narrow roads, something very typical for the Flèche Wallonne. For example, just before we enter the circuit, there’s a tight series of four climbs, including one in Gives the riders don’t know - it’s a painful challenge, with the last 350m at 14%.” Some 78km will remain but this specific terrain should open differences: “The Flèche Wallonne’s tradition makes it a nervous race and the open sections at the beginning will add to the tension. Most of all, positioning will be essential as soon as they arrive in the climbs around Andenne. All the leaders will have to be at the front to stay out of trouble.”

VAN DER BREGGEN’S LAST FLÈCHE

Anna van der Breggen’s reign on the Mur de Huy will come to an end as the 31-year-old Dutch rider is set to retire at the end of the year. The leader from SD Worx, winner of the past six editions of the Flèche Wallonne Femmes, is a natural favorite with her bib number 1 pinned on her rainbow jersey for the third edition in a row but also some questions regarding her conditions: “I’m hopeful to have a good day and feel good again. At the bottom of the Mur, I’ll know if I’m good enough or not. And if I’m not, I also have teammates who can win. It’s not only up to me, the team is stronger than ever. Demi [Vollering] and Ashleigh [Moolman Pasio] already showed in the previous years they can get on the podium.” Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) is the other former winner at the start, with her five victories between 2007 and 2013. But many podium finishers (Deignan, Longo Borghini, Niewiadoma, Ludwig) and new contenders want to succeed the Dutch power duo, and the sooner the better.

VALVERDE: “MY SENSATIONS DON’T TELL ME I’M TURNING 41 ON SUNDAY”

New contenders climbed on his throne but Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) remains the main ruler on the Mur de Huy, with five triumphs (2006, 2014-17), and his recent sensations tell him he could claim a 6th success on the Flèche Wallonne. “It seems like a lie, my sensations don’t tell me I’m turning 41 on Sunday”, the Spanish champion said on Tuesday in the inaugural podcast of La Vuelta, after he decided at the last moment to head to Huy following his 5th place on the Amstel Gold Race. “Last year, it felt like I had lost my pedal stroke, but now it’s back, I feel like I’m 30 and I’m super motivated to make the most of being at 100%.” Good enough to come back next year, although he hinted he would retire after the Tokyo Olympic Games? “I don’t know [if this is my final season]”, Valverde confessed. “We’ll see how the year goes and we’ll discuss things.”

HIRSCHI, POGI, ULISSI… UAE TEAM EMIRATES “WILL DECIDE IN THE RACE”

Riding with the bib number 1 and his new UAE Team Emirates kit, Marc Hirschi returns to the Flèche Wallonne with an impressive supporting cast. “We have Marc who won the race last year, Diego [Ulissi] already finished in the top 3 [in 2019] and Tadej [Pogačar] feels good so we have more than one leader”, the team sports director Andrej Hauptman explains. “We’ll see who feels better and we’ll decide in the race who we ride for.” Pogačar recently finished of the Itzulia Basque Country after winning the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico. Hirschi is feeling “stronger everyday”, according to Hayptman. As for Ulissi, he had a late return to competition at the beginning of April due to a cardiac condition.

ALAPHILIPPE RETURNS WITH HIS “MOTIVATION AND CONDITION”

Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) didn’t attend the 2020 edition of the Flèche Wallonne a few days after winning the World Championships in Imola but he returns to his beloved race “with the condition and motivation to give everything”. The two-time winner (2018, 19) detailed his sensations and ambitions on Tuesday with his young teammate Mauri Vansevenant: “I’m not in the same shape as my last time in Flèche because I did Flanders classics. So I tried to manage my shape as best as I can. On paper, it’s a race that suits me very well. I love it. I did it four times, I was always on the podium. This year I don’t know if I can make it but I’m very motivated to give my best. The ideal scenario for us is that Mauri and I are at the front for the final lap and the final ascent of the Mur de Huy. On such a difficult climb, the legs do the talking.”

COSNEFROY: “I LIKE THE EFFORT ON THE MUR”

Last Autumn, Benoît Cosnefroy was the last rider to resist Marc Hirschi’s assault on the Mur de Huy, finishing 2nd behind the Swiss puncheur. The Frenchman from AG2R-Citroën struggles with back and knee pains but he’s willing to perform in one of his favorite races: “I feel really good in this race. We know how it will unfold and I like this final 2-minute effort on the Mur de Huy. But I don’t know where I’m at right now, my preparation hasn’t been ideal.” Cosnefroy still managed to finish 8th in the Brabantse Pijl a week ago and he enjoyed the following days to recover: “I had already planned not to go to the Amstel Gold Race, which allowed me to work with my physiotherapist at home, where I have all my habits. I’ll be at the start with lots of ambitions. I know my teammates will put me in the best position for the Mur and then I’ll give it all.”