The riders leave from Marche-en-Famenne, 40 kilometres to the northwest of Bastogne, traditional turning point of Liege-Bastogne-Liege. They pass through famous Belgium beer towns Rochefort and Ciney to arrive at the circuit with 60 kilometres done.
Shortly the Côte de Bellaire (1 kilometre at 6.3%) and Côte de Bohissau (2.4 kilometre at 5.5%) are crested before the longest climb of the Fleche Wallonne looms. The Côte de Solières is 4.3 kilometres at 4%, a steady climb without inhumanly steep sectors.
No such thing at the Wall of Huy. On the contrary, the 1.3 kilometres climb at 9.6% is an assassin. Sure, the first 400 metres up the Wall are nothing special, but then a 400 metres section at 11% kicks before the steepest 100 metres bring a 17% grade. Next comes a 300 metres sector with grades of 14% and more. It’s only in the last 100 metres the torture drops to 6%.
The first passage over the Wall is 100 kilometres into the race and with 112 kilometres done the Côte d’Ereffe looms, a 2.1 kilometres climb at 5.1%, yet the average is misleading as the first 1.5 kilometre are at around 10%, after which a false flat brings the average figure down drastically.
The second round is exactly the same as the first one, meaning the Bellaire, Bohissau, Solières, Wall of Huy and Ereffe. After cresting the Côte d’Ereffe for the second time the riders have 16 more kilometres ahead of them. They head for the Côte de Serave, a 1.3 kilometre climb at 8.1% peaking at 5.5 kilometres from the finish line.
One more time up the ‘Assassin of Huy’ and we know who wins the race…
Live race report La Flèche Wallonne 2016. The finish is expected around 4:40 pm, local time.
La Fleche Wallonne 2016: Route maps, height profiles, and more
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