Flèche Wallonne

The Ardennes classics are back to its traditional slot in mid April, and so returns Alejandro Valverde, riding one of the events he’s been most happy at, with five victories -four of them, consecutive- in the Flèche Wallonne. The Mur de Huy remains the main characteristic of an event which takes place into a circuit in the second half of its 193km route from Charleroi – and a really difficult one.

The Côte d’Ereffe (2.1km at 5.6%), the Côte du Chemin des Gueuses (1.9km at 6.7%) and, above all, the legendary finish up the Chemin des Chapelles in Huy (1.3km at 9.7%; slopes up to 19%) will decide, with its two passages each (three over the Mur), a race which usually turns, due to the peloton’s behaviour in recent times, into the toughest sprint in cycling. Will 2021 be an exception?