As it happened: Pogacar conquers Mur de Huy at La Flèche Wallonne

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Tadej Pogačar has beaten allcomers this year, racking up 11 victories including the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race and Paris-Nice. He has defeated riders of the quality of Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. His momentum appears unstoppable as the Ardennes Classics rear into view.

The route of Flèche Wallonne follows the familiar format. After setting out from Herve, the peloton tackles the Côte de Trasenster and Côte de Forges before heading for the beating heart of the race, namely the three laps over the Côte d’Ereffe (2.1km at 5%), the Côte de la Cherave (1.3km at 8.1%) and the Mur de Huy (1.3km at 9.6%). The famous climb has served as the finish of Flèche Wallonne since 1985. The change in configuration, at least per popular lore, was with local favourite Claude Criquielion in mind, and the then world champion duly became the first Flèche winner atop the infamous wall.

The peloton rolls out of Herve at 11.45 CET, and the race is scheduled to hit kilometre zero at 11.50 after a short neutralised section.

The riders have just finished signing on in Herve, and there are two notable absentees from the start list. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale) have both been ruled out through illness. Read more here.

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Michael Woods (Israel Premier Tech), third in 2020, would be highly fancied in the event of a traditional slugging match up the Mur de Huy, but the Canadian, like everybody else, is mindful of the Pogacar factor. "I do think this could be the year that we don’t finish as a group on the Mur," he said. "With Pogacar riding so well, I can see it going earlier. So I think the key is to be vigilant and not get caught out."

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And reinforcements may indeed be coming in the form of an interesting counter-attacking group, led by Soren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). The Dane has drawn Johan Meens (Bingoal WB), Daryl Impey (Israel-PremierTech), Oliver Naesen (Ag2r-Citröen), Georg Zimmermann (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) and Raul Garcia Pierna (Equipo Kern Pharma) with him.

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Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH) is also trying to scramble across to the chasing group, and it looks as if this move has been granted some early latitude by the peloton.

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The presence of Pogacar isn't the only factor that could condition how this race plays out. There is, as L'Equipe put it this morning, a manque de punch about this year's Fleche Wallonne. As well as the retired Alejandro Valverde, other absent puncheurs include Julian Alaphilippe, Primoz Roglic, Dylan Teuns, Aleksandr Vlasov, Jonas Vingegaard and Benoit Cosnefroy. In that light, there may not necessarily be the usual coalition of teams willing to work for a short final showdown on the Mur de Huy, although old habits die hard.

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At the start in Herve, Tadej Pogacar downplayed the potential effects of efforts at Amstel: "It was a big race on Sunday but I think more or less it’s the same riders here as in Amstel so we all had two days to recover." Asked about the possibility of an attack from distance, meanwhile, Pogacar said: "We will see, it all depends on the situation after the first and second time on Mur de Huy, but normally it’s a sprint finish on the Mur." His track record in Mur de Huy sprints is underwhelming but he evinced confidence about trying to win from that scenario. "If I get in good position, then I think it’s possible for a good result," he said.

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After placing second at Amstel Gold Race, Ben Healy lines out with jusifiable ambition today. "I’ve had a nice couple of days after Amstel, I’m recovered and ready to race today. The response has been pretty crazy. You don’t realise how big these races are until you do well in them, so I’ve been blown away," Healy said at the start.

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There are over 40km until the day's next climb, the Côte d'Ereffe, and one imagines the peloton will be content to maintain this status quo for the time being. Ineos have joined UAE in laying down the tempo in the bunch.

Tom Pidcock sparkled early at Amstel Gold Race but he appeared to run out of steam in the finale, where he was distanced by Pogacar and then by Ben Healy. The Ineos rider admitted afterwards that he had struggled with the distance, a consequence, perhaps, of a Spring interrupted by the concussion he sustained on the final day of Tirreno-Adriatico. Still, Pidcock delivered a very gritty finish to fend off Alexey Lutsenko and Andreas Kron to take third, and the shorter distance may play in his favour this afternoon.

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Michael Woods has teammate Daryl Impey in the early break, and the Canadian is tucked in behind UAE and Ineos, surround by a phalanx of Israel Premier Tech companions.

Pogacar has dropped back to the team car, but he is guided steadily back up to the front by his teammate Stake Vegard Laengen.

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A puncture for Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos), but the Pole gets a smooth change and is making his way unhurriedly through the team cars and back up to the peloton.

Michael Vink

Michael Vink and Cameron Wuft set the pace in the peloton for UAE Team Emirates and Ineos. (Image credit: Getty)

Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) is the latest rider to make his way back up to the bunch after what appeared to be a mechanical issue. The Irishman looks under no distress as he latches back on. 

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Delegations from EF and Bahrain Victorious have moved towards the head of the peloton on the Ereffe. Meanwhile, Attila Valter (Jumbo-Visma) successfully chases his way back on after an apparent mechanical issue.

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The intensity rises considerably in the peloton over the other side of the Ereffe. The bunch, led by UAE, is lined out as they ride towards the Côte de Cherave, and the break's lead has dropped to 2:25.

