Ardennaises 2025 : redoutable and delectable

January 22 ^nd 2025 - 12:45

• The traditional battles up the Mur de Huy, held on Wednesday 23 April 2025, will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first finish at the top of the climb, in La Flèche Wallonne 1985.
• Four days later, the men's and women's pelotons will return to the roads of Liège-Bastogne-Liège and in particular the côte de La Redoute, introduced when Eddy Merckx claimed his fifth and last success, in 1975.
• From Julian Alaphilippe to Demi Vollering, the stars of the Ardennes are expected to be out in force, with 25 teams taking part in the men's races and 24 in the women's peloton.

The summits of the Ardennes still loom large on the horizon of the stars of the spring. In 2025, 40 years after the first finish at the summit of the Mur de Huy and 50 years after the introduction of the côte de La Redoute on the roads of the Doyenne, the men's and women's editions of La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège will naturally visit these legendary summits, while also taking a few detours, some well-known and others unprecedented, to cap off the Classics campaign.
A year after the prime-time successes of Kasia Niewiadoma (La Flèche Wallonne Femmes) and Grace Brown (Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes), the change of schedule inaugurated in 2024 is maintained. The male peloton will be first in action in the Ardennes on Wednesday 23 April.
The 89th edition of La Flèche Wallonne begins with a new departure from Ciney. Will daring attackers be inspired, like Alain Vasseur, solo winner of stage 8 of the Tour de France 1970, also starting from Ciney?
There are plenty of obstacles on the road to success in Huy, starting with the climbs of Ver and Petite Somme, followed by the return of the Côte de Cherave (absent in 2024) just before the Mur. The final circuit is therefore 37.2 kilometres long, with the sequence Ereffe - Cherave - Mur de Huy to be faced three times before crowning Stephen Williams' successor.
The 28th edition of La Flèche Wallonne Femmes will start from the Grand-Place de Huy and immediately return to the côte de Bohissau, ridden for the last time in 2016. Some forty kilometres into the race, the women's peloton will join the same route used by the men a little earlier, heading for the Côte de Petite Somme. They will then go twice over the ascents of Ereffe, Cherave and Huy.
On Sunday 27 April, the male peloton will once again be the first in action, starting from the Quai des Ardennes, the epicentre of the Doyenne. They will head for Bastogne, via the côte de Saint-Roch, which hasn't featured this early on the route since 2004.
On the way back, a first twist will take them over the Col de Haussire, which was last used on the route of la Doyenne in 1995. The peloton then enters the final 100 kilometres, punctuated by a series of nine climbs steeped in the legend of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, including the côte de La Redoute, introduced 50 years ago.
From Eddy Merckx's fifth and last success (1975) to the recent triumphs of Remco Evenepoel (2022, 2023) and Tadej Pogacar (2024), La Redoute remains as relevant as ever. It will also be decisive to rule Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, which follows the same route as in 2024 with ten emblematic climbs, from the côte de Saint-Roch to the slopes of the Roche-aux-Faucons.
Since Anna van der Breggen (Team SD Worx-Protime) announced her return to competition, the prospect of seeing her on these summits she dominated (7 wins in Huy, 2 in Liège) before her provisional retirement in 2021 has fueled many fantasies. Meanwhile, FDJ-SUEZ is preparing to field a power trio with Juliette Labous and Évita Muzic to accompany Demi Vollering (2 victories in Liège, 1 in Huy), one year after the success of Grace Brown (now retired).
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto), the defending winner in Huy before her breathtaking victory in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, will partner with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. Marta Cavalli (winner of La Flèche Wallonne Femmes 2022) is preparing her return to the Ardennes with Team Picnic PostNL, and the same goes with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (winner in 2014) and her new outfit, Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The peloton is completed with the wildcards extended to Arkéa - B&B Hotels Women, Cofidis Women Team, DD Group Pro Cycling Team, EF Education - Oatly, Laboral Kutxa - Fundacion Euskadi, Lotto, St Michel - Preference Home - Auber 93, Team Coop Repsol, Volkerwessels Cycling Team and Winspace Orange Seal.
In the men's field, three teams have qualified through the UCI 2024 rankings: Israel-Premier Tech, led by defending winner in Huy Stephen Williams, will line up alongside Lotto and Uno-X Mobility. Tudor Pro Cycling Team’s wildcard brings back to the Ardennes two recent winners of La Flèche Wallonne, Julian Alaphilippe (2018, 2019, 2021) and Marc Hirschi (2020). And they’re also eyeing Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Alongside the stars of the UCI WorldTour - and in particular Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), winner win in Huy (2023) and Liège (2021 and 2024) - Tom Pidcock (2nd in Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2023) is also preparing for another assault on the Ardennes with his new outfit, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. Wagner Bazin WB will also participate in the two events while Team Flanders Baloise will race La Flèche Wallonne and Team TotalEnergies gear for Liège-Bastogne-Liège.