Mur de Huy madness: Revisiting the best Fleche Wallonne finishes

It's a race with a finishing climb that takes no prisoners - as riders prepare to write another chapter in history this Wednesday, we look back at the best finishes from Fleche Wallonne in recent years.

From L-R: Julian Alaphilippe duels with Jakob Fuglsang in 2019, Anna van der Breggen wins solo in 2016 and Dylan Teuns takes on Alejandro Valverde in the 2022 finale. Source: Getty

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Setting off from the Belgian town of Herve, the race is known for it's brutal, punchy climbs that tire the legs of riders until the worst of them all comes at the finish.

Victory for the winner of Fleche Wallonne sits atop the Mur de Huy, a mythical climb in cycling with gradients of up to 26% that features three times over the course of the race's 194.2-kilometre route for the men and 127.3-kilometre route for the women.

To get you in the mood for the 2023 race, SBS Sport has taken a trip down memory lane to revisit four insane finishes to Fleche Wallonne.

Alaphilippe makes it two in a row by a whisker

After missing out on an Amstel Gold victory days prior due to some Mathieu van der Poel heroics, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) pounced late in a dramatic finish to win his second consecutive Fleche Wallonne.

A pack of about 20 riders entered the Mur de Huy finale close together, with the likes of then-world champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and Australian Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) among them.

As the gradient increased and riders felt the pinch, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) surged ahead through the second-last bend in a powerful attack that forced Alaphilippe to respond.

And respond the Frenchman did, marking Fuglsang closely before timing his own attack perfectly and holding off the Dane to the line for an emphatic victory.

Van der Breggen outlasts valiant Stevens

One of the greatest to ever ride on two wheels, Anna van der Breggen (Rabo Liv) took the second of her seven consecutive Fleche Wallonne victories with a dominant display in 2016.

The Dutchwoman went clear with only Evie Stevens (Boels-Dolmans) for company before the final ascent of Mur de Huy, and the two went into the base of the climb with a 20-second advantage on the chasers behind.

It was clear van der Breggen had strong legs as she pulled away from Stevens multiple times up the climb, but the American recovered time and time again to stick on her wheel.

But the fourth acceleration was too much for Stevens as she was finally distanced and van der Breggen soloed to a second consecutive Fleche Wallonne title.

"Anna didn’t mess around with that attack," Stevens said after the race. “Even anticipating the move, it wasn’t easy to follow her."

Teuns denies Valverde from six

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is a five-time Fleche Wallonne winner, but his extensive experience at the race wasn't enough to beat Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious) who took a huge career victory atop Mur de Huy in 2022.

Teuns sat in perfect position as the peloton started up the Mur de Huy, the Belgian second from the front on the wheel of Valverde's teammate Enric Mas, before counter-attacking Alexander Vlasov (BORA-Hansgrohe) to lead on the climb.

The 41-year-old Valverde stuck to Teuns' wheel as no others could keep the pace, but the Belgian was too strong for the Spaniard at the line and won his first Fleche Wallonne title as the best from a finishing group that along with Valverde contained Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep Alpha-Vinyl) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).

Van der Breggen out on top with seven in a row

The fact that Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) features twice when talking about the best women's editions of Fleche Wallonne is a testament to her utter dominance of the race over a seven-year period.

The then 31-year-old World Champion took to the front of the group of favourites on the Mur de Huy with only Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon SRAM) able to follow as the rest fell away.

But just like so many before, Niewiadoma just didn't have enough at the end, as she attacked van der Breggen with 150 metres to go only for the Dutchwoman to do the same to her 75 metres later and win her record seventh consecutive Fleche Wallonne.

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