A New Queen?
January 21 st 2026 - 13:00
The Mur de Huy and its champions share an ambivalent relationship. One of the most prestigious and painful references, the climb of the Chemin des Chapelles has grown accustomed to tormenting and crowning queens every spring since 1998.
At the end of the 20th century, the inaugural victory of Fabiana Luperini foreshadowed the identity the Classic would impose over the years. Only a truly great champion can triumph on the Mur. And once they have asserted their superiority, the very greatest return to claim victory again on these extreme slopes.
A three-time winner, the diminutive Italian climber was followed by Nicole Cooke, also crowned three times, and then by her successor Marianne Vos, who claimed five Flèches. The most breathtaking domination was still to come, with the seven wonders of Anna van der Breggen.
The reign of the Dutch rider came to an end in 2021, after a final epic duel against Kasia Niewiadoma. Returning in 2025, Van der Breggen witnessed the emergence of a new star with dazzling talent, Puck Pieterse. At 23, can she establish herself permanently on the throne that her Oranje elder dreams of reclaiming? The last four editions have produced four different winners (Cavalli, Vollering, Niewiadoma and Pieterse) — an unprecedented diversity in the history of the race! We eagerly await to see whether the next assault on the Mur will smile upon another champion, inevitably exceptional.
On paper, the 29th edition is certainly the toughest in the race’s history. From the start, the peloton will leave Huy behind to immediately tackle the Côte de Bohissau. The climbs will follow in quick succession, at Courrière and Durnal, wearing down the riders before they face the emblematic sequence made up of the Côte d’Ereffe, the Côte de Cherave and the Mur de Huy. Nine climbs stand on the road of the penitents dreaming of triumph on the Chemin des Chapelles. It will take no less to crown a new queen.
Christian PRUDHOMME
Director of Cycling
