2025 La Flèche Wallonne (World Tour), Belgium

89th edition: Wednesday, April 23, 2025

La Flèche Wallonne podium history | 2024 edition | 2026 edition | Course map & profile | Photos | Start list

Ciney - Huy, 205.1 km

Tadej Pogacar takes a solo win for his second victory in La Flèche Wallonne. Getty Sport photo

Notable ascents:

• Km 18.2: Côte de Ver, 1.4 km @ 5.8%
• Km 85.8: Côte de Petite Somme, 1.2 km @ 8%
• Km 112.4: Côte d'Ereffe, 2.1 km @ 5%
• Km 125.1: Côte de Cherave, 1.3 km @ 8.1%
• Km 130.8: Mur de Huy, 1.3 km @ 9.6%
• Km 149.6: Côte d'Ereffe, 2.1 km @ 5%
• Km 162.3: Côte de Cherave, 1.3 km @ 8.1%
• Km 168: Mur de Huy, 1.3 km @ 9.6%
• Km 186.7: Côte d'Ereffe, 2.1 km @ 5%
• Km 199.5: Côte de Cherave, 1.3 km @ 8.1%
• Km 205.1: Mur de Huy, 1.3 km @ 9.6%

Plato's dialogue Crito is available both in audiobook and Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Huy at 2:00 PM, local time: 13C (56F), light rain, with the wind from the southwest at 11 km/hr (7 mph). The probability of rain will drop to 24% at 4:00 PM.

The race: Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) did not start. 62 kilometers nto the race Martin Urianstad Bugge (Uno-X Mobility) abandoned.

Here's the organizer's race report:
After a full day racing under the rain, the rainbow appeared at the Mur de Huy just in time. UAE Team Emirates’ Tadej Pogacar conquered the iconic wall that defines La Flèche Wallonne for the second time in his career with an amazing display of climbing prowess and aggressive, determined racing. The Slovenian rider was 10” quicker than Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) in the final ascent to become the first reigning Tour de France champion to triumph in these slopes since they were first used as the uphill finish of this event in 1985. Pogacar also became the seventh-ever rider to win this race in the rainbow jersey, 40 years after local legend Claude Criquelion won in this very spot while being world champion too.

The 2025 Flèche Wallonne gets started.

174 riders took the start in the 89th edition of La Flèche Wallonne, held over 205,1 kilometres between Ciney and the Mur de Huy, at 11:36. There was one non-starter, Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). Five riders went clear as the flag dropped: Simon Guglielmi (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Artem Shmidt (Ineos Grenadiers), Ceriel Desal (Wagner Bazin WB), Tom Paquot (Intermarché-Wanty) and Siebe Deweirdt (Flanders-Baloise). They quickly built a sizable gap, clocked at 2’30” by kilometre 12, yet were kept on a tight leash by the work of UAE Team Emirates, Lidl-Trek, Bahrain Victorious and Soudal-Quick Step. The latter team was particularly aggressive, bringing the lead of the breakaway down to 40” at kilometre 58 before receding in their pace-making.

A wet, soggy day in Belgium

Four attackers join the day’s breakaway from the peloton
It was exactly at that point that Ineos Grenadiers’ Tobias Foss jumped from the bunch, hoping to join his teammate Artem Shmidt and finding the company of Bahrain Victorious’ Robert Stannard in his pursuit. The duo succeeded in their bid at kilometre 70, making it seven riders at the head of the race. Two Uno-X Mobility riders, Andreas Leknessund and Frederik Dversnes, also attacked from the peloton as it climbed the Côte de Petite Somme (km 85,8) and made it to the front at kilometre 106, by when the breakaway had lost Deweirdt.

Skjelmose crashes out of the race
The eight-strong group held a 1’35” lead on the peloton as the race entered the final circuit with 99,3 kilometres to go. Paquot got dropped in the first climb to the Mur de Huy (km 130,8), where the seven remaining riders at the front enjoyed a 52” advantage. The head of the race steadily lost both ground and members. Guglielmi was dropped in the Côte d’Ereffe (km 149,6), and likewise for Shmidt and Stannard in the Côte de Cherave (km 162,3), while Desal crashed out of contention in a right-hand turn with 41 kilometres to go. It was on that very spot that Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) went down, along with other key riders like Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike), Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates) or Ilan van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step). As a consequence of this incident, the Danish cyclist had to pull out from the race shortly after.

