As it happened: Kasia Niewiadoma breaks streak to take first victory since 2019 at La Flèche Wallonne Fèminine

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of Flèche Wallonne Femmes.

This is the 27th edition of the race, one of the oldest classics for the women.  The race was won a record 7 times by Anna van der Breggen, and last year Demi Vollering continued the trend for SD Worx by taking the win on her way to an impressive Ardennes triple.

The triple is already out of the question for Vollering this year after Marianne Vos took the win on Sunday at Amstel Gold Race. Vollering's teammate, Lorena Wiebes, narrowly missed out after celebrating at the line too soon and the team will be looking to make up for that today. 

If SD Worx-Protime want to take the win today they will have to contend with a strong Lidl-Trek squad who have dominated the classics so far.

The riders will set off for the neutral roll out at 13:55 CEST.

Lidl-Trek's leader, Elisa Longo Borghini, as well as Shirin van Anrooij who has also been a key player for the team are lining up today alongside the team's Italian climber, Gaia Realini who took third at this race in 2023. 

The gruellingly steep Mur de Huy finish is also suited to the likes of Kasia Niewiadoma of Canyon//SRAM who has had a strong start to the season. 

There are a few riders returning from injury at this race including FDJ SUEZ's climbing talent, 2022 La Flèche Wallonne winner Marta Cavalli and Movistar's Claire Steels who suffered fractured vertebrae in February at UAE Tour Women. 

Read more about the contenders for this race here. 

The riders are off for the neutral start 

Neutral start

It's a grim day in Belgium for the riders, the rain is pouring down!

Some very cold and wet looking riders rolling off the start line today, the weather could have an effect on the race as some riders struggle with these conditions.

The first 2.9 km are neutralised 

Here's a full start list for today's race. 

The official start of the race has been delayed due to a crash in the neutral zone. No indication of who was involved yet but officials are waiting for them to re-join the peloton before giving the official start.

Maaike Coljé (Arkéa - B&B Hotels Women) who was involved in the crash has abandoned the race. 

Abandon

The official start has been given! 

Flag drop

Reports are coming in that there is snow at the finish line in Huy!

The bunch has already been reduced with the pace and the weather conditions.

134 km to go

The peloton is still all together after 12 km of racing 

20 km of racing complete and the peloton are all together. Nobody fancies a long day in the breakaway in these conditions! 

125 km to go

It really does look grim out there!

Former Flèche Wallonne podium finisher, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio spoke to the organisation before the race about the weather conditions. 

“Whenever the conditions become more challenging, the race turns out to be more interesting," said the South African rider. "Bad weather helps reduce the peloton and makes the approach to the Mur de Huy less stressful. I won’t make the weather a bit factor in my mind, but I believe that a hard race improves my chances of a good result.”

The peloton are still all together. 

115 km to go

The peloton are 3 km from the foot of the Côte de Courrière climb.

The Côte de Courrière is a new addition to the race alongside the Côte d'Evrehailles. The Côte de Cherave, which used to come before the Mur de Huy has been taken out of the race, something which seven-time former winner Anna van der Breggen is not impressed by. 

"That has become a lot harder this year because the Côte de Cherave has been dropped from the course. I really regret that, because that slope made the finale doubly interesting," she is quoted as saying in a team press release. 

"If you didn't want to wait until the Wall, there were options there to make the difference. Now you have a descent on a wide road towards the foot of the Mur of Huy. So it is even more likely that the pure climbers will come to the top and that an elite group on the Mur will determine who wins or loses. I myself did win the Flèche Wallonne once when we escaped with two before the Mur."

Justine Ghekiere of AG Insurance - Soudal was first to crest the Côte de Courrière as some riders struggle to maintain contact at the back.

After 40km of racing there is finally a breakaway with a small gap. Sara Martin of Movistar, Julie van de Velde of AG Insurance - Soudal, and Elena Hartmann of Roland have a five second lead.

Breakaway

Spanish champion Mavi Garcia has been dropped from the peloton

Thankfully, the weather conditions seem to be improving!

