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Spring Classics

Flèche Wallonne 2026 Preview: Pogacar Defends at Mur de Huy as Evenepoel Eyes Ardennes Redemption

CYCLING LOOKOUT • 4 APRIL 2026

The second jewel in the Ardennes triple crown arrives on April 22 when La Flèche Wallonne sends its field up the iconic Mur de Huy for the third and final time — the only ascent in professional cycling where the race is almost always decided by a single devastating acceleration on a 26% ramp. Tadej Pogacar arrives as defending champion after crushing his 2025 rivals with a typically brutal attack on the steepest section of the wall, but this year's 90th edition brings a field that may yet find the answers to the Slovenian's apparently limitless power.

The route covers 198 kilometres from Herve to the Mur de Huy, traversing the rolling Wallonian countryside in a relentless succession of short, sharp climbs before the road finally points uphill at the decisive finishing wall. Riders tackle the Mur de Huy three times in total — the penultimate passage intended to soften legs and force teams to reveal their hands, the final ascent separating the truly exceptional from the very good. It is the purest distillation of one-day racing: everything comes down to one climb, ridden flat-out.

For Remco Evenepoel, this race represents the most urgent test of his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe transition. The Belgian is among the finest climbers in the world on gradients like the Mur — explosive, precise, and capable of sustaining power others cannot match — yet the Ardennes have sometimes exposed a tendency to go too early rather than too late. A ninth-place finish in the 2025 edition stung, and Evenepoel arrives this year with a point to prove after finishing fifth overall at the Volta a Catalunya and a debut appearance at the Tour of Flanders that underlined just how rapidly he is adapting to races outside his traditional comfort zone.

Isaac del Toro is perhaps the most compelling dark horse in the field. The Mexican sensation has already won Tirreno-Adriatico and the Paris-Nice general classifications this season, and his ability to produce a pure climbing effort on a wall finish has never been seriously tested at the highest level. At 21, del Toro rides with a confidence that borders on the alarming. His UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad has shown throughout the spring that they are capable of dictating the final approach to a race conclusion, and the Flèche could be the moment del Toro announces himself in the Monuments conversation.

Jonas Vingegaard presents a different kind of threat. The Dane's form this spring — back-to-back stage race wins at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya — has been exceptional, and despite the Flèche sitting outside his traditional programme focus, his Visma-Lease a Bike team have confirmed his participation. Vingegaard does not have the pure puncheur profile that typically wins on the Mur, but his sustained climbing power is so formidable that he cannot be ruled out. Kévin Vauquelin, second in 2025, and Tom Pidcock, third, will both look to go one better, while Wout van Aert arrives hungry after another spring of near-misses.

The women's race, La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, takes place on the same day and promises to be equally dramatic. Puck Pieterse won the 2025 edition in brilliant style, and the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider will face pressure from Demi Vollering, Lotte Kopecky, and Elisa Longo Borghini. Kopecky in particular arrives in devastating form after her Tour of Flanders triumph and will be a serious contender for the podium if she can replicate her spring intensity into the Ardennes week.

The Flèche has a habit of humbling favourites. Pogacar's 2025 win was commanding, but the race punishes anyone who misjudges the timing of the final effort — too early and your lead evaporates on the upper ramps, too late and someone else has already gone. In a year when form is this compressed at the top of the sport, the Mur de Huy could produce its most dramatic finish in a generation. For those watching from the roadside or at home, April 22 promises to be an afternoon of pure cycling theatre.

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