Tadej Pogačar back on top with Flèche Wallonne victory

With the look of a man keen to stand on the top step of the podium again, Tadej Pogačar decimated his opposition to win La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday afternoon, with the Slovenian taking his second title in three years. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider gained a note of retribution for Sunday’s runner-up spot at the Amstel Gold Race, by attacking with 500m to go of the Mur de Huy and crossing the finish line some 10 seconds ahead of the next-best rider.

Making his attack whilst seated in his saddle, the world champion powered away from the rest of the peloton and would not be seen again before the finish. It was an attack made on the corner named in honour of the two-time champion Claude Criquielion, and just like the great Belgian, Pogačar emerged victorious at Flèche Wallonne sporting the rainbow bands as world champion.

He becomes the first to do so since Julian Alaphilippe in 2021 and with Liège-Bastogne-Liège on the horizon this coming Sunday, the Slovenian looks in great condition to fight for a third title at La Doyenne. With his victory in the midweek showdown, Pogačar claimed his third win in just six outings in the spring Classics, none of which have seen the 26-year-old finish off the podium.

Ten seconds down on the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man atop the Mur de Huy, Kévin Vauquelin sealed second place for Arkéa-B&B Hotels, with Q36.5 Pro Cycling’s Tom Pidcock taking third at a 12-second deficit. Both riders were quick to congratulate Pogačar after the finish, the mutual respect apparent between three podium finishers who had battled through the elements to perform at their best on Wedneday afternoon.

In a repeat of last year’s Flèche Wallonne, Belgium lashed the peloton with a barrage of rain, wind and less than moderate temperatures, forcing the riders to don rain jackets and wet-weather gear up until the finale. As the breakaway put on a show for the cameras, it was UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Soudal Quick-Step and Lidl-Trek who spearheaded the peloton behind.

For the Emirati squad, Vegard Stake Laengen and Domen Novak did plenty of pacesetting through the race’s middle quarters.

Slowly but surely, the break got reeled into eyesight and as the peloton tackled the final climbs of the day, it was only a hardy Norwegian trio who remained out front. Their courage was beyond question as many behind sought the refuge of hot tea and dry clothes from the nearby team cars. It was truly another wet and wild edition of Flèche Wallonne, but one that yet again produced its winner from the final ascent of the Mur de Huy.

Standing at 9.7% for 1.3km, the Mur de Huy is one of cycling’s most revered climbs, known for pitting the world’s best puncheurs against each other once a year in late April. There has been no breakaway winner of Flèche Wallonne since 2003, and as the peloton bombed towards the final ascent of the Mur de Huy on Wednesday, it was apparent that the victory would be decided in the final kilometre once more.

For Pogačar, the Slovenian could rely on the excellent work of his teammates to hand UAE Team Emirates-XRG a slight advantage heading onto the steep slopes. First up was Felix Großschartner, before Pavel Sivakov and Brandon McNulty each did their work at the front of the bunch to keep Pogačar primed to move. Perhaps the ride of the afternoon came from Jan Christen, who bounced back from a crash with 40km to go and returned to Pogačar’s side ahead of the last climb.

Christen led the world champion onto the slopes of the Mur de Huy, before producing a searing turn of pace that saw most of the peloton put to their limit.

Through the first half a kilometre of the climb, it was the Christen show, with the Swiss rider making his comeback to racing in style. The 20-year-old has been out of action since his heavy fall at the Faun-Ardèche Classic, but rode tremendously well in Belgium to not only tee up his teammate, but ride to a strong 13th position in his own right.

With Christen’s pull coming to an end, Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) sought to produce a long-range move and he motored off the front of the peloton, but Pogačar was attentive to the danger. Remaining in his saddle, the world champion marked Healy’s acceleration before powering away himself. With each turn of his pedal, the gap between the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man and his rivals behind grew larger, and within a couple of hundred metres, it had become apparent that the day’s race-winning attack had been made.

Standing up and torquing his Colnago bike through the climb’s steepest pitches, Pogačar consolidated his advantage and wrapped up his second Flèche Wallonne victory. Speaking to the media after the finish, the Slovenian heaped the praise on his teammates and looked ahead to Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Pogačar: “It is a really great feeling to win again here on this tough final. It is a beautiful climb, but as a cyclist you don’t like it so much. Also today the weather was not the best, so it was a really tough race and to pull it off with the win means a lot.

“It was tough conditions on the race and one of the hardest final kilometres in cycling. It was a bit cold and tough conditions in general. I am really really happy that I could win today because the team came here to work for this goal, and I am really happy that I could deliver for them.

“I had a really good leadout to the final few hundred metres with Brandon and Jan. When Healy came to my left, I sped up a little bit, looked under my shoulder and saw that nobody was sticking to the wheel. I tried to make a first acceleration and when I saw that nobody was following, I committed to the top.

“Of course, we raced really well together as a team today. We stuck to the plan, but it was a hard race and the guys had super good legs. More or less, we have the same team for Sunday and I think we can do a great race again on Sunday and try to win there as well.”

La Flèche Wallonne 2025 results:

1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:50:15

2. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +10″

3. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +12″