La Flèche Wallonne 2024: Favourites

For years and years and years now, La Flèche Wallonne is the most predictable race on the calendar. It was also called the Alejandro Valverde Puncher’s Revue, and sometimes Alaphilippe’s Punch Parade. Well, times have changed – and Valverde is finally retired -, but the way to win La Flèche Wallonne is still the same. Just wait, and wait, and wait, be good positioned while approaching the Wall of Huy, then wait quietley until the climb flattens, punch, kick, sprint… win!

Alejandro Valverde was omnipotent in the years 2014-2017, Julian Alaphilippe picked up the baton in 2018, 2019 and 2021, but faded away since then, giving Marc Hirschi (2020) and Dylan Teuns (2022) to present themselves as interim popes, until Tadej Pogacar took the spoils. The Slovene would be the favourite again if he were competing, but he isn’t, so now we are looking for a new pope.

The winner of the Amstel Gold Race, Tom Pidcock, might be interested. Or Dylan Teuns could to it again. The Belgian came home in second last Sunday, while his compatriot Tiesj Benoot finished in third. Moreover, Benoot was incredibly strong on the Keutenberg, the incredible steep intermediate hill in the Amstel were the race was predecided.

Mattias Skjelmose is another candidate with pope potential. He was the best of the rest last year, behind Pogacar.

Favourites 2024 La Flèche Wallonne

*** Tom Pidcock, Mattias Skjelmose, Tiesj Benoot
** Aleksandr Vasov, Dylan Teuns, Pello Bilbao, Marc Hirschi
* Michael Matthews, Benoît Cosnefroy, Romain Grégoire, Santiago Buitrago