Key points:
Ø The World’s best puncheurs will vie for the Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, April 24th. The men and women’s races of Liège-Bastogne-Liège are set on Sunday, April 28th.
Ø The Doyenne goes back to Liège with a finish inside the city, after 27 editions set in Ans. The Côte de la Redoute and the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons are expected to play a key role in the new finale.
Ø The Flèche Wallonne will see the women’s peloton start for the first time from the city centre of Huy, and the female riders will arrive for the first time inside Liège with the new finish of La Doyenne.
The Ardennes week brings down the curtain on the first part of the cycling season with two world-renowned classics set in the Province de Liège. La Flèche Wallonne will start in Seraing for the first time in 82 editions of the race, with the usual finish on the Mur de Huy after 198.5km. The peloton will take a detour on the roads of the Dean of Classics, tackling La Vecquée and then La Redoute prior to completing two laps of the final 29km circuit.
In contrast with the puncher party in Huy, the Dean of Classics will again descend into a war of attrition. The toughest parts of the 258km course will be the two trilogies of Pont, Bellevaux and Ferme Libert and La Redoute, Roche-aux-Faucons and Saint-Nicolas. This time around, the final spring classic is combining tradition and modernity with a direct ride from Liège to Bastogne via Côte de Bonnevue. Côte de Mont-le-Soie will spring a final surprise on the peloton on the way back.
“Loyalty” will be the buzzword of the 2018 Ardennes campaign for the female peloton. The 21st La Flèche Wallonne Féminine will feature a 118.5km course with two ascents of Côte de Cherave instead of the usual one, but the puncher’s crown will still be decided atop the Mur de Huy.
Finally, the third edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes (135.5km) is bringing back last year’s course without changes in a bid to earn the loyalty of the female cycling elite. The race will start in Bastogne and feature many difficulties, with the final 45 km stretch similar to the one in the men’s event. These climbs will provide a launch pad for anyone looking to succeed Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen.
As well as unveiling the courses of the Ardennes classics, the organisers revealed the team selection for the upcoming editions of La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The following squads have been selected to compete alongside the 18 WorldTour outfits:
2019 Flèche Wallonne
SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE
WALLONIE BRUXELLES
WANTY – GOBERT CYCLING TEAM
COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS
EUSKADI BASQUE COUNTRY – MURIAS
ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY
RALLY UHC CYCLING
2019 Liège-Bastogne-Liège
SPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE
WALLONIE BRUXELLES
WANTY – GOBERT CYCLING TEAM
COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS
DIRECT ÉNERGIE
TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC
VITAL CONCEPT – B&B HOTELS
