Discover the highlights of the Flèche Wallonne Femmes 2025 !
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© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
More Information on:
https://www.la-fleche-wallonne-femmes.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 La Fleche Wallonne Femme 2025. There's a very strong start list for this 28th edition,
00:09led by the defending champion and the reigning Tour de France Famovic Zwift winner, Cassian Reviadoma.
00:15The shape is better, but everyone gets better each year, so this is kind of irrelevant,
00:21because sport is improving so fast, so as the riders, so as the speed,
00:26so you can never be worse than what you were in the past, because then you're not even part of the final.
00:33The pole will face stiff competition on the Muur de Huij, with her Dutch rival Demi Follering
00:38determined to conquer this race for the second time.
00:41It's really important to be ahead of situations and not riding behind the race,
00:49so it's really important to always stay on top of the game.
00:53Anna van der Brechen was supposed to make her comeback this year,
00:57but the record seven-time winner sadly pulled out with illness.
01:00That means the world champion Lotte Capecchi will spearhead the SD Works team.
01:05It's said that she cannot be here, because how she raced already on Muur de Huij before is quite impressive,
01:14so it's for sure a strength that we will miss.
01:17I'll try to be in the best possible position before, and then it's up to the legs and to see what's possible.
01:26Other contenders today include Elisa Longo Borghini, Gaia Raelini and the 2022 winner Marta Cavalli.
01:33While this year's route is slightly shorter than last year's, with 140.7km to cover,
01:40the ladies will take in two laps of the final circuit, featuring the Côte d'Ref, the returning Côte de Cherave,
01:47and of course the iconic Muur de Huij, where the victory is all but sure to be decided.
01:52By the time the live pictures began, Cédrine Kerberl was leading the race solo.
01:59The French woman, who won a stage of the Tour de France Femme avec Zwift last year,
02:03was around 40 seconds clear of the peloton as she prepared to climb the Muur de Huij for the first time.
02:11Catherine Ollerwood was chasing for UNO-X, but she would be caught by the main bunch.
02:16They were being led by Follering's FDJ Suez teammate Juliette Leboose.
02:21Lizzie Deignan, a two-time runner-up at this race, was struggling to keep the pace.
02:26Kerberl, though, was doing an impressive job as she crested the Muur de Huij without losing too much time,
02:32and what started out as a peloton at the foot of the climb was down to a group of favourites by the summit.
02:3923-year-old Kerberl continuing her solo odyssey on the flatter part of the course,
02:44and even increasing her gap to around 45 seconds.
02:48The women had less rain to deal with today than the men, but this was still a gruelling day in the saddle.
02:54In the peloton, the top teams continued to share the pacing duties,
02:58with Elise Chabé now on the front for FDJ Suez.
03:02The favourites beginning to set themselves for the finale,
03:05and slowly but surely they were eating into Kerberl's advantage.
03:09She led by around 15 seconds with 15k to go.
03:13But on the day's penultimate climb, the Cote de Cherave, it was all over.
03:18The young Frenchwoman finally caught after leading solo for almost 50km.
03:24The peloton is all together.
03:28Cecily Uttrup-Ludwig increasing the tempo for Canyon Schramm on behalf of Nuevia Doma.
03:33And as they made their way up the Cote de Cherave, Lotta Capecchi was struggling to stay in the wheels.
03:39The world champion looking unlikely to replicate her victory from the Tour of Flanders.
03:43There were still around 30 women in the front group as they powered their way towards the decisive final climb.
03:53Juliette Leboose leading the way onto the Murakui, with Demi following on the wheel.
03:58Manga Borghini, Nuevia Doma and Puk Pieterse were also in the mix.
04:02But who would be the first of them to light things up?
04:05Leboose onto the steepest section here, 26% the gradient, really starting to bite.
04:11And that was game over for the French champion.
04:16Vollering now in the lead.
04:18And unlike in the men's race, this one was going to be decided in the final few hundred metres.
04:28Coming up on the outside is Niamh Fischer-Black.
04:32But Elisa Longoborghini is just waiting and waiting.
04:36Puk Pieter almost hits the wheel of Demi Vollering.
04:39Vollering.
04:42Vollering still leads.
04:44She still sets the tempo.
04:46Who is going to explode out of this pack?
04:48Niwia Doma looks like she's under a little bit of pressure now.
04:51Vollering still continues with this relentless pace towards the top of the climb.
04:57But she hasn't accelerated yet.
04:59The punch of Puk Pieter waits as she waits to launch this big sprint for the line.
05:04They're almost there and no one has attacked yet.
05:08Vollering has just ridden the tempo.
05:10Niwia Doma is getting distanced a little bit.
05:13She's starting to struggle as Vollering now ups the tempo on this 14% gradient.
05:18Puk Pieter still matches her.
05:21Looks like Longoborghini is going backwards.
05:23Here she goes.
05:24Here goes Puk Pieter.
05:26Big acceleration as she goes for the line now.
05:29It's going to be a race between two riders.
05:32Vollering and Puk Pieter.
05:34Vollering refuses to give in inside the final 100 meters.
05:38Puk Pieter accelerates away now for Phoenix de Koenig.
05:41She's going to beat Demi Vollering to the line.
05:45What a move by Puk Pieter.
05:47It's a win for Phoenix de Koenig.
05:49Puk Pieter wins Fleche Wallonne.
05:55Puk Pieter made headlines when she pipped Vollering to a stage win at the Tour de France last year.
06:00And the mountain bike world champion once again proved she's a force to be reckoned with
06:05after seeing off all comers on her Fleche Wallonne debut.
06:07The 22-year-old outpacing following once again by a bigger margin this time
06:13to claim just her second career victory on the road.
06:17I'm super happy to get it.
06:19I think I did everything good this race.
06:22I attacked I think where everybody says you have to attack.
06:26So I listened to my sports directors for a change.
06:29Well Pieter will also have picked up some useful tips from the team's performance mentor Annemiek van Vleuten
06:34as she won by two seconds from following.
06:38Longa Borghini was third, that's her fifth podium at this race,
06:41followed by Nuevia Doma and Liana Lippert.
06:45Well the mountain bikers are certainly on form this month.
06:48After Pauline Ferron-Prevo at Paris-Roubaix, Puk Pieter dominated Fleche Wallonne.
06:52And there's another mouth-watering battle to come between the world's top women at Liege-Baston-Liege on Sunday.
06:59Join us then and thanks for watching.
07:01Thank you so much for watching.