The Ardennes classic is World Tour category. Organized by ASO, the Walloon Arrow was created in 1936 by the newspaper The sportswhich would later merge with The last hour. 87 editions have taken place to date. 39 Belgian victories for 18 Italians, 11 French, 8 Spanish, 3 Swiss, 2 Danish, 1 American, Slovenian, Dutch, German, Luxembourg and Australian.
The Flèche Wallonne records
Alejandro Valverde is the Arrow record holder with 5 victories (2006, 14, 15, 16, 17). Five riders have won 3 times, our compatriots Marcel Kint and Eddy Merckx, as well as the Italians Moreno Argentin and Davide Rebellin and the Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe.
Mathieu van der Poel 22nd in the Amstel Gold Race: “I didn’t have the best legs”
The latest winners of the Flèche wallonne
2003 Igor Astarloa (Spain); 2004 Davide Rebellin (Ita); 2005 Danilo Di Luca (Ita); 2006 Alejandro Valverde (Spain); 2007 Davide Rebellin (Ita); 2008 Kim Kirchen (Lux); 2009 Davide Rebellin (Ita); 2010 Cadel Evans (Aus); 2011 Philippe Gilbert; 2012 Joaquin Rodriguez (Sp); 2013 Daniel Moreno (Sp); 2014 Alejandro Valverde (Spain); 2015 Alejandro Valverde (Spain); 2016 Alejandro Valverde (Spain); 2017 Alejandro Valverde (Spain); 2018 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra); 2019 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra); 2020 Marc Hirschi (Sui); 2021 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra); 2022 Dylan Teuns; 2023 Tadej Pogačar (Svn).
The top 20 of the 2023 edition of the Flèche wallonne
(April 19) 1. Tadej Pogacar (Svn/UAE Team Emirates) 194.3 km in 4h27:53 (avg: 43.519 km/h); 2. Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Dan); 3. Mikel Landa (Sp); 4. Michael Woods (Can) at 0:03; 5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita); 6. Victor Lafay (Fra); 7. Tiesj Benoot; 8. Maxim Van Gils; 9. Romain Bardet (Fra); 10. Warren Barguil (Fra); 11. Attila Valter (Hon); 12. Roger Adria (Esp) 0:09; 13. Alex Aranburu (Esp) 0:10; 14. Ilan Van Wilder; 15. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor); 16. Mauro Schmid (Sui) 0:14; 17. Enric Mas Nicolau (Esp) 0:15; 18. Thomas Pidcock (GB); 19. Quinten Hermans; 20. Jhoan Esteban Chaves (Col)… 175 starters – 147 classified
The 2024 route of the Fleche Wallonne
The final will include four ascents of the Mur de Huy, instead of three, a change dictated by works in the center of Huy.
The participants of the Flèche wallonne 2024
Tadej Pogacar, winner of the 2023 edition, is absent to concentrate on Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Italy. In his absence, Marc Hirschi (winner in 2020) and Juan Ayuso will be the leaders of the UAE Team Emirates squad. But the favorite is to be found on the side of the Lidl-Trek team, where Mattias Skjelmose, second last year, hopes to win the first great classic of his career.
The Belgian Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech), winner in 2022, will be his main competitor. Especially since it likes cold and rainy conditions. Another Belgian is a candidate for victory: Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny) while Tom Pidcockwinner of the Amstel Gold Race this Sunday, is another serious candidate.
The Russian Alexandr Vlasov, the French Benoît Cosnefroy, David Gaudu and Romain Grégoire will aim for a podium while Ilan Van Wilder was recalled by his team in the absence of Remco Evenepoel and Mikel Landa.
Tiesj Benoot and Mauri Vansevenant, third and fourth from Amstel, will also be present.
