La Flèche Wallonne 2011

Fleche-Wallonne maybe be considered a mid-week warm-up for Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege but the finish atop the steep climb of the Mur de Huy, always creates a spectacular finale and leaves riders gasping for air and fighting the searing pain of lactic acid in their legs.

The Ardennes exalt the skills of the hilly classics riders but Fleche-Wallonne is more suited to the specialist power climber, who may struggle with the attacks and fighting for position at the Amstel Gold Race or Liege-Bastogne-Liege, but who excels at producing that final effort on the 9.3% gradient of the 1.3km Mur.