Tadej Pogacar wins Fléche Wallone with powerful sprint up Mur de Huy, Skjelmose and Landa complete podium
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar has won the 2023 Fléche Wallone. The man to beat had the race under control and in the Mur de Huy he was the fastest, beating Mattias Skjelmose and Mikel Landa with a solid gap into the line.
With the wind blowing and several climbs early in the day a strong group managed to go clear of the peloton. A race where the breakaway doesn't usually threaten the day's result but several big figures were present. Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Daryl Impey (Israel - Premier Tech), Soren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Raúl García Pierna (Equipo Kern Pharma), Johan Meens (Bingoal WB), Lawrence Naesen (AG2R Citroën Team), Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH) and Jacob Hindsgaul (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) formed the group.
The gap went up to four minutes but it never grew further, with UAE taking most of the responsibility in the peloton when it came to the chase for the man to beat Tadej Pogacar. In the final 80 kilometers the breakaway began to lose riders as the peloton entered the final circuit.
In the small climbs that would follow the breakaway would be reduced to only three riders, with Soren Kragh Andersen and Georg Zimmermann riding through as some small moves came from the peloton. With 37 kilometers to go the riders went through the Mur de Huy for the penultimate time, with Samuele Battistella launching a powerful attack that would line up the whole peloton.
After the climb the Italian and Louis Vervaeke attacked from the peloton, joining the leading duo shortly after. Zimmermann was dropped at the Côte d'Ereffe as UAE Team Emirates controlled the attacks in the peloton, where a nasty crash took out riders such as Neilson Powless, Victor Lafay and Andreas Kron. The gap was rolling around the 30 seconds as a near-compact peloton began to approach Cherave.
UAE Team Emirates kicked up a notch at the base of the climb, not allowing attacks to try and anticipate a move towards the Mur de Huy. The acceleration from Ulissi and Hirschi caught all the survivors from the breakaway except for Vervaeke who maintained a very strong pace over the summit.
UAE and Israel - Premier Tech had a good run-up into the Mur, where Vervaeke was caught in the first ramps. Woods and Pogacar took the head of the group as the gradients began to bite, with no-one launching an early attack. The outcome was written all over, Romain Bardet launched an early sprint but Tadej Pogacar looked comfortable in the wheel, and in the final 150 meters he launched his own move, taking a dominant win.
Mattias Skjelmose and Mikel Landa rode to second and third on the road albeit a couple of seconds back, completing the podium both with surprisingly positive performances.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Bingo...I was going to say a 12 year obsessed Pogi fan girlie ! Like she's chasing a teen boy band! All glossy eyed about tadej!frieders312-11-2026
- That stint in the Pink was so good. If memory serves he struggled with the champagne cuz he'd never been on the podium before. I feel like it gave him some self-belief, and yeah - then the move to Visma to be one of their lieutenants has really brought him to the best version of himself.wrsty12-11-2026
- So, you never really compared Paul Seixas with his main rival Isaac Del Toro why jump to Pogačar? They've (Paul & Isaac) raced together here and there, and they've both shared in wins and losses, I think they should be compared to each other, even with Vingegaard and Remco first before even touching Pogačar. From your writing it's like he's better than Vingegaard, Remco and Del Toro already that his main target is now Pogačar 🤔Sadick11-11-2026
- gee i hope its a minor injury. a great rider and ambassador for the sport. get well soon Lucinda.
Davide11-11-2026 - some of lidl-treks retention and recruiting has been puzzling in the mens and womens teams.Davide11-11-2026
- Yeah his ride at World's was unreal. Over 6 W/kg for over an hour and a half...he single handedly destroyed the break.DAS11-11-2026
- Exactly, you hit the nail on te head.... Ayuso sucks. 3 to 4 years ago some cycling experts were comparing Ayuso as the "new Pogi"... but he's not even close to him... either physically or mentally. Capish you naive schoolboy?PogiSloFans11-11-2026
- I think they expected more from riders like Carlos Rodriguez, Vauquelin and Magnus Sheffield. Imo they should have focused on signing Primoz Roglic, at least they´d probably have had a guaranteed podium GT finisher (he still might sign for them). Now they have 2nd or third tier riders in the classics (Ben Turner, Arensman, Beloki and hopefully Onley can step up again even more). Sheffield, August, Bernal, Tarling and Geoghan Hart did not live up to the star expectations eventually..Jonatan11-11-2026
- Fuuuuuuck, Ciccone and Pidcock on the same team, attacking like crazy and taking it to the other competitors? Yes, please.Occam11-11-2026
- Oh Cameron, this win has been a long time coming! We could not be more proud. All I’ll say is: roll on Glasgow 🔥anonymouscyclist11-11-2026
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