UAE Team Emirates sets Pogacar up for impressive victory
Just three Norwegian riders (Foss, Leknessund and Dversnes) were left at the head of the race in the second-to-last climb to the Mur de Huy (km 168), with a lead of just 10” on the bunch. Despite several skirmishes behind, they managed to keep the peloton at bay all the way to the foot of the Côte de Cherave (km 199,5). It was there that UAE Team Emirates unleashed two accelerations with Felix Grossschartner and Jan Christen, followed by a fast descent from Tadej Pogacar himself to further stretch things out. A mere 30 riders hit the Mur de Huy in contention for the win. Jan Christen marshaled them in the first ramps. An acceleration from Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) with 500 meters to go was the sign for Pogacar to take off and triumph while his rivals fought tooth and nail for the scraps.

Tadej Pogacar wins his second Flèche Wallonne.

 

Complete results:

Photos

205.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.398 km/hr

1	Tadej Pogacar	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	4hr 50min 15sec
2	Kévin Vauquelin	Arkea-B&B Hotels	@ 10sec
3	Tom Pidcock	Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	0:12
4	Lenny Martinez	Bahrain Victorious	0:13
5	Ben Healy	EF Education-EasyPost	s.t.
6	Santiago Buitrago	Bahrain Victorious	0:16
7	Romain Grégoire	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
8	Thibau Nys	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
9	Remco Evenepoel	Soudal Quick-Step	s.t.
10	Mauro Schmid	Team Jayco-AlUla	0:19
11	Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet	Groupama-FDJ	0:23
12	Tiesj Benoot	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:26
13	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	0:30
14	Joe Blackmore	Israel-Premier Tech	0:32
15	Brandon McNulty	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
16	Davide Formolo	Movistar Team	s.t.
17	Magnus Sheffield	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
18	Bastien Tronchon	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	0:36
19	Ben Tulett	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:39
20	Axel Laurance	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
21	Clément Champoussin	XDS Astana Team	0:40
22	Julian Alaphilippe	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
23	Christian Scaroni	XDS Astana Team	0:45
24	Louis Barré	Intermarché-Wanty	0:49
25	Jørgen Nordhagen	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	0:52
26	Valentin Madouas	Groupama-FDJ	0:57
27	Ådne Holter	Uno-X Mobility	1:02
28	Simone Velasco	XDS Astana Team	1:18
29	Mauri Vansevenant	Soudal Quick-Step	s.t.
30	Gal Glivar	Alpecin-Deceuninck	1:21
31	Raúl García	Arkea-B&B Hotels	1:22
32	Michael Matthews	Team Jayco-AlUla	s.t.
33	Marcel Camprubí	Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
34	Archie Ryan	EF Education-EasyPost	1:25
35	Quentin Pacher	Groupama-FDJ	1:29
36	Kevin Geniets	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
37	Ben O'Connor	Team Jayco-AlUla	s.t.
38	Filippo Zana	Team Jayco-AlUla	s.t.
39	Attila Valter	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	1:34
40	Emiel Verstrynge	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
41	Lennert Van Eetvelt	Lotto	1:35
42	Edoardo Zambanini	Bahrain Victorious	s.t.
43	Maxim Van Gils	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
44	Bob Jungels	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
45	Neilson Powless	EF Education-EasyPost	1:43
46	Alex Aranburu	Cofidis	1:49
47	Daniel Martinez	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	s.t.
48	Jonas Geens	Team Flanders-Baloise	1:55
49	Marc Hirschi	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	2:01
50	Ruben Guerreiro	Movistar Team	2:09
51	Jordan Labrosse	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
52	Milan Vader	Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	2:13
53	Nelson Oliveira	Movistar Team	2:20
54	Warren Barguil	Team Picnic PostNL	2:23
55	Roger Adrià	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	2:26
56	Dorian Godon	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	2:33
57	Pello Bilbao	Bahrain Victorious	s.t.
58	Fredrik Dversnes	Uno-X Mobility	2:47
59	Sylvain Moniquet	Cofidis	s.t.
60	Yannis Voisard	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
61	Reuben Thompson	Lotto	s.t.
62	Remi Cavagna	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
63	Vincent Van Hemelen	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
64	Bjoern Koerdt	Team Picnic PostNL	2:51
65	Jelle Vermoote	Wagner Bazin WB	2:58
66	Alan Hatherly	Team Jayco-AlUla	3:01
67	Jonas Gregaard	Lotto	3:10
68	Oscar Onley	Team Picnic PostNL	3:12
69	Sakarias Koller Løland	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
70	Anthony Delaplace	Arkea-B&B Hotels	3:22
71	Louis Rouland	Arkea-B&B Hotels	s.t.
72	Michel Heßmann	Movistar Team	3:26
73	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	3:28
74	Arjen Livyns	Lotto	s.t.
75	Michael Leonard	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
76	Harry Sweeny	EF Education-EasyPost	3:53
77	Mark Donovan	Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	4:06
78	Kamiel Bonneu	Intermarché-Wanty	4:26
79	Diego Ulissi	XDS Astana Team	s.t.
80	Gianni Moscon	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe	4:33
81	Pavel Sivakov	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	4:38
82	Felix Grossschartner	UAE Team Emirates-XRG	s.t.
83	Rudy Molard	Groupama-FDJ	4:51
84	Callum Scotson	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale	4:59
85	Nick Schultz	Israel-Premier Tech	5:15
86	Louis Vervaeke	Soudal Quick-Step	5:26
87	Anders Foldager	Team Jayco-AlUla	5:31
88	George Bennett	Israel-Premier Tech	7:46
89	Tobias Foss	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
90	Junior Lecerf	Soudal Quick-Step	8:19
91	Gerben Kuypers	Intermarché-Wanty	8:36
92	Juan Guillermo Martinez	Team Picnic PostNL	8:43
93	Fabio Christen	Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team	11:28
94	Tijmen Graat	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
95	Patrick Konrad	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
96	Johan Meens	Wagner Bazin WB	s.t.
97	Leander Van Hautegem	Wagner Bazin WB	s.t.
98	Fabian Weiss	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
99	Alex Baudin	EF Education-EasyPost	s.t.
100	Romain Combaud	Team Picnic PostNL	s.t.
101	Andrea Bagioli	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
102	Logan Currie	Lotto	11:37
103	Toon Clynhens	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
104	Eduardo Sepulveda	Lotto	11:45
105	Hannes Wilksch	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	11:55
106	Mathijs Paasschens	Bahrain Victorious	12:08
107	Artem Shmidt	INEOS Grenadiers	16:08

