by Alicia Hopkins

71st Edition - Wednesday,  April 25, 2007 - Start Time 11:15 CEDT

In the early 1930s the newspaper, Les Sports created La Flèche Wallone in order to bolster it's sales, and held the first edition of the race in 1936. Since the inception of the race, the route has varied dramatically over time, with the first edition beginning in Tournai and concluding in Liège with a distance of 236km. In 1938, the parcours grew to a massive 300km, which is the race's longest edition. From 1948 onward La Flèche has started in Charleroi, with a few changes along the way, including a reverse edition in 1960 (Liège  to Charleroi). To date, the event starts in Charleroi and heads east to Huy, where the riders do three laps of a tough circuit including the steep Mur de Huy (The wall of Huy) climb, with several sections steeper than 15%, with the finish at the top of the Mur after the third ascent. The record for the most wins stands at three with Marcel Kint (1943, 1944, and 1945), Eddy Merckx (1967, 1970, and 1972), and the only Italian to hold this record, Moreno Argentin (1990, 1991, and 1994).

Course Profile Courtesy of the Official Race Website

The peloton climbs the Mur de Huy Photo © Foto Sirotti

The favorites for this year's edition must include the alumni of winners Gerolsteiner's Davide Rebellin, Liquigas' Danilo Di Luca, and Caisse D'Epargne's Alejandro Valverde. Other riders that are sure to try to make the final selection include the following:  AG2R Prevoyance's former French National Cyclocross champion John Gadret, and this year's GP Miguel Indurain winner, Rinaldo Nocentini along with Astana's Mattias Kessler and the 2006 Vuelta a España winner, Alexander Vinokourov. Discovery Channel's Allan Davis and Stijn Devolder, Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel), Phillipe Gilbert (FDJeux), Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto),  JJ Cobo and Giberto Simoni (Saunier-Duval), Kim Kirchen (T-Mobile), Frank Schleck and Karsten Kroon (CSC), Igor Astraloa (Milram), Alexander Efimkin (Barloworld), and last but certainly not least Rabobank's Michael Boogerd, and the current World Road Race Champion, Quickstep's Paolo Bettini.

2006 winner Alejandro Valverde Photo © Foto Sirotti

2005 Winner Danilo Di Luca Photo © Corvos

Previous Winners