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UAE, Ineos, EF and Groupama-FDJ are all contesting the front positions in the peloton on the rapid approach towards the Cote de Cherave. 

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UAE Team Emirates are back driving on the pace at the head of the peloton as the race barrels along the Meuse and heads towards Huy for the first time. Regardless of whether Pogacar opts for a long range attack, he'll certainly want a smaller peloton come the final ascent of the Mur de Huy - he has been caught up in traffic at the foot of the climb on his previous tilts at Fleche. 

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Out in front, the break is beginning to fragment on the Mur de Huy, with Lawrence Naesen losing contact as the gradient stiffens. Hindsgaul leads the escapees on the climb, looking smooth. 

Back in the peloton, UAE Team Emirates lead up the Mur de Huy, but the pace is steady rather than intense on the lower slopes. 

Hindsgaul leads the break across the finish line for the first time. Naesen was distanced on the climb and he looks resigned to being swept up by the bunch as he crests the summit.

UAE - including Marc Hirschi - lead the peloton over the top of the Mur de Huy, 1:18 down on the escapees. 

David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) has abandoned Fleche Wallonne. The Breton had already abandoned Amstel Gold Race on Sunday and it does not augur well for his prospects at Liege-Bastogne-Liege at the weekend. 

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There are two laps of the Ereffe-Cherave-Mur de Huy circuit to go, and so far, this edition of Fleche Wallonne is playing out much like the last twenty. The early break holds a narrowing lead over a fast-moving, nervous peloton. It remains to be seen if anyone can break the deadlock before the last haul up the Mur de Huy and offer a finale other than a 21st straight uphill sprint. 

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The break fragments on the Ereffe, with Impey, Bol and Meens distanced as the gradient starts to bite. 

Finally, somebody bites in the peloton, as Pieter Serry (Soudal-QuickStep) attacks alone on the Ereffe. The Belgian opens a small gap with no immediate reaction from UAE Team Emirates. 

Out in front, the Danish duo of Kragh Andersen and Hindsgaul press clear with Zimmerman over the top of a windswept Ereffe.

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And then there were two. Soren Kragh Andersen and Georg Zimmerman have distanced Jacob Hindsgaul at the head of the race. This duo still has 1:22 over the bunch, which has recaptured Serry.

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Soren Kragh Andersen and Georg Zimmerman hit the foot of the Cote de Cherave, with the Dane leading the way on the lower slopes. Jacob Hindsgaul (Uno-X) is the third rider on the road, but he's not getting any closer to the front two. Impey et al, meanwhile, are caught by the bunch at the base of the climb.

As ever, the selection in the peloton is coming from the rear rather than the front. The pace is beginning to tell and several more riders are shed from the back of the bunch on the Cherave. 

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Kragh Andersen and Zimmerman hit the Mur de Huy for the second with a lead of just over a minute on the peloton. After the winnowing process began on the first ascent, we can perhaps expect a more significant shake-up in the bunch this time around.

UAE lead on the lower slopes of the Mur de Huy, but Pogacar is content to sit a few rows back from the front as the gradient stiffens. EF, Ineos, Bahrain and Jumbo-Visma are all well represented towards the head of affairs. 

Samuele Battistella (Astana-Qazaqstan) attacks near the top of the Mur de Huy and stretches things out considerably. Attila Valter is the first to follow, with Ben Healy also prominent. Pogacar is content to crest the summit just inside the top 10.

Battistella continues his effort over the other side and opens a small gap. Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep) makes a big solo effort to bridge across, but there's still a bunch of 70 or so riders just behind them.

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A delegation from EF moves up alongside UAE at the head of the bunch on the exposed, wind-blasted road that leads towards Ereffe. UAE have controlled all day, but it might yet fall upon Pogacar to move himself to shut down attacks over the Ereffe and Cherave. That's unless he gets his retaliation in first, of course...

For now, despite the high speed, it's still a very sizeable peloton of perhaps 100 riders. Despite all the predictions of long range attacks, this is looking, for now at least, like a very typical 21st century edition of Fleche Wallonne - but that might yet change on the Ereffe and Cherave.

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On the Ereffe itself Sam Oomen (Jumbo-Visma) accelerates at the head of the peloton, prompting a swft response from George Bennett (UAE) on behalf of Pogacar. 

George Bennett takes over at the head of the bunch and sets the tempo, but Pogacar is quite a way back at this juncture. He seems unlikely to launch on the Ereffe. For now, he is focused simply on moving back up towards the front. 

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Pogacar, inevitably, has worked his way back to the head of the bunch over the Ereffe and he sits behind three UAE teammates as they crest the summit.

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Zimmerman has been caught by the peloton, where George Bennett continues to wind up the pace for Pogacar. Out in front, Battistella risks losing contact with Vervaeke and Kragh Andersen on a section exposed to crosswind, but he battles his way back on.

