Velominati Super Prestige: La Fléche Wallone 2013

J-Rod launches his attack in 2012. Photo via Podium Café

We came tantalizingly close to adding a foray up the Mur de Huy during our excursion to Liege-Bastogne-Liege during this year’s Keepers Tour. But good sense and the Anti-V prevailed, as they are wont to do, and only two of us were left wanting a dig at the most notorious finishing climb in the Classics season.

I write this, then, woefully ignorant of the ferocity of the climb, particularly when combined with with a few hundred k’s of racing and scaling it several times in the process. Such is the nature of this event, and it doesn’t even have the dignity of holding a weekend spot on the calendar for its troubles.

But the Huy is a brute. Steep, long, and steep. Did I mention steep? We’re talking 26% steep. And long? We’re talking 1.3km. Even the best climbers in the world fade when the effort is dished out too soon. Keep the powder dry was ever thus.

Throw the formulas out the window; its best to resort to your eye of newt for this one. Whoever wins will have good finishing speed on an uphill finish and it also won’t be Andy Schleck. That’s about all the farther anyone can narrow this puppy down, the rest is guesswork. Enter your picks by the time the countdown clock goes to zero.

Good luck, regular rules apply.

I might have posted this last year as well, but this is my favorite finish of La Fléche to date, Pre-Cancerian Pharmy notwithstanding. He takes a flier in the only spot on this climb with some easing of the gradient. Its beautiful work, that.

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frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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  • Gerro out Alba in

    VSP PICKS:

    1. Gilbert
    2. Albasini
    3. Porte
    4. Valverde
    5. Kwitkowski

  • Tough to call. I'd put Sagan in the top five, but something tells me he has peaked a bit and needs a slight rest. Valverde is peaking and Ryder is looking for a pre-Giro podium.

    VSP PICKS:

    1. R. Hesjedal
    2. A. Valverde
    3. A. Contador
    4. P. Gilbert
    5. D. Martin

  • VSP PICKS:

    1. Philippe Gilbert
    2. Alejandro Valverde
    3. Sergio Henao Montoya
    4. Joaquím Rodríguez
    5. Michal Kwiatkowski

  • VSP PICKS:

    1. Alejandro Valverde
    2. Philippe Gilbert
    3. Sergio Henao Montoya
    4. Richie Porte
    5. Joaquim Rodriguez

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