Discover the highlights of the Flèche Wallonne Hommes 2025!
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More Information on:
https://www.la-fleche-wallonne.be/en/
https://www.facebook.com/FlecheWallonne
https://twitter.com/flechewallonne
https://www.instagram.com/classiquesardennes/
© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
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SportTranscription
00:00Welcome to the 89th edition of La Fleche Wallonne, cycling's annual hike up the famous Mieux de
00:07Huy. There are plenty of former winners on the start line including the defending champion Stevie
00:12Williams whose 2025 has so far been blighted by injury. It's been a slightly different build-up
00:19this year but yeah we're here and yeah I'm looking forward to getting stuck in and yeah
00:25respecting the races as much as I can and giving it my all. Matthias Skjelmoser stunned Tadej Pogacar
00:32and Remco Evenepoel to win the Amstel gold race on Sunday but the 2023 runner-up says his teammate
00:38Thibaut Nice is really the man to watch. If me and Thibaut come to the moor together I probably
00:46need to tighten my shoes a lot just to try to follow him. If we can have two guys in top 10 and
00:51one guy winning I'm not complaining. Pogacar had to settle for second place at Amstel gold and
00:58Paris-Roubaix before that. It's proof that he can be beaten. Still you wouldn't bet against him
01:03landing a second win here after 2023. I won it one time out of I don't know five or four times that I
01:12did it but yeah every year that I did it I did it better so I have a good experience for final
01:19climb strong team so and I yeah every year feeling stronger on those kind of finishes.
01:28Evanepoel made a stunning comeback from injury with his victory at Brabant's appeal but he will
01:34have to think outside of the box if he wants to beat the top climbers and punchers on the Murahui.
01:39I think we just try to to make the race as hard as possible but I think we will not be the only
01:44ones with this idea to put a bit of fatigue in the legs of the really fast guys like Thibaut Nice
01:51for example I mean it's pure legs if you don't have legs anymore you will not end in the first
01:55five ten and if you have legs you will you will play for the win. Well let's take a closer look at
02:02what awaits our 175 riders. Fleche Wallonne starts in the town of Sine for the first time heading out
02:08over the Côte d'Ivoire but the majority of the climbs come in the second half of the race especially
02:14when they hit the final circuit with 100k to go. There are three climbs each of the Côte d'Ivoire,
02:19the returning Côte de Cherave and of course the Murahui itself. 1.3 kilometers at 9.6 percent it's a
02:27truly iconic sight and it was first used as the final of this race exactly 40 years ago.
02:32It didn't take long for the early breakaway to form with five riders. Simon Guglielmi from Arkea B&B
02:42Hotels, Artem Schmidt of the Ineos Grenadiers, Seriel de Salle from Wagner Bazar, local boy Tom Paco from
02:50Ante Marche Wanty and Siba de Wirt from Flanders Balwaza. Well the five escapees built a maximum gap of around
02:58two and a half minutes but the favourites apparently didn't want to give them too much freedom,
03:02their advantage shrinking in some truly miserable Belgian weather.
03:06Pogacar staying out of trouble as Evanapool's Sudau quick-step team took control of the peloton.
03:15Two men then tried to counter-attack Tobias Faust from Ineos and Robert Stanard from Bahrain Victorious.
03:22And they quickly bridged their way across to the breakaway to make it seven men up at the front.
03:28They're now led by around a minute. There was one more climb before they
03:35reached the finishing circuit, the Cote de Puttide Somme, and the pace was still pretty
03:39relentless over 42 kilometers an hour. Two more riders trying to bridge across both
03:45from UNOX Mobility, Frederic de Varshanes and Andreas Lechnesund. They were looking to catch the
03:50breakaway as de Vert was dropped from it. He would soon be joined by the Norwegian pair.
03:56De Varshanes and Lechnesund continuing to plug away and eventually joining up with the breakaway
04:03just before they hit the final circuits. Into the final 100 kilometers then with eight men
04:09up at the front.
04:15Well these climbs soon started taking their toll as UAE team Emirates XRG joined Sudau quick-step
04:21at the front of the peloton. It soon became apparent that Stevie Williams wasn't going to
04:26be defending his title.
04:30They soon embarked on the first climb of the Muir de Hui. Plenty of Belgian fans out braving
04:36the rain, but the last Belgian winner Dylan Terns was also going backwards.
