Return to city centre for Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2019 could be confirmed next week
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The Mur de Huy awaits the peloton.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Julian Alaphilippe wins Fleche Wallonne 2018(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) climbing the Mur de Huy toward his stage 3 win at the Tour de France
Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) wins La Flèche Wallonne, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) second and Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Soudal)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alejandro Valverde sprinting to his third Liège - Bastogne - Liège career win(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
A report in the Belgian media on Thursday claims that La Flèche Wallonne will continue to use the summit finish at the Mur de Huy until at least 2024.
Local newspaper Sudpresse reported that the current agreement between the town of Huy and the race organisers ends this year, but that a fresh deal will likely be signed next week.
Local official Christophe Colignon told the paper that it was “almost obvious” that a new agreement would be going to take place.
Although the mid-week Belgian Classic has a different start each year, La Flèche Wallonne has been ending on the emblematic climb since 1983, making it the only European Spring Classic with a summit finish.
The dash up the short but steep Mur de Huy has become one of the most iconic sights in cycling, even if the race has become known as one of the most predictable of the spring classics. The 2018 edition, which took place on Wednesday, was more aggressive than in recent years but was still decided on the Mur, with Julian Alaphilippe ending Alejandro Valverde's run of four consecutive titles.
At the same time, Sudpresse reported that the decision to return the finish of Liège-Bastogne-Liège to the centre of Liège is likely to be confirmed next week.
The third of the big Ardennes Classics and the fourth Monument of the season has been using a finish in the suburb of Ans since the early 1990s, but there have been repeated calls in the media for the race to conclude on one of the city’s main boulevards, as it did for most of the last century.
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