The Arrow of Wallonia returns and Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel will once again battle on the Mur of Huy. The Belgian and the Slovenian start as favorites, but they won't be alone in the race, and among them, Thibaut Nys also joins as a favorite.

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The race covers 205.2 kilometers, and compared to the last two editions, the organizers have decided to make some modifications that will not alter the charm of this race. The riders no longer start from Charleroi, but from Ciney, near Namur, and after just ten kilometers, they will face the first climb of the day, the Côte de Ver (1.4 km at 4.6%). Further ahead, there will be some unclassified climbs and then the Côte de Petite Somme (1.2 km at 8.8%).

Shortly after, when the group has reached the halfway point, the circuit that the riders must repeat three times will begin. This year, in addition to the Côte d'Ereffe (2.1 km at 5%), the circuit will also include the Côte de Cherave (1.3 km at 7.6%), which in the last lap will be placed just under six kilometers from the finish line. In the past, some have tried to attack from this côte, but the results were not as hoped, considering that in the finale, there will be the famous Mur de Huy (1.3 km at 9.7%).

Even if a small breakaway group were to arrive alone at the foot of the Mur de Huy, it would still be difficult to make a difference unless they have good climbing skills. The climb is particularly steep, and in the section between 800 and 200 meters from the finish, the gradients rarely drop below 15%, and in the inner curves, they even reach 20%. Timing will be crucial because in the last 200 meters, the road will become flat, and someone from behind might try to catch up.

Tadej Pogačar remains the favorite in this race, and considering his results so far and the opponents he will face, his chances of victory increase significantly. The Slovenian has participated in five one-day races this season and after winning Strade Bianche and the Tour of Flanders, he has been on the podium of Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, and Amstel Gold Race. The Arrow of Wallonia might not seem suitable for him, but in 2023, he also conquered this race ahead of Skjelmose and Landa.

STARTING LIST

Israel - Premier Tech
1. WILLIAMS Stephen
2. BENNETT George
3. BLACKMORE Joseph
4. CLARKE Simon
5. LUTSENKO Alexey
6. RAISBERG Nadav
7. SCHULTZ Nick

UAE Team Emirates - XRG
11. POGAČAR Tadej
12. CHRISTEN Jan
13. GROßSCHARTNER Felix
14. LAENGEN Vegard Stake
15. MCNULTY Brandon
16. NOVAK Domen
17. SIVAKOV Pavel

Tudor Pro Cycling Team
21. ALAPHILIPPE Julian
22. BRENNER Marco
23. HIRSCHI Marc
24. VOISARD Yannis
25. WEISS Fabian
26. WILKSCH Hannes
27. WIRTGEN Luc

Cofidis
31. TEUNS Dylan
32. ARANBURU Alex
33. FERRON Valentin
34. HERRADA Jesús
35. MONIQUET Sylvain
36. OURSELIN Paul
37. ROBEET Ludovic

Soudal Quick-Step
41. EVENEPOEL Remco
42. EENKHOORN Pascal
43. LECERF Junior
44. SERRY Pieter
45. VAN WILDER Ilan
46. VANSEVENANT Mauri
47. VERVAEKE Louis

Arkéa - B&B Hotels
51. VAUQUELIN Kévin
52. DELAPLACE Anthony
53. GARCÍA PIERNA Raúl
54. GUGLIELMI Simon
55. HUYS Laurens
56. LE BERRE Mathis
57. ROULAND Louis

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe
61. VAN GILS Maxim
62. ADRIÀ Roger
63. FISHER-BLACK Finn
64. HAJEK Alexander
65. KOCH Jonas
66. MARTÍNEZ Daniel Felipe
67. MOSCON Gianni

Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
71. PIDCOCK Thomas
72. AZPARREN Xabier Mikel
73. CAMPRUBÍ Marcel
74. CHRISTEN Fabio
75. DONOVAN Mark
76. VADER Milan
77. ZUKOWSKY Nickolas

Bahrain - Victorious
81. MARTINEZ Lenny
82. BILBAO Pello
83. BUITRAGO Santiago
84. ERMAKOV Roman
85. PAASSCHENS Mathijs
86. STANNARD Robert
87. ZAMBANINI Edoardo

