Where to watch free the Flèche wallonne 2024

The absence of the big names in cycling presents a 2024 Fleche Wallonne, which takes place on Wednesday, April 17, tremendously open that many riders will want to take advantage of. Cyclists like Tom Pidcock, who confirmed in the Amstel Gold Race the fantastic form he had been hinting at this spring and now wants to continue with a victory on the Wall of Huy.

The Ardennes week continues with the 2024 Fleche Wallonne

It's time for the Fleche Wallonne, a race that traditionally takes place between the Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege to seek its prominence despite being one of the most iconic and intense finishes that this sport offers and which is still a prestigious victory that no cyclist rejects.

However, we are facing a somewhat deflated edition in which the absences after the crashes of recent weeks mix with those who have decided to skip participation in this race for planning reasons. This makes this the most open Fleche Wallonne in recent years in which, if nothing changes, we will see an intense finale on the slopes of the Wall of Huy.

Favorites to win the 2024 Fleche Wallonne

Even if only for the fantastic form he has been showing in recent weeks, and for his hard-fought victory a few days ago in the Amstel Gold Race, Tom Pidcock undoubtedly deserves the favorite label to be the first to crown the Wall of Huy. However, to win a race like the 2024 Fleche Wallonne, it is vital to have a team capable of controlling all the movements that occur and that is able to leave its leader perfectly positioned at the foot of the Wall of Huy.

To achieve this, INEOS Grenadiers brings to the 2024 Fleche Wallonne a team of true luxury with the always committed Michal Kwiatkowski or the infallible Omar Fraile, always ready to lead any peloton.

However, it is difficult to predict more clear favorites given the specificity of the finish on the Wall of Huy. Obviously, we also have to consider another cyclist who is showing a good level like Mattias Skjelmose, who already knows what it is to step on the podium in this race, just a year ago. The Dane will be accompanied by a similar lineup to the one that was a protagonist in the Amstel Gold Race, with a veteran Bauke Mollema who continues to show glimpses of the class he possesses and who will surely look for a move to try to surprise.

Pello Bilbao is exciting, a cyclist who has that explosiveness in the sprints that could allow him to be at the front on the Wall of Huy and who is also demonstrating great physical form, although it must also be recognized against him that he does not have relevant positions in this race.

Another rider who has a good opportunity to win this race is Juan Ayuso, who in the Amstel Gold Race comfortably finished in the main group that finished just 11 seconds behind the winner and whose role was conditioned by the fact of leading his teammate Marc Hirschi in the group that played for victory. By the way, the second place he scored in the beer classic also places the Swiss cyclist from UAE Team Emirates among those who could fight for victory in the 2024 Fleche Wallonne.

2024 Fleche Wallonne Route

A route that we could already consider traditional in recent years in this 2024 Fleche Wallonne and in which more than half of the race is confined to a circuit in the surroundings of the city of Huy where four laps will be given to complete the 198 kilometers of this classic.

In fact, the first half of the race, starting in the city of Charleroi, runs on practically flat and straight terrain heading west towards Huy. From there, the laps begin on the circuit marked by the alternation between the cota d'Ereffe and, of course, the Wall of Huy.

In any case, the design of the route and what history tells us is that, no matter how many variations are introduced, in the end everything is a long appetizer designed to cause wear and tear and, if anything, eliminate a favorite as a prelude to the final ascent to the Wall of Huy, in the last kilometer of the race where the outcome will occur and it will surely be for many cyclists their record of watts in 5 minutes of the entire season.

How to watch the 2024 Fleche Wallonne

Eurosport will cover the 2024 Fleche Wallonne. Their broadcast starts on their digital platform at 12:45, which means being able to watch practically half of the race. Then, at 14:30, they will connect through their channel Eurosport 1.