A race where the Mur de Huy is the absolute judge. Timing a single, vertical surge in the final kilometer is the only way to join the elite list of winners.
La Flèche Wallonne Féminine is the women's WorldTour edition of the Belgian classic, established in 1998. It is defined by its finish atop the Mur de Huy, a climb so steep it turns the final 500 meters into a slow-motion test of nerve and timing.
Anna van der Breggen won seven straight editions from 2015 through 2021, a streak that turned the Mur de Huy into her private finish line.
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While the men's race often builds toward one explosive finish, the women's edition is usually raced with more speed and less hesitation before the Mur. The shorter distance means fresher legs hit the final wall, so the winning acceleration is often even sharper. Anna van der Breggen's seven consecutive victories set the modern standard here, proving that intelligence and timing matter as much as raw power when the gradient reaches its steepest pitches.
The course usually covers roughly 140 kilometers and includes two earlier ascents of the Mur de Huy before the final climb to the line. Those loops through the Ardennes hills thin the field, but the result is still almost always decided in the final 300 meters. Success requires patience. Riders who go too early on the steepest section visibly stall before the top, and the fight for the first few positions entering the final corner can matter almost as much as the last acceleration itself.
The race ends at the top of the Mur de Huy, a 1.3km wall ramping to 26% in its steepest meters. This one climb decides the race.
The peloton climbs the Mur de Huy three times. The first two passages drain legs, and the third is the finish.
The Mur rewards explosive short-burst power rather than sustained climbing. The strongest kick in the final 300 meters wins.
Despite a full day of Ardennes racing, the decisive move only happens on the final Mur. Patience and positioning matter more than early aggression.
Most recent winner: Puck Pieterse (2025)
In her final season, Anna van der Breggen won her seventh Fleche Wallonne Feminine, a record that may never be matched. She retired at the top.
Demi Vollering won with a powerful acceleration on the steepest section of the Mur de Huy, confirming her status as the new dominant Ardennes rider.
Puck Pieterse, still building her road palmares, outclimbed the established favorites on the Mur to win her biggest one-day result.
Seven wins (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) made the Dutchwoman the undisputed queen of the Mur de Huy and the most successful rider in the race history.
Multiple wins showed that Vos could combine sprint power with climbing ability on the Mur, a rare combination at the top level.
Her 2023 victory proved she inherited the Mur from van der Breggen, with the same ability to accelerate in the steepest section.
The 2025 winner brought a cyclocross pedigree to road racing and showed the Mur rewards pure explosive power regardless of background.
The Mur de Huy is the race. Everything else is preparation.
1.3km at 9.6% average, ramping to 26%. The only climb in women cycling that single-handedly decides a WorldTour race.
An Ardennes climb that appears earlier in the race, beginning the process of thinning the field before the decisive Mur.
The medieval Walloon town whose steep hillside provides the race its iconic summit finish setting.
