page_title: 2015 La Flèche Wallonne
section_title: Route
hierarchical_section_title: 2015 La Flèche Wallonne / Route
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Huy - Chemin des chapelles - Chicane et chapelle 3 This is a photo of a monument in Wallonia, number: 61031-CLT-0022-01
context_page_description: The 2015 La Flèche Wallonne was the 79th edition of the La Flèche Wallonne one-day cycling classic. It took place on 22 April and was the twelfth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. La Flèche Wallonne is the second of the three Ardennes classics; it comes three days after the Amstel Gold Race and four days before the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The defending champion in the race was Alejandro Valverde.
  The race took place on a 205.5-kilometre route that started in Waremme and ends in Huy. The key aspect of La Flèche Wallonne is the climb of the Mur de Huy, which is crossed three times during the race; the finishing line is at the top of the final climb of the Mur. The race typically suits both puncheurs and climbers. La Flèche Wallonne had added importance in 2015 because the second stage of the 2015 Tour de France was also scheduled to finish on the Mur, so several riders rode the race as preparation.
  Despite the addition of an additional climb late in the race, a group formed at the base of the Mur. Valverde won his third victory on the climb, with Julian Alaphilippe second and Michael Albasini third; Valverde went on to win Liège–Bastogne–Liège as well.
context_section_description: The 205.5-kilometre (127.7 mi) route of the 2015 La Flèche Wallonne began in Waremme in the province of Liège on the Rue de Huy with a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) neutralised zone. The first part of the route went south-east through Faimes and Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse before reaching the day's first climb, the Côte des 36 Tournants, after 22 kilometres (14 mi). After the climb, the riders continued south-east to Anthisnes; here the route turned south. It passed through Ouffet, then reached Durbuy after 55 kilometres (34 mi). The route then turned west to pass through Havelange before reaching Ohey after 84.5 kilometres (52.5 mi). The roads between the Côte des 36 Tournants and Ohey were not entirely flat, but there were no categorised climbs.
  After reaching Ohey, the route entered a series of loops. The riders first travelled north, south-west and then north again to reach the day's second climb, the Côte de Bellaire, after 92 kilometres (57 mi) of racing. The route continued north to Andenne, then east to the third climb, the Côte de Bohissau, 100 kilometres (62 mi) into the race. The riders then rode north-east to reach the first ascent of the Mur de Huy. The first climb of the Mur came with 118 kilometres (73 mi) raced and 87.5 kilometres (54.4 mi) to the finish line; it was followed by the day's only feed zone. The peloton continued riding east as far as Modave, where the course turned to the south-west. The Côte d'Ereffe was climbed after 131 kilometres (81 mi) as the riders returned to Ohey. The race then used the same roads as before between Ohey and Huy, repeating the ascents of the Côte de Bellaire, the Côte de Bohissau and the Mur de Huy. The second and penultimate ascent of the Mur came after 176.5 kilometres (109.7 mi); there were 29 kilometres (18 mi) remaining.
  The final loop of the race followed the same roads as before, east out of Huy and then south-west to the Côte d'Ereffe, climbed with 16.5 kilometres (10.3 mi) remaining. After this climb, however, the route turned north to take a more direct route to Huy, though some of the same roads were used. Within the town, the riders were faced with a slightly different route and a climb new to the 2015 edition of the race, the Côte de Cherave. The roads before the climb were narrow and twisting, with a level crossing at the foot of the climb. The hill itself was 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in length with an average gradient of 8.1%; the steepest section came in the first part. The top of the Côte de Cherave came with 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) to the finish line and was followed by a sharp right-hand turn and a fast descent back into Huy.
  The crucial part of the race was the final 1,300-metre (4,300 ft) climb of the Mur de Huy, which has an average gradient of 9.6%. The first 400-metre (1,300 ft) section of the climb has a gradient less than 7%; after this it increases to about 10%. The steepest section comes after 800 metres (2,600 ft) with an S-bend. The steepest part of the climb has a gradient of about 24%; many past races have been won with attacks at this point. The finish line came at the very top of the climb.
caption: The Mur de Huy was climbed three times during the race. The finish line came at the top of the climb.
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