Profile & Route Flèche Wallone 2023

Profile. On the 19th of April the riders will take on the second of the World Tour Ardennes classics. It is the day of the Flèche Wallone, one of the most reputably one-day races in pro cycling which has it's finale atop the famous Mur de Huy.

193 kilometers and 3100 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. It's a classic that suits the pure puncheurs and also some climbers, a race which is frequently quite controlled and sees a sprint finish up the very steep ramps of the final climb.

Estimated start and finish times for Flèche Wallone: 11:50-16:30CET.

This however has proven to be over the year a race which is only decided in the final climb, hence most favourites will just ride as conservatively as possibly until that point whilst their teams to the work to control the race. 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 we’ve got 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.

A grind, an ascent that gets steeper all the way up. It’s a pure anaerobic effort, and is ideal for the lightweight puncheurs. The ascent is 1.2 kilometers long at 10.3% and gets steeper and steeper towards the finish line. It's an effort that is gradually upped all the way. The fight into the bottom of the climb is every year very intense, and once there it's usually a lead up into the spring. The final 300 meters are very steep and so riders frequently try slightly earlier, but a long-range attack is unlikely to succeed.