Cycling: On Wednesday, the Flèche Wallonne will be held for the 82nd time. As in previous years, the one-day race will take place between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. In recent years, one professional in particular has hit the mark with the Walloon Arrow: Alejandro Valverde! Overall, the Spaniard has won five times - and he has been unbeaten for four years. So the question for us is: Who will actually come second in 2018?
Valverde is no weaker than in previous years
Alejandro Valverde will be 25 on April 38, but there is no sign of old age. On the contrary: you almost have the feeling that the Spaniard is getting stronger every year. He is also the clear favorite to win the Flèche Wallonne this season. Because after his serious fall on the first stage of the Tour de France, he had to take a break for months, but he came back in 2018 with great strength. He won the Tour of Valencia, the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Tour of Catalonia. He finished in the top 10 in many one-day races, including fifth place in the Amstel Gold Race last weekend.Wherever he starts, he's to be reckoned with - even at almost 38 years of age! After 198,5 kilometers from Seraing to Huy, he will claim his sixth victory at the Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday. Then Valverde can no longer just hold up a hand to show the number of his successes.
Is the Flèche Wallonne the most predictable race in the world?
In cycling it is difficult to predict the results to come. Too many factors need to be factored in and far too many possible scenarios ahead. But if any race is considered predictable, it's the Flèche Wallonne. With a length of 1,3 kilometers and an average gradient of 9,6 percent, the Mur de Huy is simply so difficult that only a few drivers can play to their strengths here. Valverde won this classic for the first time in 2006 and then four times in a row from 2014 to 2017. The competition despairs because they cannot find a remedy against him. To beat Valverde you have to go into the final 300 meters with a lead - otherwise it's over as the Spaniard pulls away from everyone just then. But the Movistar team will do everything to ensure that no professional goes into the Mur de Huy with a corresponding lead.
The teams Quick-Step Floors & Sky can try something tactical
Assuming that the Movistar team controls the race as usual and the escapees are caught in time, then there will probably be an attack just before the Mur de Huy or at the beginning of the wall. Last year, Bob Jungels went into the ramp with a considerable lead, but in the end the Luxembourger only placed 39th. The Mur de Huy is merciless and pushes all professionals to their limits. In the battle for the top spots, we can't think of that many candidates. Daniel Martin (UAE Team Emirates) should certainly be mentioned, as well as Dylan Teuns (BMC) and the Swiss Michael Albasini (Mitchelton-Scott), who has already finished in the top 11 nine times. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal), Tom-Jelte Slagter (Dimension Data) and Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R La Mondiale) can also finish on the podium on a good day. The Quick-Step Floors team has several candidates in the person of Julian Alaphilippe and Philippe Gilbert. As will Sky, where three drivers, Michal Kwiatkowski, Sergio Luis Henao and Wout Poels, will try their luck. We are excited to see who will end up on the podium alongside Valverde...