Fleche Wallonne 2023: Route, elevation profile & TV broadcast of the Walloon Arrow
Thomas Goldmann
· 18.04.2023
Fleche Wallonne: Cycling spectacle in Wallonia
The Fleche Wallonne (Walloon Arrow in German) is one of the most famous one-day races in professional cycling. As part of the Ardennes Trilogy, it traditionally takes place on the Wednesday between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. However, the race is not one of the five monuments of cycling (Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Tour of Lombardy). The Fleche Wallonne is a so-called semi-classic (like Ghent-Wevelgem, for example). These are races that cannot compete with the really big classics due to various factors such as route length or history.
Valverde holds record
The first Walloon Arrow was organised in 1936 and won by the Belgian Philemon Demeersman. We have now reached the 87th edition. The record winner is the Spaniard Alejandro Valverde with five victories. The only German victory at the Fleche Wallonne to date was won by Rolf Gölz in 1988.
Since 1998, there has also been a women's race, the Fleche Wallonne Femmes, which is part of the UCI Women's World Tour and takes place on the same day as the men's event. The Dutchwoman Anna van der Breggen holds the record for the most victories with seven. The only German winner is Hanka Kupfernagel (1999).
Fleche Wallonne 2023: The men's route
The course of the Walloon Arrow leads over 194.2 kilometres through the Walloon part of Belgium. The characteristics of the route are characterised by short, tough climbs. It comes down to a mountain sprint on the Mur de Huy. Although it is already really tough before that. A total of eleven categorised climbs have to be completed - including the Mur de Huy three times, which is part of a circuit with Cote d'Ereffe and Cote de Cherave.
Mur de Huy
Over the years, the Mur de Huy has become one of the most famous climbs in cycling and has also been ridden in the Tour de France. The climb, which leads through the village of Huy, is 1.3 kilometres long and has an average gradient of 9.6 per cent. The first 500 metres or so are still relatively moderate at around six per cent, but then it gets brutally steep. The next kilometre climbs at up to 26 per cent before levelling off again slightly on the final stretch to the finish of the Fleche Wallonne 2023.
Women's race
The women's race of the Fleche Wallonne 2023 will be held on the same day as the men's race. It is part of the UCI Women's World Tour, the premier league of international women's cycling, and was first held in 1998. The women will start earlier and finish earlier (probably between 11:58 and 12:20).
At 127.3 kilometres, the route of the women's Walloon Arrow is shorter than the men's, but also includes a total of seven categorised climbs. These include the Cote d'Ereffe and Cote de Cherave (twice each) and the Mur de Huy, which has to be tackled three times by the women. The finish is located there, just like for the men.
Fleche Wallonne 2023: TV broadcast & live stream
Cycling fans can watch the women's Fleche Wallonne 2023 and the men's race on Wednesday live in the Free TV with Eurosport 1 to watch. There is also a live stream on Discovery+ and GCN+ (both via paid subscription).
The transmission times at a glance
- Women: 10:55 - 12:30, Eurosport 1
- Men: 14:30 - 17:00, Eurosport 1
Fleche Wallonne 2023: The start list of the men's race
Israel-Premier Tech
- 1 Michael Woods
- 2 Guillaume Boivin
- 3 Simon Clarke
- 4 Hugo Houle
- 5 Daryl Impey
- 6 Krists Neilands
- 7 Nick Schultz
- 11 Enric Mas
- 12 Ruben Guerreiro
- 13 Alex Aranburu
- 14 Jorge Arcas
- 15 Gorka Izagirre
