Guy Crasset (72), a Wanz resident originally from Namur, knows this race like the back of his hand. Like most important events in cycling sport. Competitor at 16 (affiliated with the Vélodrome de Rocourt club), creator of the Walloon Cycling Entente (parallel federation, then club), commissioner and member of the race jury, press correspondent…: the man posed on his head of many hats. He is even the initiator, for almost 40 years, of the only Belgian stock exchange dedicated to collectors of various cycling objects.
Beyond objects, our man is inexhaustible with cycling anecdotes and memories. On the Walloon Arrow among others. “Before, the finish was judged in Liège, in Marcinelle, in Spahe points out. Huy entered the dance in 1983, arriving and leaving in the city. The first two arrivals from Hut were on the banks of the Meuse. Then there was 1985 and a final verdict at the top of the Wall. Since then, it has remained there…”
For a good day on the Flèche 2024, for any amateur, nothing could be simpler according to Guy Crasset: “You go early in the morning in front of Charleroi town hall, to see the presentation of the teams and the departure of the advertising caravan from ten o'clock, he indicates. Afterwards, there is perhaps the coast of Yvoir to go see, then we must head towards Huy for the finale…”
The peloton will pass the Mur de Huy four times
But if you want to play it safe, go directly to Huy, to anticipate the blocked roads and the works, which are numerous at the moment. And to find you a nice place in the Mur where, for the first time in its history, the peloton will pass four times (km 104, 135, 167 and 199).
“This is really where you need to be.insists our interlocutor. Park preferably on the heights of Huy, even if you will have to walk quite a bit. Over the years, it has become very good. A giant screen, refreshment bars to eat and drink, stands where cycling jerseys from all eras are sold above. And then, above all, the passages of the peloton. When you are above, you don't see it, but you guess it with the fervor of the public which grows and which approaches you with the cyclists. It really takes a toll…”