100 km to go, will somebody make a move on the next climb? 5 km until the Côte d'Evrehailles.

100 km to go

The three leaders have a 50 second lead on the peloton 

Breakaway

The three leaders have extended their advantage to 2'10" over the top of the Côte d'Evrehailles. 

88 km to go

2'30" now for the three leaders.

78.4 km to go

The men's race is into the final 13 km with a reduced group all together at the front, follow along for the final here. 

Counter attack from Eva van Agt (Visma - Lease a Bike) 

The breakaway now have 2'40" as the race reaches the half way point.

Half-way point

It's 3'20" for the leaders now 

The men's race has just finished, you can see how it happened here. 

Visma - Lease a Bike lead the peloton 

62.6 km to go

The gap has grown to 3'40" for the leading trio now.

It's four minutes now for the leaders! Are the peloton waiting for the live coverage to start before the kick into action? 

The gap to the three leaders just keeps ticking up, it's 4'25" now. The peloton will need to get the gap under control if they want to be able to catch the trio before the final. 

The three leaders are now on the Côte d'Ereffe

46 km to go

The gap is edging towards five minute for Martín, Van de Velde and Hartmann now. It's 4'45" for the three leaders.

The leaders are on the finish loop, the next climb for them is the first ascent of the Mur de Huy! 

Counter attack in the peloton from Grace Brown of FDJ SUEZ and Pauliena Rooijakkers of Fenix - Deceuninck.

Brown and Rooijakkers have 10 seconds on the peloton as they crest the Côte d'Ereffe.

The two chasers now have 30 seconds on the peloton with 33 km to go

Elena Hartmann is being distanced from her breakaway companions on the Mur de Huy climb

Martín and Van de Velde crest the Mur de Huy with a 3'26" lead over the peloton with the two chasers 36 seconds back

Attack from Fem van Empel (Visma - Lease a Bike) in the peloton followed by Elisa Longo Borghini of Lidl - Trek and Marijn Meijering of Movistar 

After the first time up the Mur de Huy the gap between the break and the peloton is down to 2'35" with the chasers at 2'06" The peloton is reduced to around 30 riders. 

27 km to go

The peloton has swollen in size behind as the slowing of pace allowed groups to come back. 

Hartmann, who was in the early breakaway, has joined Brown and Rooijakkers after being dropped from the lead group on the Mur de Huy

Hartmann is struggling to hold on to the pace of Rooijakkers and Brown.

Canyon//SRAM are driving the pace in the peloton with Soraya Paladin on the front 

The gap is less than two minutes now for the breakaway 

The peloton have Brown and Rooijakkers in their sight now on the run-in to the Côte d'Ereffe

Martín and Van de Velde's lead is down to 1'36" now as Brown and Rooijakkers are about to be caught 

It's Canyon//SRAM still driving the pace alongside UAE Team ADQ

Rooijakkers and Brown are caught

Lidl-Trek, UAE Team ADQ, and Canyon//SRAM are leading the peloton and the gap to the two leaders is rapidly reducing. 

15 km to go

The two leaders are on the lower slopes of the Côte d'Ereffe

The work of UAE Team ADQ, Lidl-Trek, and Canyon//SRAM has brought the gap down to just one minute now 

Lucinda Brand (Lidl - Trek) drops from the peloton after working to bring the breakaway back

Crash for Veronica Ewers (EF Education - Cannondale) 

Riejanne Markus of Visma Lease a Bike attacks towards the top of the Côte d'Ereffe

Elisa Longo Borghini is on the Dutch rider's wheel alongside Kasia Niewiadoma of Canyon//SRAM and Demi Vollering of SD Worx - Protime.

The activity in the peloton has reduced the gap for the two leaders to just 22 seconds and also reduced the size of the peloton. 

Pauliena Rooijakkers, who was in the earlier move with Grace Brown, has attacked and has a gap. 

Rooijakkers has an 8 second lead on the peloton. 

10 km to go until the final ascent of the Mur de Huy 

Rooijakkers has Martín and Van de Velde in her sights now but the peloton aren't too far behind.

