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Vollering in pursuit of the double

April 11 th 2024 - 17:13

Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime), who scored a fabulous hat-trick of victories in the Ardennes last year, is the favourite to win the 27th edition of La Flèche-Wallonne Femmes on Wednesday, 17 April.

To try and beat the Dutchwoman, the Lidl-Trek team will have two women who have already finished on the podium at the top of the Mur de Huy (Gaia Realini and Elisa Longo Borghini).

Among the many headliners are 2022 winner Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Suez) and Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon Sram Racing), who dazzled in the Tour of Flanders (2nd).

Who can beat Demi Vollering? Last year, nobody did it in the Ardennes. The Dutch rider won the Amstel Gold Race Ladies, La Flèche Wallonne Femmes and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes in one week, a "very special" treble that only her sporting director Anna van der Breggen had achieved in 2017. Since then, she has overwhelmingly confirmed her status as the new queen of climbing races by winning the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. So, she will be the firm favourite at the start of the 27th edition of La Flèche Wallonne Femmes, which for the first time will run after the men's race (finish scheduled for around 6 pm). Her teammate Lotte Kopecky, fresh from her victory in the Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift in the rainbow jersey, is saving herself for her debut in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes on Sunday, 21 April, and will therefore leave the reins to Demi Vollering at SD Worx-Protime.   With an exceptionally solid line-up, Lidl-Trek looks set to thwart her dreams of a double and put on a show over the 143.5km course. The American team is the only outfit with several riders who have already finished on the podium at the top of the Mur de Huy: last spring's revelation Gaia Realini (third in 2023) and Tour of Flanders winner Elisa Longo Borghini (second in 2013 and third in 2014), who dominated Vollering on Wednesday with a solo win in the Brabantse Pijl. All five Lidl-Trek riders on the entry list have already finished in the top 10 of La Flèche Wallonne Femmes, including Lucinda Brand (fourth in 2012), Brodie Chapman (ninth in 2019) and Amanda Spratt (fifth in 2018 and ninth in 2021).  

In dazzling form at the Tour of Flanders (second), Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//Sram Racing) hopes to finally lift her arms after two podium finishes in 2017 (third) and 2021 (second). Ashleigh Moolman (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) is about to equal Italian Tatiana Guderzo's record of 15 participations. The 38-year-old South African is amazingly consistent in the Belgian classic. She has finished in the top 7 ten times, with two podium results (runner-up in 2018 and third in 2013). On the other hand, it will be the first participation for the promising 21-year-old Fem van Empel, and two-time cyclo-cross world champion, who is Visma's best chance for the win.  

Fifth last year, Evita Muzic and Marta Cavalli will be a pair to keep an eye on at FDJ-Suez. The Frenchwoman has been in good form over the previous month (tenth in the Strade Bianche, ninth in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda). And we all know the immense talent of the Italian, who in 2022 beat Annemiek van Vleuten (and Demi Vollering, third) to succeed the "Queen of the Wall" Anna van der Breggen, who had just retired after seven successive triumphs in Huy.

24 teams, the main contenders  

Australia

  • Liv-AlUla-Jayco: Mavi Garcia (Spa), Ella Wyllie (Nzl), Urška Žigart (Slo)  

Belgium

  • AG Insurance - Soudal Team: Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (Rsa), Sarah Gigante (Aus), Julie Van de Velde (Bel)
  • Chevalmeire: Hanna Nilsson (Swe)
  • Fenix-Deceuninck: Yara Kastelijn (Ned), Christina Schweinberger (Aut)
  • Lotto Dstny Ladies: Maureen Arens (Ned)  

France

  • Arkéa-B&B Hotels Women: Lotte Claes (Bel)
  • FDJ-Suez: Marta Cavalli (Ita), Loes Adegeest (Ned), Evita Muzic (Fra)
  • Cofidis: Nikola Noskova (Cze), Julie Bego (Fra)
  • St Michel-Mavic-Auber 9: Marion Bunel (Fra), Victorie Guilman (Fra)  

Germany

  • Canyon//Sram Racing: Elise Chabbey (Swi), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol), Ricarda Bauernfeind (Ger)  

Italy

  • Bepink-Bongioanni: Andrea Casagranda (Ita)  

Netherlands

  • SD Worx-Protime: Demi Vollering (Ned), Niamh Fisher-Black (Nzl), Mischa Bredewold (Ned)
  • Team dsm-firmenich PostNL: Esmée Peperkamp (Ned), Eglantine Rayer (Fra)
  • Team Visma | Lease a Bike: Fem van Empel (Ned)
  • Volkerwessels Women's Pro Cycling Team: Quinty Schoens (Ned)  

Norway

  • Team Coop-Repsol: India Grangier (Fra)
  • Uno-X Mobility: Simone Boilard (Can), Mie Bjorndal Ottestad (Nor)  

Spain

  • Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi: Ane Santesteban (Spa)
  • Movistar Team: Olivia Baril (Can)  

Switzerland

  • Roland: Anna Kiesenhofer (Aut)  

United Arab Emirates

  • UAE Team ADQ: Erica Magnaldi (Ita), Alena Amialiusik (Blr)  

United States

  • EF Education-Cannondale: Veronica Ewers (Usa)
  • Human Powered Health: Ruth Edwards (Usa)
  • Lidl-Trek: Gaia Realini (Ita), Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita)

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