Andrew Hood

1 day ago | velo.outsideonline.com | Andrew Hood

Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) delivered a stunner Wednesday to time it just right on the Mur de Huy to win Fleche Wallonne Feminine. Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) looked to be in the driver’s seat only to have Pieterse barrel past her for the victory. The Dutch superstar hit the famed “corner” after a big pull from teammate Juliet Labous, who turned the screws midway up the brutal wall. Pieterse held tough and pounced to the big win. Elisa Longo Borghini kicked to third to round out the podium.

1 day ago | velo.outsideonline.com | Andrew Hood

Tadej Pogačar dropped everyone on the steepest part of the Mur de Huy to win La Fleche Wallonne in spectacular fashion. Wednesday’s edition was contested in grimy, cold, wet weather. Three from an early break of eight held on until the day’s penultimate climb, but like almost every edition, the race came down to the final stampede up the Muy de Huy. Brandon McNulty led Pogačar to the base of the Mur, and the battle was on. Jan Christen took another lethal pull to the steepest part of the wall.

1 day ago | velo.outsideonline.com | Andrew Hood

GHENT, Belgium (Velo) — Belgium might be small on a map, but it’s a cycling superpower in every other sense. In the heart of Belgium’s bike empire, the sport isn’t just a pastime, it’s a way of life. Bikes and Belgians are joined at the hip, from students buzzing to classes and businessmen zipping to meetings. Even the mail is delivered by postal workers on bikes. Since 2020, the Belgian government has invested an estimated €1.4 billion in cycling infrastructure. And it shows.

2 days ago | velo.outsideonline.com | Andrew Hood

Neilson Powless lines up this week in the Ardennes classics as a re-made racer. Hot off victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen, when he outfoxed Visma-Lease a Bike for the biggest win of his career, the 28-year-old American is now a fully committed one-day racer. It wasn’t always that way. When the EF Education-EasyPost star turned pro for compatriot Sepp Kuss back in 2018, it was the Tour de France — not the Tour of Flanders — that got his pulse racing.

3 days ago | velo.outsideonline.com | Andrew Hood

The romantic in me wanted Wout van Aert to win the Amstel Gold Race. The realist in me knew better. Ever humble, this is what WVA said at the start: “I see myself as someone with a small chance of winning the race.” Translation: “Pogi and Remco are here. God help us all.”Six hours later, he won the chasing bunch sprint to hit — yes — another fourth. “We rode a strong race, but maybe missed an opportunity today,” he said. “Not reacting to Evenepoel’s attack was a misjudgment.