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Soren Kragh Andersen has been the day's outstanding performer thus far. In the break all day, he now leads Battistella and Vervaeke towards the Cherave.

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Pello Bilbao appears to be working on behalf of his Bahrain teammate Mikel Landa ahead of this grand finale over the Cherave and Mur de Huy. 28 seconds the gap to the break.

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Diego Ulissi and Marc Hirschi accelerate in the bunch for UAE. Ben Healy is prominent, but so too, of course, is Pogacar.

Kragh Andersen and Battistella are swept up by the bunch with half the Cherave to go. Vervaeke is dangling alone at the front, but UAE's pace should soon reel the Belgian in too.

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Vervaeke is caught at the very foot of the Mur de Huy, where Magnus Sheffield leads for Ineos.

Michael Woods and Pogacar are seated on Sheffield's wheel, and the Canadian takes over when Sheffield swings off.

Romain Bardet tried to attack on the outside but he has to desist when he got squeezed between Woods and the barrier... On the S-bend, Woods leads a seated Pogacar and Bardet, with Mikel Landa, Guillaume Martin and Pidcock poised...

Romain Bardet accelerates with Pogacar and Woods following...

Pogacar hits the front from distances and this looks like the winning move...

Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) gives chase but Pogacar won't be denied...

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) wins Flèche Wallonne

Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) takes second place ahead of Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), but the result was never in doubt once Pogacar climbed from the saddle in the final 200m. The Ardennes treble is firmly in his sights...

Result

Tadej Pogacar

Tadej Pogacar wins Fleche Wallonne (Image credit: Getty)

Skjelmose and Landa finished in the same time as Pogacar but the Slovenian was, again, on another level. Woods was best of the rest at 3 seconds, ahead of Giulio Ciccone, Victor Lafay and Tiesj Benoot. Romain Bardet tried gamely to anticipate Pogacar but he had to settle for 9th place. 

Tadej Pogacar on his victory: "I left it all on the climb, it was super hard. It’s a spectacular finish what can I say. It gives me a lot of boost when the team does such an amazing job. A few times I watching the guys in front of me and thinking I have to pull it off or all the work was for nothing. Already 20k to go, or even with 50k, it was really nervous, but the team did a great job keeping me in the front. There was one moment where I almost crashed but it was quite hectic, but we really pulled it off. We obviously needed to pull from the beginning. Nobody really helped us. Ineos a little bit, but not too much. It was all on us. We wanted to make an even harder race in the end but the guys were a bit tired from pulling for 200km, but we still made a hard race, like we planned. For everybody, you don’t get bored crossing the line first. I’m really enjoying that and grateful I have this moment with such a great shape. I’ll enjoy this moment while I can. Liege? It's a different race with longer climbs."

After struggling on the Mur de Huy at his previous attempts, Pogacar adds the famous climb to his long list of conquered lands. On Sunday, he will seek his second Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory, and he will seek to emulate the late Davide Rebellin (2004) and Philippe Gilbert (2011) in completing the Amstel-Fleche-Liege hat-trick.

A new player will, of course, enter the game on Sunday. Remco Evenepoel has been preparing for the Giro d'Italia in recent weeks, but the world champion will defend his Liege-Bastogne-Liege title this weekend. In Liege's modern history, riders who drop in to Liege from training for the Giro have rarely had much joy, but Evenepoel is the kind of rider who won't mind tilting against those odds.

Tom Pidcock, who placed 18th: "Yeah, [Pogacar] was good. I think this is where he is beatable, this climb, but today it wasn’t me. I wasn’t good today. I felt fine but I just didn’t have any explosivity. I think I went very deep on Sunday and I just haven’t recovered. It’s just how it is, but I think I can win this race on my day for sure."

Mattias Skjelmose (2nd): "I told Danish television I would be more than grateful with a second place behind Tadej and that’s what happened. I tried, I was in good position. I was not close but closer than I thought I would be. We tried to follow and we hoped that somebody was going to attack earlier, and people tried but UAE did a f**king – sorry, a really – good job today so chapeau to those guys. I was not surprised Tadej wanted for the Mur. The smartest thing was to wait but when you’re as good as he is, maybe he wanted to win in a more exciting way but he kept it calm and waited for the sprint on the Mur. And that’s also the sign of a great champion, to keep it calm when you know you have good legs. We always go for the win but with my second place and Ciccone’s 5th, we did an amazing job."

Mikel Landa (3rd): "I’m super happy. After Basque Country I felt a little bit sick so I didn’t have a lot of confidence. Maybe I could have gone second for sure I couldn’t beat Pogacar, so I’m happy with the third place. Someone has to be second or third, no? The first of the mortals. This is what it is. He’s superior, a super good rider and it’s difficult to beat him. He had a very strong team, they controlled the race very well and once he’s here on the climb, it’s very difficult to beat him. Now I have more confidence for Sunday. I expect a harder race. But Remco is coming so maybe it will be a big fight between them and we can use that to surprise."

Tadej Pogacar wins Fleche Wallonne

Tadej Pogacar  (Image credit: Getty)

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