{"id":118476,"date":"2026-04-20T19:47:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/all-the-canadians-added-to-fleche-wallonne\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T19:47:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:47:18","slug":"all-the-canadians-added-to-fleche-wallonne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/all-the-canadians-added-to-fleche-wallonne\/","title":{"rendered":"All the Canadians added to Fl\u00e8che Wallonne"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s a wild midweek race that defines the Ardennes trio of events. Fl\u00e8che Wallonne.<\/p>\n

Buncha pros ride hard for hours, then it\u2019s nutso up the last climb. Sure, there\u2019s a selection before, but it\u2019s still a drag race up the Mur de Huy to take the dub.<\/p>\n

And good news for us Canucks? There are a bunch of Canadians racing. The better news? A couple of them are definitely favourites for big results.<\/p>\n

On the men\u2019s side, Michael Leonard (EF Education \u2013 EasyPost) lines up alongside Pier-Andr\u00e9 C\u00f4t\u00e9 of NSN Cycling. Leonard has been riding well this year with his new American team, snagging some solid results.<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s race features a deep Canadian group: Olivia Baril (Movistar), Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek), Magdeleine Valli\u00e8res Mill (EF Education-Oatly), Alison Jackson and Clara Emond (St Michel \u2013 Preference Home \u2013 Auber93), along with Sarah Van Dam (Visma \u2013 Lease a Bike). This is only Holmgren\u2019s third race of the year\u2013clearly her squad is preparing her for bigger races later on this year.<\/p>\n

Speaking of looking forward, Whitehorse\u2019s Mara Roldan<\/a> is also listed for Picnic PostNL, though she is still recovering from a concussion. She said she expects to be back soon, speaking to Canadian Cycling Magazine. (Fingers crossed, champ!)<\/p>\n

The 2025 edition was, in the end, brutally simple. Tadej Poga\u010dar waited, watched, and then rode away on the Mur like he was on a different gradient entirely. This year, no Pogi, but there are plenty of stars racing in both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s.<\/p>\n

For the men, the route shifts slightly with a start in Herstal, but the finale stays familiar. Same for the women. Three laps around Huy: C\u00f4te d\u2019Ereffe, C\u00f4te de Cherave, and then the Mur. Again, and again, and again.<\/p>\n

There shouldn\u2019t be any breakaways that take the dub. The hills leading up to the finale aren\u2019t hard, and the roads aren\u2019t the narrow ones you see in, say, Flanders.<\/p>\n

It almost always comes down to a reduced group hitting the Mur together. From there, it\u2019s about who dares to go first\u2026 and who can hold it. Or who can make a move in the final hundred metres. It\u2019s just a brutal, brutal finish. And it\u2019s a drag race.<\/p>\n

The spotlight naturally falls on Remco Evenepoel looking for a response, but there\u2019s a new name in the mix: Paul Seixas. What can\u2019t this French superstar do? Mattias Skjelmose finished second behind Evenepoel at Amstel, maybe he will have the kick up the Huy? He\u2019s a great climber on these punchy efforts, and we know he can sprint.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll be able to watch both Fl\u00e8che and Li\u00e8ge on FloBikes.com<\/a>, and Canadian Cycling Magazine<\/em> will have reports on both races in both categories. It\u2019s sort of like a Belgian Milan-San Remo\u2013but don\u2019t tell any Belgian that. But it truly does come down to the last ramp. The difference is riders do it multiple times, not just like the Poggio once. But it makes for some exciting racing, for sure.\u00a0 One Canadian has won this race, 26 years ago, Genevi\u00e8ve Jeanson. Who knows, maybe we will see another Canuck pull something off on Wednesday?<\/p>\n

Affiliate links present. Canadian Cycling Magazine may receive commissions<\/em><\/p>\n

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