Chapter 1: What are the key features of the La Flèche Wallonne men's race?
welcome back to lenton rouge cycling podcast for the wednesday recap of la flesh well on men and women's just finished both races you know by now this is the same finish as always on the murder hui 200ks for the men's race they the lap is this the code deref which is 2.2 case five percent then a descent and false light downhill into the Cote de Cherave, which is 1,400 meters, 7.6%.
It always surprises me. That is only 5Ks before the start of the Murdaqui. It's not just some sort of Unipuerto puncher finish, and they do that. That's still a good two-and-a-half-minute climb. Then they do the Moto E, which is 1K, 11.5%, with the steepest part about 600 meters to go.
And yeah, we had Saishas here as the favorite, Shkelmo as the second favorite, Pidcock in the Alps, where he won today, coincidentally.
Were you surprised to see Remco Evenepoel skip this race in function of LBL? Or should I say, is it controversial that I didn't consider Remco the obvious favorite for this race?
Why couldn't Remco do well in Flesh?
I think he could do well in Flesh, but we haven't seen it before. When he came here... Has he done it? He has done it, and he didn't exactly have a great day on the last climb.
Yeah, but that last year was really like a different Flesh. It was really rainy, and UAE made it really attritional. I think today he would have been just fine.
I don't think he would have been the clear winner favorite.
Nah, not the favorite maybe, but, well, I don't know. Remco even was pretty good. But anyway, he would have definitely been the second favorite for me. Like, no way Mauro Schmidt shouldn't beat Remco on this finish, but maybe I'm underrating Mauro Schmidt. And as you can tell, the old cicadas got me, so forgive my...
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Chapter 2: Why did Remco Evenepoel skip the 2026 La Flèche Wallonne?
two kilometers later patrick was on the floor ulysses james shaw venturini is there is stress the reason at this point because we're getting closer and closer to midweek
Yeah, I guess. And left, right turns. It's also the bad road surface. So a lot of guys are moving their wheels suddenly because they see a crack in the road and they don't want to put their wheel in it. So it's a pretty bad road surface. The edge is coming in and out. It's pretty... I find the Ardennes as sketchy, if not more sketchy, some of the run-ins than the Cobble Classics, honestly.
As a Flemish individual, I... do not comment on road surfing's differences between Flanders and Wallonia so it doesn't end up becoming a political situation.
The speeds are higher on some of these descents, like the Redoute descent, and they're longer. So anyway, priests get loads of crashes.
Especially the run-in to La Redoute, you mean, right? Because that's the descent that is seriously fast and positioning is near impossible if you're not at the front.
Yeah, you need like two rulers to do a full sprint lead out for you there. Harry Sweeney did it last year.
Every time there's like a two-second pause in this podcast, it's you dying. No, I'm good. Anyway.
Loads of crashes. Schiffer would have won, but anyway, he or she crashed him out. And we see Seixas apparently crashed. He had blood on his elbow. Didn't see it. And his knee, I think. And his knee. Didn't see it. Didn't even see him like... It must have been on a climb. I think it must have been on the Cote d'Iref. uphill. He's had a little tumble uphill.
Because otherwise, if you crash on a downhill or flat section, by the time you get back on your bike, you'll be at the back of the peloton and the cameras would be on you. It has to be mid-pack from the front on a climb.
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Chapter 3: Who were the standout riders in the men's race?
Is it me, or did Bilbao and 6SUS hit the front of this favorites group at the foot of Mutagui with about, oh, still a kilometer to go?
Yeah, I mean, or was it a little blue firetruck?
Yeah, because he was the rider with 1.5k to go, roughly.
Yeah, that was a weird move. It was weird how like all the sprinting into the bottom, like NSN were in such a good position, like you say, with Nylons. But yeah, it was with straight away from when the steep bit starts, like Bilbao was looking for Martinez and then they just kept looking for Martinez, looking for Martinez and then not pacing anyway with Bilbao.
And then Saishas and basically the positions, Saishas, Tullet, Kosnefer, they don't change from like a K to go. I'm looking for Schmidt. Dude.
Pretty well positioned.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Really?
I can't even see Schmidt in this.
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Chapter 4: What strategies did teams employ during the final climbs?
And basically Schmidt rides away. Saishas rides away and wins easily by three seconds.
Yeah, easy victory. Easy peasy lemon squeezy by PaulSixSauce. But I was like, before today started, for me, PaulSixSauce was a favorite going into this race. But Mouroui is not a usual race. It's a very different effort, etc. But on paper, he would be the guy to win this. So I'm less surprised by PaulSixSauce winning than I am by Mauro Schmidt coming second on the Mouroui.
Because while he's been a really strong rider this year, it feels weird to me that Maro Schmidt, to me, looks like a bigger rider than the average Moody Wee climber. Nah, because... Am I overrating his height?
I think you're underestimating the size of some of the guys that have done well here before.
Fair.
Kevin Volkner, he's not 62 kilos. True. Who else? Stevie Williams, he's tall. That's why I was so confident Jorgensen would do well here. I think this climb suits the 70-kilo, just big... power-like guys like that. And I'll take you back to a very important race, Benji, where Schmidt showed he could do this. Else? No, the YouTube stream of Muscat Classic.
Oh, no.
The Algissa climb. Right, if you can hold the wheel of Jates on Algissa in Muscat Classic, which Schmidt did, then it's no problem to podium flesh.
It had to be either Cadells or Namaskar Classic for you.
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Chapter 5: What were the major incidents that affected the race outcome?
Yeah, it's pretty good. It's pretty good for sure. But does it change anything for us when it comes to LPL coming up this Sunday?
I don't think Pog drops him on Redoubt.
Oh, shit. Oh, shit.
I hope he doesn't. They need to do some descent fucking gimmick on Santa Maria and Granja to get him off the wheel for a 10-minute climb. Five minutes. It'll be gravy. Just style on the wheel. Leo Busio, though, he can't do his own race. He finished a little bit too high up for my liking today.
I... I am on the border of saying similar things as you. The one thing that stops me from saying success will follow Pogacar when he attacks on Sunday is he does finish today only three seconds ahead of Mauro Schmidt, which great performance by Mauro Schmidt, but...
That does count in my head a little bit, you know? Tish posh. Tish posh. Tish posh. Yeah.
I don't know. We'll see.
Very different race, though. 270 kilometers.
I'm more concerned, like, are they going to put him into position into a dude? I think Pog's going to... If Pog sees he's not on his wheel, he'll go.
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