- 16 Jose Joaquin Rojas
- 17 Gonzalo Serrano
- 21 Sergio Higuita
- 22 Giovanni Aleotti
- 23 Nico Denz
- 24 Patrick Gamper
- 25 Jai Hindley
- 26 Ide Schelling
- 27 Ben Zwiehoff
- 31 Andrea Bagioli
- 32 Dries Devenyns
- 33 James Knox
- 34 Mauro Schmid
- 35 Pieter Serry
- 36 Ilan van Wilder
- 37 Louis Vervaeke
Lotto-Dstny
- 41 Maxim van Gils
- 42 Pascal Eenkhoorn
- 43 Andreas Kron
- 44 Sylvain Moniquet
- 45 Mathijs Paasschens
- 46 Harry Sweeny
- 47 Lennert van Eetvelt
- 51 Thomas Pidcock
- 52 Omar Fraile
- 53 Michal Kwiatkowski
- 54 Magnus Sheffield
- 55 Connor Swift
- 56 Joshua Tarling
- 57 Cameron Litter
- 61 Mikel Landa
- 62 Pello Bilbao
- 63 Filip Maciejuk
- 64 Gino Mäder
- 65 Fran Miholjevic
- 66 Matej Mohoric
- 67 Wouter Poels
- 71 Ben Healy
- 72 Andrey Amador
- 73 Esteban Chaves
- 74 Andrea Piccolo
- 75 Neilson Powless
- 76 Sean Quinn
- 77 James Shaw
- 81 David Gaudu
- 82 Kevin Geniets
- 83 Matthieu Ladagnous
- 84 Valentin Madouas
- 85 Rudy Molard
- 86 Quentin Pacher
- 87 Lars van den Berg
- 91 Warren Barguil
- 92 Louis Barre
- 93 Clement Champoussin
- 94 Anthony Delaplace
- 95 Simon Guglielmi
- 96 Mathis Le Berre
- 97 Lukasz Owsian
TotalEnergies
- 101 Fabien Grellier
- 102 Thomas Bonnet
- 103 Mathieu Burgaudeau
- 104 Valentin Ferron
- 105 Alan Jousseaume
- 106 Paul Ourselin
- 107 Matteo Vercher
- 111 Tiesj Benoot
- 112 Lennard Hofstede
- 113 Gijs Leemreize
- 114 Sam Oomen
- 115 Attila Valter
- 116 Tosh van der Sande
- 117 Jos van Emden
- 121 Tadej Pogacar
- 122 George Bennett
- 123 Felix Großschartner
- 124 Marc Hirschi
- 125 Vegard Stake lengths
- 126 Diego Ulissi
- 127 Michael Vink
- 131 Benoit Cosnefroy
- 132 Alex Baudin
- 133 Mikael Cherel
- 134 Lawrence Naesen
- 135 Michael Schär
- 136 Bastien Tronchon
- 137 Larry Warbasse
- 141 Lawson Craddock
- 142 Alexandre Balmer
- 143 Kevin Colleoni
- 144 Felix Engelhardt
- 145 Tsgabu Grmay
- 146 Jan Maas
- 147 Matteo Sobrero
- 151 Lilian Calmejane
- 152 Dries De Pooter
- 153 Kobe Goossens
- 154 Tom Paquot
- 155 Lorenzo Rota
- 156 Dion Smith
- 157 Georg Zimmermann
- 161 Jesus Herrada
- 162 Jose Herrada
- 163 Ion Izagirre
- 164 Victor Lafay
- 165 Jonathan Lastra
- 166 Guillaume Martin
- 167 Anthony Perez
- 171 Giulio Ciccone
- 172 Julien Bernard
- 173 Tony Gallopin
- 174 Markus Hoelgaard
- 175 Mattias Skjelmose
- 176 Juan Pedro Lopez
- 177 Bauke Mollema
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
- 181 Tobias Halland Johannessen
- 182 Martin Urianstad Bugge
- 183 Anthon Charmig
- 184 Fredrik Dversnes
- 185 Anders Halland Johannessen
- 186 Jacob Hindsgaul
- 187 Jonas Gregaard
- 191 Alexey Lutsenko
- 192 Samuele Battistella
- 193 David De la Cruz
- 194 Gianni Moscon
- 195 Aleksandr Riabushenko
- 196 Cristian Scaroni
- 197 Simone Velasco
- 201 Romain Bardet
- 202 Romain Combaud
- 203 Matthew Dinham
- 204 Sean Flynn
- 205 Leon Heinschke
- 206 Tim Naberman
- 207 Oscar Onley
- 211 Quinten Hermans
- 212 Tobias Bayer
- 213 Jimmy Janssens
- 214 Sören Kragh Andersen
- 215 Jason Osborne
- 216 Robert Stannard
- 217 Fabio van den Bossche
Equipo Kern Pharma
- 221 Roger Adria
- 222 Hector Carretero
- 223 Francisco Galvan
- 224 Raul Garcia
- 225 Pau Miquel
- 226 Ibon Ruiz
- 227 Danny van der Tuuk
Bingoal WB
- 231 Lennert Teugels
- 232 Alexis Guerin
- 233 Johan Meens
- 234 Julian Mertens
- 235 Remy Mertz
- 236 Marco Tizza
- 237 Luca van Boven
Burgos bra
- 241 Pelayo Sanchez
- 242 Clement Alleno
- 243 Jetse Bol
- 244 Jose Manuel Diaz
- 245 Alejandro Franco
- 246 Victor Langellotti
- 247 Ander Okamika
Everyman race Fleche Wallonne
On 20 May 2023, there will be a race for everyone: Fleche de Wallonie. Three distances will be offered: 92 kilometres, 122 kilometres and 194 kilometres.
