La Flèche Wallonne Femmes is a professional women's bicycle road race held each year in

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

, Belgium, in April. It is part of the

UCI Women's World Tour The UCI Women's World Tour is the premier annual female elite road cycling tour. , the tour includes 27 events in Europe, Asia and Oceania – with one-day races such as Strade Bianche Donne and Paris–Roubaix Femmes, stage races such as Wo ...

, cycling's season-long competition of top-tier races, in which it is the second-oldest single-day event after the

Trofeo Alfredo Binda Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio is a one day women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the ''comune'' (municipality) of Cittiglio and nearby comunes located within the Province of Varese in the region of Lombardy in ...

in Italy. The event is raced on the same day as La Flèche Wallonne for men. La Flèche Wallonne Féminine was inaugurated by

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

organizers

Amaury Sport Organisation The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO and also A.S.O.) is a private company, founded in 1992, that is part of the privately-owned French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury (EPA). ASO organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well a ...

(ASO) in 1998 and quickly became a road race classic. From 1999 onwards, the women's Flèche Wallonne was a UCI Women's Road Cycling World Cup event. In 2016, the race became part of the new

. In the late 2010s, the race was rebranded as La Flèche Wallonne Femmes – making it consistent with other women's events run by ASO.

Anna van der Breggen Anna van der Breggen (born 18 April 1990) is a Dutch professional Road bicycle racing, road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2021 for Team Flexpoint, , and . She won the gold medal in the Cycling at the 2016 Summer Olymp ...

from the Netherlands holds the record for the most wins, with 7 wins in succession from 2015 to 2021.

Route

The race is held in conjunction with the men's race, on much of the same roads but at a shorter distance. The race starts in

Huy Huy ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the '' sillon industriel'', the former industrial backbone of Wall ...

, taking in a circuit with short and steep climbs, before a finish at the top of the steep

Mur de Huy The Mur de Huy () is a high hill located in Huy, Wallonia, Belgium. It is also known as ''le Chemin des Chapelles'' () because of the seven chapels along its route. This climb is famous for being part of the route of La Flèche Wallonne professio ...

climb. Between 1998 and 2009, the route was under in length. From 2010 onwards, the length of the race has increased substantially – around to in length, with multiple ascents of the Mur de Huy climb.

Mur de Huy

The race finishes at the top of the steep Mur de Huy climb. Measuring in length with an average grade of 9.3% and some sections around 17% (up to 26% in one bend), the climb usually decides the winner of the race. Since 2010, the Mur de Huy has been tackled multiple times, with the 2022 and 2023 editions tackling the climb three times.

Winners

Multiple winners

Wins per country

References

Results

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleche Wallonne Feminine Cycle races in Belgium UCI Women's Road World Cup Recurring sporting events established in 1998 1998 establishments in Belgium Women's road bicycle races UCI Women's World Tour races