Lidl - Trek
91. SKJELMOSE Mattias
92. BAGIOLI Andrea
93. BERNARD Julien
94. KONRAD Patrick
95. MOSCA Jacopo
96. NYS Thibau
97. VERGAERDE Otto

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
101. BERTHET Clément
102. GAUTHERAT Pierre
103. GODON Dorian
104. ISIDORE Noa
105. LABROSSE Jordan
106. SCOTSON Callum
107. TRONCHON Bastien

Uno-X Mobility
111. CORT Magnus
112. URIANSTAD BUGGE Martin
113. DVERSNES Fredrik
114. HOLTER Ådne
115. JOHANNESSEN Anders Halland
116. LEKNESSUND Andreas
117. LØLAND Sakarias Koller

Groupama - FDJ
121. GRÉGOIRE Romain
122. CAVAGNA Rémi
123. GENIETS Kevin
124. MADOUAS Valentin
125. MARTIN Guillaume
126. MOLARD Rudy
127. PACHER Quentin

Team Visma | Lease a Bike
131. BENOOT Tiesj
132. GRAAT Tijmen
133. NORDHAGEN Jørgen
134. TULETT Ben
135. VALTER Attila
136. VAN BELLE Loe
137. VAN DER SANDE Tosh

XDS Astana Team
141. CHAMPOUSSIN Clément
142. CONCI Nicola
143. KUZMIN Anton
144. SCARONI Christian
145. SCHELLING Ide
146. ULISSI Diego
147. VELASCO Simone

EF Education - EasyPost
151. HEALY Ben
152. BATTISTELLA Samuele
153. BAUDIN Alex
154. HONORÉ Mikkel Frølich
155. POWLESS Neilson
156. RYAN Archie
157. SWEENY Harry

INEOS Grenadiers
161. LAURANCE Axel
162. FOSS Tobias
163. JUNGELS Bob
164. LANGELLOTTI Victor
165. LEONARD Michael
166. SHEFFIELD Magnus
167. SHMIDT Artem

Alpecin - Deceuninck
171. HERMANS Quinten
172. BAYER Tobias
173. DEBRUYNE Ramses
174. GLIVAR Gal
175. MEURISSE Xandro
176. RIESEBEEK Oscar
177. VERSTRYNGE Emiel

Team Picnic PostNL
181. BARGUIL Warren
182. COMBAUD Romain
183. KOERDT Bjorn
184. MARTINEZ Guillermo Juan
185. ONLEY Oscar
186. ROOSEN Timo
187. VERMAERKE Kevin

Movistar Team
191. MAS Enric
192. GUERREIRO Ruben
193. ARCAS Jorge
194. OLIVEIRA Nelson
195. FORMOLO Davide
196. HESSMANN Michel
197. MÜHLBERGER Gregor

Wagner Bazin WB
201. DE TIER Floris
202. DE MEESTER Luca
203. DESAL Ceriel
204. MEENS Johan
205. VAN HAUTEGEM Leander
206. VERMOOTE Jelle
207. VLIEGEN Loïc

Lotto
211. VAN EETVELT Lennert
212. CURRIE Logan
213. DRIZNERS Jarrad
214. LIVYNS Arjen
215. SEPÚLVEDA Eduardo
216. THOMPSON Reuben
217. GREGAARD Jonas

Team Jayco AlUla
221. O'CONNOR Ben
222. FOLDAGER Anders
223. HATHERLY Alan
224. HEPBURN Michael
225. MATTHEWS Michael
226. SCHMID Mauro
227. ZANA Filippo

Intermarché - Wanty
231. BARRÉ Louis
232. BONNEU Kamiel
233. DE POOTER Dries
234. KAMP Alexander
235. KUYPERS Gerben
236. PAQUOT Tom
237. VAN BOVEN Luca

Team Flanders - Baloise
241. VAN HEMELEN Vincent
242. CLYNHENS Toon
243. DE VYLDER Lindsay
244. DEWEIRDT Siebe
245. GEENS Jonas
246. VANHOOF Ward
247. VERCOUILLIE Victor