Flèche Wallone chooses new start location after one year in ciney
The riders participating in this year's Flèche Wallonne will once again face multiple ascents of the iconic Mur de Huy, but there is an important route change to note. The race no longer starts from Ciney but from Herstal.
Herstal is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège. The municipality has over 40,000 inhabitants and effectively functions as a suburb of Liège. Herstal takes over the role of start location from Ciney. The municipality near Namur only served as the starting point of the Walloon climbing classic for one year. Before that, the race started for some time from Charleroi.
The women do not start in Ciney or Herstal but — as in recent years — in Huy. The men will ride over 208 kilometers through the Walloon hills, while the women cover 148 kilometers.
Otherwise, the Flèche Wallonne offers few surprises, as this year again the race goes over several Walloon climbs to the local circuit in and around Huy, with the recurring trio Côte de Ereffe - Côte de Cherave - Mur de Huy acting as the decisive sections.
Wildcards
The ASO also announced the wildcards on Wednesday. While Unibet Rose Rockets missed out on an invitation for Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the team led by Wout Poels and Victor Lafay will be at the Flèche Wallonne. This is also true for Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, Cofidis, Pinarello-Q36.5, Team Flanders-Baloise, TotalEnergies, Tudor Pro Cycling, and — of course — the eighteen WorldTeams.