 

Course map and profile:

2025 Flèche Wallonne map

2025 Flèche Wallonne profile

 

2025 Flèche Wallonne photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:

Remco Evenepoel during the riders and teams presentation ceremony

Team Groupama-FDJ

Team Israel-Premier Tech

Remco Evenepoel & Tadej Pogacar on the start line.

Warren Barguil and some of his Team Picnic-PostNL teammates.

The race gets going

Climbing in Huy. UAE team Emirates swarms the front.

As Tadej Pogacar approaches the finish line he looks back at the damage he inflicted.

Tadej Pogacar makes it look so easy. Just go faster than the best bicycle racers in the world.

Kèvin Vauquelin finishes second.

Remco Evenepoel finishes ninth

The podium, from left: Kévin Vauquelin (2nd), Tadej Pogacar (1st) & Tom Pidcock (3rd).

A warmly dressed Tadej Pogacar enjoys his second Flèche Wallonne win.

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Start list with back numbers, April 22, 2025:

	Israel-Premier Tech
1	Stephen Williams
2	George Bennett
3	Joe Blackmore
4	Simon Clarke
5	Alexey Lutsenko
6	Nadav Raisberg
7	Nick Schultz
	UAE Team Emirates-XRG
11	Tadej Pogacar
12	Jan Christen
13	Felix Grossschartner
14	Vegard Stake Laengen
15	Brandon McNulty
16	Domen Novak
17	Pavel Sivakov
	Tudor Pro Cycling Team
21	Julian Alaphilippe
22	Marco Brenner
23	Marc Hirschi
24	Yannis Voisard
25	Fabian Weiss
26	Hannes Wilksch
27	Luc Wirtgen
	Cofidis
31	Dylan Teuns
32	Alex Aranburu
33	Valentin Ferron
34	Jesus Herrada
35	Sylvain Moniquet
36	Paul Ourselin
37	Ludovic Robeet
	Soudal Quick-Step
41	Remco Evenepoel
42	Pascal Eenkhoorn
43	Junior Lecerf
44	Pieter Serry
45	Ilan Van Wilder
46	Mauri Vansevenant
47	Louis Vervaeke
	Arkea-B&B Hotels
51	Kévin Vauquelin
52	Anthony Delaplace
53	Raúl García
54	Simon Guglielmi
55	Laurens Huys
56	Mathis Le Berre
57	Louis Rouland
	Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
61	Maxim Van Gils
62	Roger Adrià
63	Finn Fisher-Black
64	Alexander Hajek
65	Jonas Koch
66	Daniel Martinez
67	Gianni Moscon
	Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
71	Tom Pidcock
72	Xabier Azparren
73	Marcel Camprubí
74	Fabio Christen
75	Mark Donovan
76	Milan Vader
77	Nickolas Zukowsky
	Bahrain Victorious
81	Lenny Martinez
82	Pello Bilbao
83	Santiago Buitrago
84	Roman Ermakov
85	Mathijs Paasschens
86	Robert Stannard
87	Edoardo Zambanini
	Lidl-Trek
91	Mattias Skjelmose
92	Andrea Bagioli
93	Julien Bernard
