Velominati Super Prestige: La Fléche Wallone 2013
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.
[vsp_results id=”23108″/]
And, back to Alba.
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Gilbert
3. Valverde
4. Albasini
5. Moser
VSP PICKS:
1. Sagan
2. Gilbert
3. J-Rod
4. Porte
5. The Spanish Steak
VSP PICKS:
1. Krueziger
2. Moser
3. Cothodor
4. Anton
5. J Vanendert
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Albasini
3. Fingerbang
4. Valverde
5. Jelle
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. Valverde
3. Henao
4. Contador
5. Gerrans
VSP PICKS:
1. Valverde
2. Kreuziger
3. Porte
4. Gilbert
5. Rodriguez-Oliver
VSP PICKS:
1. Westra
2. Valverde
3. Gilbert
4. Jrod
5. Sagan
OK, I got nothing. Puncheurs only. Sagan can’t deal with that finish. It’s gots to be Phil.
VSP PICKS:
1. Gilbert
2. henao
3. Valverde
4. iglinsky
5. Vanendert
VSP PICKS:
1. Philbert
2. Sagan
3. Henao
4. Valverde
5. JRod
delgado’d. first time ever.
hopefully 5 random nobodies will come home first.
VSP Picks
1. Henao
2. Porte
3. Quintana
4. Rodridguez
5. Betancur
@Yannersan
Delgado‘d. Serves me right for taking my new steed for an extended spin lat night rather than making choices. Would have been fine had we not ended up spending 3+ hours in A&E after one of the group fell.
Anyone find an English stream?
@seemunkee I can’t even get a Dutch stream today! Eurosport has the Giro del Trentino instead. I found the Flèche on RTL Luxembourg though.
http://tele.rtl.lu/waatleeft/livestream/
Cycling.tv if you don’t mind paying about six bucks a month….
@paolo I had that two years ago and couldn’t get in most of the time. I wonder why Sporza doesn’t have video yet.
@Sauterelle
Eurosport switched to the Flèche meanwhile
Thank you!
Anton Vos just posted on FB that Marianne won.
@Sauterelle
cycling.tv seems to work fine mostly but today Sean Yates is doing some commentary and its excruciating to listen to.
@paolo
How good has the coverage situation got compared to ten years ago (speaking as an Aussie) that we can complain about who is commentating?
@Blah
True. We have a lot to thank Al Gore for. Poor Yates, I want to finish his sentences off to save him bumbling on.
What the fcuk is going on….Ten Dam has gone bonkers all out and Sky have stuck 3 in mix just at the point when I pretty much stopped back them….The Anti V is strong within my picks today!
I am only on the Cycling News ticker feed, anyone have faintest idea where JRod, Purito, Dan Martin, Dirty Bertie or any of other people who were supposed to win it are? I assuming Tiernan Locke was on ballbag duty….good to see Phil Gil in the mix though, even though I did not back him..
dunno…ryder has made it back..cannondale are moving up a bit and bmc are leading the chase to the bonkers ten dam with ermmmm someone else….gap is growing to 15 seconds with 22k to go and dan martin punctured and is off the back
@paolo
Starting to sound like a Phil Gil Purito slaughterfest for the finish line…they seem to have the most support with them..
Dan Martin punctured as well. Note to self: do not buy the tires Gamrin rides.
The ARGOS guy with Laurens ten Dam is Siimon Gechke.
@Deakus I had JLT in for the same reason you did.
cannondale and saxo bank are coming up to bmc….this is going to get very interesting
A Schleck. Phhhrrrrraaaaaaaaap.
I take great pleasure in knowing that I can go off the back with just as much panache as Andy.
Schleck off the back…wonder if he will abandon with 8 k to go…
@paolo
I was wondering the same thing; at this point, nothing would surprise me as it regards Mr. Schleck.
Movistart looking well-organized at the bottom of the climb…keep an eye on Valverde…
@Nosyt
I think he has repaired his vagina and made it back on?
HUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
Sagan…blown
I knew it was too steep for Saggy!
Moreno…good kick eh?
Wow, that was a surprise!
Banner day for the VSP; appears I tallied a grand total of 0.
Moreno
Henao
Betancur
Martin
Kwiatkowski
Nice work by Martin to fight back for a top 5.
@Nosyt Same here!
That’s not the Moreno I had in mind. Kwia prevented the total disaster for me.
Big F’n goose egg for me… Where’s the broom wagon?
I think a few backed Moreno but not to win…lucky stroke for me Dan the Man bust his guts to get back in and I had him for 4th! WTF happened to Dirty Bertie, the tea leaves told me he was a shoe in for the win!
@Nosyt
Time to go for a ride…ciao
Oh well, at least the women’s race wasn’t a disaster for me.
Any news on the Women’s race? I cannot find results anywhere.