On the 20th of April the peloton will ride the second of the Ardennes classics trio, as the peloton head deep into Belgian territory for a day where the puncheurs will have the opportunity to have a strong result.
202 kilometers and 3200 meters of climbing. That is the data you’ve got
for this race, it is one that doesn’t feature any long ascent however it does
feature a lot of rolling roads throughout the entire route. The race is decided on a circuit, in which the riders will ride 3 laps of with
31 kilometers in distance.
In the final lap the riders will go through the Côte d’Ereffe with 2Km at 5.8%, which
summits with 19.5 kilometers to go. As for the Côte de Cherave it summits with
a mere 6 kilometers to go which may open the race a bit more. It’s 1.5Km at
6.9% and features gradients in the double digits, it’s no easy feature. A small
descent and fast run-up to Huy will follow, until the final climb which is a grind, an ascent that gets steeper all the way up and is very well known in the peloton, the Mur de Huy. It’s a pure
anaerobic effort, and is ideal for the lightweight puncheurs with 10.2% average gradient (maximum 18%) throughout 1.2 kilometers that go straight up to the line.
Blegny - Mur de Huy, 202Km
Mur de Huy (1.2Km at 10.3%; 62.5/31/0 Km to go)