94	Patrick Konrad
95	Jacopo Mosca
96	Thibau Nys
97	Otto Vergaerde
	Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
101	Clément Berthet
102	Pierre Gautherat
103	Dorian Godon
104	Noa Isidore
105	Jordan Labrosse
106	Callum Scotson
107	Bastien Tronchon
	Uno-X Mobility
111	Magnus Cort
112	Martin Urianstad Bugge
113	Fredrik Dversnes
114	Ådne Holter
115	Anders Halland Johannessen
116	Andreas Leknessund
117	Sakarias Koller Løland
	Groupama-FDJ
121	Romain Grégoire
122	Remi Cavagna
123	Kevin Geniets
124	Valentin Madouas
125	Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet
126	Rudy Molard
127	Quentin Pacher
	Team Visma | Lease a Bike
131	Tiesj Benoot
132	Tijmen Graat
133	Jørgen Nordhagen
134	Ben Tulett
135	Attila Valter
136	Loe van Belle
137	Tosh Van der Sande
	XDS Astana Team
141	Clément Champoussin
142	Nicola Conci
143	Anton Kuzmin
144	Christian Scaroni
145	Ide Schelling
146	Diego Ulissi
147	Simone Velasco
	EF Education-EasyPost
151	Ben Healy
152	Samuele Battistella
153	Alex Baudin
154	Mikkel Honore
155	Neilson Powless
156	Archie Ryan
157	Harry Sweeny
	INEOS Grenadiers
161	Axel Laurance
162	Tobias Foss
163	Bob Jungels
164	Victor Langellotti
165	Michael Leonard
166	Magnus Sheffield
167	Artem Shmidt
	Alpecin-Deceuninck
171	Quinten Hermans
172	Tobias Bayer
173	Ramses Debruyne
174	Gal Glivar
175	Xandro Meurisse
176	Oscar Riesebeek
177	Emiel Verstrynge
	Team Picnic-PostNL
181	Warren Barguil
182	Romain Combaud
183	Bjoern Koerdt
184	Juan Guillermo Martinez
185	Oscar Onley
186	Timo Roosen
187	Kevin Vermaerke
	Movistar Team
191	Enric Mas
192	Ruben Guerreiro
193	Jorge Arcas
194	Nelson Oliveira
195	Davide Formolo
196	Michel Heßmann
197	Gregor Mühlberger
	Wagner Bazin WB
201	Floris De Tier
202	Luca De Meester
203	Cériel Desal
204	Johan Meens
205	Leander Van Hautegem
206	Jelle Vermoote
207	Loic Vliegen
	Lotto
211	Lennert Van Eetvelt
212	Logan Currie
213	Jarrad Drizners
214	Arjen Livyns
215	Eduardo Sepulveda
216	Reuben Thompson
217	Jonas Gregaard
	Team Jayco-AlUla
221	Ben O'Connor
222	Anders Foldager
223	Alan Hatherly
224	Michael Hepburn
225	Michael Matthews
226	Mauro Schmid
227	Filippo Zana
	Intermarché-Wanty
231	Louis Barré
232	Kamiel Bonneu
233	Dries De Pooter
234	Alexander Kamp
235	Gerben Kuypers
236	Tom Paquot
237	Luca Van Boven
	Team Flanders-Baloise
241	Vincent Van Hemelen
242	Toon Clynhens
243	Lindsay De Vylder
244	Siebe Deweirdt
245	Jonas Geens
246	Ward Vanhoof
247	Victor Vercouillie