10 km to go

Problem for Niamh Fisher Black (SD Worx - Protime) 

Attack from Elise Chabbey who bridges to Rooijakkers, Elisa Longo Borghini gives chase.

World Champion, Lotte Kopecky, is chasing 

Kopecky bridges the gap to the three leaders 

Chabbey keeps the pace high in the lead group 

Longo Borghini comes to the front now 

Riejanne Markus closes the gap to the leaders as the peloton come together on the approach to the Mur de Huy 

Attack from Alena Amialusik of UAE Team ADQ 

Attack from Riejanne Markus of Visma Lease a Bike 

Markus has a five second lead.

4 km to go

The speed is 50 km/h

Markus's lead is now 13 seconds 

Markus reaches the lower slopes of the Mur de Huy with a 16 second lead, can she maintain her gap? 

Markus goes under the Flamme Rouge 

Demi Vollering leads the peloton followed by Kasia Niewiadoma and Ashleigh Moolman Pasio 

Rooijakkers is caught 

Vollering continues to lead. Juliette Labous, Elisa Longo Borghini, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio and Kasia Niewiadoma are glued to her wheel. 

Evita Muzic and Olivia Baril are also trying to follow 

The leaders reach the steepest part of the climb 

Muzic is struggling to maintain contact 

Niewidoma comes up alongside Vollering with Longo Borghini on the opposite side 

The trio of Longo Borghini, Vollering and Niewiadoma go clear 

Longo Borghini attacks but Kasia Niewiadoma attacks 

Kasia Niewiadoma has a gap! 

Kasia Niewiadoma takes the win! 

Demi Vollering second and Elisa Longo Borghini third 

Top-10 

1. Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM)

2. Demi Vollering (SD Worx - Protime)

3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) 

4. Évita Muzic (FDJ SUEZ)

5. Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (AG Insurance - Soudal)

6. Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix - Deceuninck)

7. Juliette Labous (Team dsm firmenich PostNL)

8. Fem van Empel (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)

9. Mart Cavalli (FDJ SUEZ)

10. Ane Santesteban (Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi)

Kasia Niewiadoma, winner of La Fléche Wallonne Féminine: 

"It means a lot, I really hope that with that victory I inspired a lot of people who are pursuing their dreams for so long because I have experienced a lot of failures, a lot of second and third places and I never stopped believing [or] stopped dreaming that as a team we can win another race. So I do really hope that that race will inspire a lot of people to just keep believing keep pursuing their dreams because the rewards are always there waiting for us." 

"The race was super brutal because as we started it started to rain so hard and the temperature dropped very low, but that being said I knew that this was my day, somehow i just felt it and to be honest the weather conditions were kind of on my side because i always benefit from hard races like this. So, as a team, we just kept a positive atmosphere even thought we were all shaking from the cold temperature and my teammates were amazing taking care of me, bringing me warm clothes so I could change and just remain focused on the final." 

"To be honest after Sunday [Amstel Gold Race] I was again not going to celebrate even a centimetre before the line, so I didn't want to waste any energy looking around, I just gave my best because I knew thats all I want to do, just sprint for the victory."

Elisa Longo Borghini, third place: 

"It was a very hard finish. I was trying to do my job in terms of helping Gaia [Realini] until the very end but she told me she was not good and gave me a go and so I just tried my best. It was again a good team effort today because I had all the girls around me and Gaia and they were really taking care of us and bringing us warm clothing and everything so again thank you to them. It's a good satisfaction to be third in Flèche Wallonne it was just a very cold and strange day too."

"It was very cold, it started raining at the very beginning of the race and we had quite a lot of rain and cold so I am also very sorry for my teammate Gaia, she is not coping really well with the cold weather, because I'm quite sure on this final she could really win but in the end it was just a pity she couldn't be there and I had my go." 

Looking ahead to Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday: "Its going to be again a very cold day and i'm really looking forward to it." 

Thanks for following our live text coverage of La Flèche Wallonne Fèminin. Read the full report from the race here. See you on Sunday for Liège-Bastogne-Liège.