Fleche Wallonne 2023: The most important information at a glance
Date: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
Distance: 194.2 kilometres (men), 127.3 kilometres (women)
Start: Herve (men), Huy (women)
Target: Huy
Edition: 87th men, 26th women
Premiere: 1936 men, 1998 women
Last year's winner: Dylan Teuns (Belgium)
Last year's winner: Marta Cavalli (Italy)
German winners: Rolf Gölz (1988)
German winner: Hanka Kupfernagel (1999)
Record winner: Alejandro Valverde (Spain/five victories)
Record winner: Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands/seven wins)
Everyman race: 20 May
All the winners of the women's Fleche Wallonne
- 1998 Fabiana Luperini (Italy)
- 1999 Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany)
- 2000 Genevieve Jeanson (Canada)
- 2001 Fabiana Luperini (Italy)
- 2002 Fabiana Luperini (Italy)
- 2003 Nicole Cooke (Great Britain)
- 2004 Sonia Huguet (France)
- 2005 Nicole Cooke (Great Britain)
- 2006 Nicole Cooke (Great Britain)
- 2007 Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
- 2008 Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
- 2009 Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
- 2010 Emma Pooley (Great Britain)
- 2011 Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
- 2012 Evelyn Stevens (USA)
- 2013 Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
- 2014 Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (France)
- 2015 Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands)
- 2016 Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands)
- 2017 Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands)
- 2018 Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands)
- 2019 Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands)
- 2020 Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands)
- 2021 Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands)
- 2022 Marta Cavalli (Italy)
All winners of the Fleche Wallonne
- 1936 Philemon De Meersman (Belgium)
- 1937 Adolph Braeckeveldt (Belgium)
- 1938 Emile Masson (Belgium)
- 1939 Edmond Delathouwer (Belgium)
- 1941 Sylvain Grysolle (Belgium)
- 1942 Karel Thijs (Belgium)
- 1943 Marcel Kint (Belgium)
- 1944 Marcel Kint (Belgium)
- 1945 Marcel Kint (Belgium)
- 1946 Desire Keteleer (Belgium)
- 1947 Ernest Sterckx (Belgium)
- 1948 Fermo Camellini (Italy)
- 1949 Rik van Steenbergen (Belgium)
- 1950 Fausto Coppi (Italy)
- 1951 Ferdinand Kübler (Switzerland)
- 1952 Ferdinand Kübler (Switzerland)
- 1953 Stan Ockers (Belgium)
- 1954 Germain Derycke (Belgium)
- 1955 Stan Ockers (Belgium)
- 1956 Richard van Genechten (Belgium)
- 1957 Raymond Impanis (Belgium)
- 1958 Rik van Steenbergen (Belgium)
- 1959 Jos Hoevenaers (Belgium)
- 1960 Pino Cerami (Belgium)
- 1961 Willy Vannitsen (Belgium)
- 1962 Henri De Wolf (Belgium)
- 1963 Raymond Poulidor (France)
- 1964 Gilbert Desmet (Belgium)
- 1965 Roberto Poggiali (Italy)
- 1966 Michele Dancelli (Italy)
- 1967 Eddy Merckx (Belgium)
- 1968 Rik van Looy (Belgium)
- 1969 Jos Huysmans (Belgium)
- 1970 Eddy Merckx (Belgium)
- 1971 Roger De Vlaeminck (Belgium)
- 1972 Eddy Merckx (Belgium)
- 1973 Andre Dierickx (Belgium)
- 1974 Frans Verbeeck (Belgium)
- 1975 Andre Dierickx (Belgium)
- 1976 Joop Zoetemelk (Netherlands)
- 1977 Francesco Moser (Italy)
- 1978 Michel Laurent (France)
- 1979 Bernard Hinault (France)
- 1980 Giuseppe Saronni (Italy)
- 1981 Daniel Willems (Belgium)
- 1982 Mario Beccia (Italy)
- 1983 Bernard Hinault (France)
- 1984 Kim Andersen (Denmark)
- 1985 Claude Criquielion (Belgium)
- 1986 Laurent Fignon (France)
- 1987 Jean-Claude Leclercq (France)
- 1988 Rolf Gölz (Germany)
- 1989 Claude Criquielion (Belgium)
- 1990 Moreno Argentin (Italy)
- 1991 Moreno Argentin (Italy)
- 1992 Giorgio Furlan (Italy)
- 1993 Maurizio Fondriest (Italy)
- 1994 Moreno Argentin (Italy)
- 1995 Laurent Jalabert (France)
- 1996 Lance Armstrong (USA)
- 1997 Laurent Jalabert (France)
- 1998 Bo Hamburger (Denmark)
- 1999 Michele Bartoli (Italy)
- 2000 Francesco Casagrande (Italy)
- 2001 Rik Verbrugghe (Belgium)
- 2002 Mario Aerts (Belgium)
- 2003 Igor Astarloa (Spain)
- 2004 Davide Rebellin (Italy)
- 2005 Danilo Di Luca (Italy)
- 2006 Alejandro Valverde (Spain)
- 2007 Davide Rebellin (Italy)
- 2008 Kim Kirchen (Luxembourg)
- 2009 Davide Rebellin (Italy)
- 2010 Cadel Evans (Australia)
- 2011 Philippe Gilbert (Belgium)
- 2012 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spain)
- 2013 Daniel Moreno (Spain)
- 2014 Alejandro Valverde (Spain)
- 2015 Alejandro Valverde (Spain)
- 2016 Alejandro Valverde (Spain)
- 2017 Alejandro Valverde (Spain)
- 2018 Julian Alaphilippe (France)
- 2019 Julian Alaphilippe (France)
- 2020 Marc Hirschi (Switzerland)
- 2021 Julian Alaphilippe (France)
- 2022 Dylan Teuns (Belgium)