04:44With the breakaway slowly being whittled down on these climbs, Paco was dropped on the Muir
04:49de Hui before Guglielmi said goodbye on the Cote d'Reff. So eight becoming six and six would then
04:57become four as Stannard and Schmidt lost contact on the Cote de Chirave. A bit further down the descent,
05:02De Salle misjudged a slippery corner.
05:05Oh, it's a big crash. Whoa, what a shame.
05:10A timely reminder that a bike race can be over in a split second, as one of the favorites,
05:19Matthias Schielmoser, found out a few minutes later on the very same corner.
05:23A heavy crash for the winner of Amstel Gold, who was clearly in some pain after coming
05:29off his bike. He would be forced to abandon soon afterwards.
05:34The Muir de Hui was fast approaching again, with the three Norwegians, Foss, De Varsnes and
05:40Leknesund leading the peloton by just a handful of seconds. Sudal Quickstep still pacing hard
05:45for Evenepoel. The Norwegian trio remained out front until the final lap, when they were
05:51finally caught on the penultimate climb inside the final 10k. UAE then took control of a much
05:58reduced peloton, with the talented Swiss youngster Jan Christen doing some serious damage for
06:03Pogacar. The world champion even went on the attack on the descent, Evenepoel straight on
06:10the wheel, with everybody else scrambling to catch up. Catch up they did though, a group of around 25,
06:18as they made for the Muir one last time. Pogacar being led out, with Evenepoel, Healy and Vukalan
06:23all up towards the front. And after a gruelling race, what did everybody have left in the tank?
06:30This is perfect for Tani Pogacar, the fact that he's got Jan Christen to set this tempo and make
06:36it so difficult that anybody who's further back than 8th, 9th, 10th position is going to have a hard
06:42time, especially once we get to those really, really steep gradients on the climb and particularly
06:48onto the Virage, Claude Coriclion. Hard to move forward, as in the pink Ben Healy starts to accelerate,
06:55he goes on the left-hand side with 500 meters to go, but still Pogacar's just looking so calm,
07:01so confident, riding well within himself, and here he goes. Here he goes, here he goes,
07:06he goes now and attacks. The world champion just rides away and leaves the best bike riders in the
07:13world for dust. Healy made a move on the right-hand side, but the world champion has just stamped his
07:19authority all over this race and just ridden away as though everyone else has their brakes on.
07:26The world champion Pogacar is almost at the line now as he cruises on this 17% gradient.
07:33This is incredible, the gap that he's opened up, and for everyone else behind, they're not able to do
07:39anything about this move of the world champion. He takes a look around, but he's got several bike
07:44lengths, but this is where it really starts to bite here. Volkerland tries to go in pursuit,
07:50but as he left it too late, and now Remco Evenapol starts to fade, and the head starts to fall.
07:57There is no answer right now. The world champion cruising his way to the top of this climb. It
08:05has been a perfectly executed race. Volkerland tries to come back to Tane Pogacar now, as the world champion
08:16reaches the flat section at the top of the Muir de Wee. He's won this race before, he's been so patient
08:23today. This time Pogacar rides solo to the top of the Muir de Wee. It is the world champion who wins
08:32Fleschwalon. Pogacar strikes gold yet again. Pogacar now cruising to try and get on the podium. Volkerland
08:41takes second. Pogacar takes third. Well, this was some statement from Tade Pogacar. After missing out
08:50in his last two races, the world champion was obviously keen to show everybody who's boss,
08:55blitzing his way up the Muir de Wee to take his 94th career win.
08:59It's his second win at Fleschwalon after 2023 and already his sixth of the season.
09:05Pogacar is a really great feeling to win again here on this tough final, beautiful climb, but as a
09:16cyclist you don't like it so much. And today was also the weather not the best. So it was really,
09:22really tough race and to pull it off with the win is, it means a lot.
09:31The Slovenian style winning by 10 seconds from Vokalan who was second for the second year running.
09:36Tom Pidcock rounded out the podium in third, his best result in five appearances.
09:41Martinez and Healy complete the top five with Nice and Evenepoel in eighth and ninth.
09:46Pogacar was magnificent on the Muir de Wee and he will definitely be the man to beat at
09:55Liège-Bastogne-Liège this weekend. Do join us for that on Sunday and thanks for watching.
10:01The Slovenian style winningords in the week.