The original plan of BORA - hansgrohe counted on their star signing Primoz Roglic to have a shot at the victory at La Flèche Wallonne, but the Itzulia crash ruled the Slovenian out for the Ardennes this year. Even without Roglic, the German formation is not to be underestimated at the Mur de Huy.
With Aleksandr Vlasov, BORA gains a strong card to play in the finale. The 27-year-old rider returns to action after successful start to the season with 3rd overall in Valencia, 5th at Paris-Nice and 4th in Catalunya. On top of that, Vlasov was able to sneak out for a stage win at the 'race to the sun'.
Despite his undisputable strength in one-day classics, just like in week-long races, Vlasov only competed for the glory on the Mur de Huy once. In 2022, Vlasov came in strong third place, coming short only to surprise winner Dylan Teuns and five-time Flèche Wallonne champion Alejandro Valverde.
Yet, BORA certainly won't like to only watch the action from distance and bet everything on the final climb. With strong engines such as Bob Jungels and Matteo Sobrero, it would be naive to not try to put pressure on your opponents and anticipate.
An interesting name to keep an eye on is the 25-year-old Roger Adrià. Another of BORA - hansgrohe's winter acquisitions impressed with a courageous ride at recent Amstel Gold Race, where he only narrowly couldn't hold on to the group that fought it out for the victory and eventually crosssed the line in 14th.
BORA - hansgrohe lineup for La Flèche Wallonne:
Aleksandr Vlasov, Roger Adrià, Giovanni Aleotti, Alexander Hajek, Bob Jungels, Matteo Sobrero and Frederik Wandahl
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