The season has just begun, yet the brightest stars in the peloton are already targeting the major spring classics, particularly those in the Ardennes. In April, women and men will once again tackle the climbs that have made the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège legendary, from the Mur de Huy to La Roche-aux-Faucons, passing through Les Forges, Haussire, and La Redoute.

This spring, the Ardennes celebrations will begin with an anniversary: on Wednesday, April 22nd, the Flèche Wallonne will turn 90 years old. For the occasion, the peloton will face a classic route of 208.8 km. After a challenging start from Herstal (the new host city), through the climbs of Trasenster and Les Forges, riders will tackle the modern Flèche circuit, with the Ereffe and Cherave climbs before scaling the Mur de Huy. The successor to Tadej Pogačar will be crowned after three laps, around 4:30 PM.

For the third time, the women's peloton will race after the men's, starting at 1:40 PM from the Grand Place in Huy. The athletes will immediately face the Bohissau climb, followed by two more climbs at Courrière and Durnal, which will set the stage for the final showdown on the Ereffe - Cherave - Huy circuit. The 148.2 km route is familiar but difficult to master: since Anna van der Breggen's last victory (2021), a different champion has won each year.

The Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes challenges have also crowned stars of all kinds, culminating in Kim Le Court's triumph in 2025. The contenders for her throne will have to overcome the most challenging route in the event's history, now in its tenth edition. The women's route includes ten grand prix, following exactly the same route as the men's between Bastogne and Liège. The women's peloton will discover the Col de Haussire, tackle the Wanne - Stockeu - Haute-Levée trilogy, and cross the Col du Rosier. The Col du Maquisard and Côte de Desné will be linked for the first time, before the grand finale on the slopes of La Redoute, Les Forges, and La Roche aux-Faucons (156 km in total).

In the early afternoon, the challenges will be the same for the men's peloton, who started in the morning for a 259.5 km race from Quai des Ardennes in Liège. On the way to Bastogne, the riders will climb the Côte de Saint-Roch before reaching La Doyenne roundabout and challenging each other on the legendary climbs that have recently crowned Tadej Pogačar (2021, 2024, 2025) and Remco Evenepoel (2022, 2023) in the Ardent City.

The two stars have already announced that they will meet for the Liège crown this spring. Isaac Del Toro is also preparing to join Pogačar. In the Ardennes, they will face contenders of the caliber of Ben Healy, Matteo Jorgenson, Kévin Vauquelin, Mattias Skjelmose, Paul Seixas... Julian Alaphilippe and Tom Pidcock will lead the Tudor Pro Cycling Team and the Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, which, like Cofidis, qualified through their performances in the 2025 UCI ProTeams ranking. Team Flanders-Baloise, Unibet Rose Rockets, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, and TotalEnergies complete the Flèche Wallonne group. The latter two are also invited to Liège-Bastogne-Liège, along with Burgos-Burpellet-BH and Equipo Kern Pharma.

The women's peloton is expected to include the last three winners of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Demi Vollering, and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, all previous Ardennes winners. Anna van der Breggen, Puck Pieterse, and Kim Le Court are preparing to face them. In addition to the 14 UCI Women's WorldTeams, Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi and Volkerwessels Cycling Team are automatically invited. The Cofidis, Lotto Intermarchè Ladies, Ma Petite Entreprise, Mayenne Monbana My Pie, and St Michel Preference Home - Auber93 teams will also join the grand Ardennes celebration.