Tour de Wallonie

It’s been eight years since the Movistar Team last raced the Tour de Wallonie, and they did well in their most recent appearance, with a stage win + 2nd overall in 2014 with a great Juanjo Lobato. The ambition to repeat or improve those results is high as the Telefónica-backed squad opens its post-Tour calendar -though the first two stages are held at the same time the ‘Grande Boucle’ ends- with a really exciting course, full of climbs, legendary names and even some cobblestones.

The weekend will see the riders take on the two most decisive stages GC-wise. Saturday 23rd, the peloton will climb the Mur de Huy twice, first through its traditional side then its last 800 meters as finish. Saturday 24th will, in turn, bring seven rated ascents, including La Redoute -55km away from the line, though-, before a circuit with some significant slopes around Herve.

Despite the stages on Monday (Rochefort) and Tuesday (Couvin) featuring more than 3,000m elevation gain each, the final sections are easier and should suit the sprinters -though there’s a rated climb on Tuesday with just 5km to go-. So could also do the closing stage -no less than 214km- in the Hainaut region, but also to keep in mind is that riders will take on no less than eight cobbled sectors – of course, easier than those in Roubaix, yet they could still split the peloton before the end.