ProTeam Andreas Kron into the unknown at Flèche Wallonne debut

Andreas Kron clinched a fourth place at the Amstel Gold Race for Lotto Dstny while Maxim Van Gils sprinted to seventh. “We gained confidence from these results”, says the young Dane, “We want to continue down this road.”

The 24-year-old Dane will be accompanied at La Flèche Wallonne by Mathijs Paasschens, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Sylvain Moniquet, Harry Sweeny and Maxim Van Gils. “Honestly, I don’t know what to expect this Wednesday”, says Kron, “I’m racing Flèche Wallonne for the first time and a couple days later I’m also debuting at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. It will be a step into the unknown, but I am looking forward to it.”

Kron did a recon of the Flèche Wallonne final on Monday. “We rode the final 37 kilometres. It was a nice ride and the Mur de Huy is indeed quite steep”, he laughs, “that is something you already feel during training and I’m expecting it to go a lot faster in the race on Wednesday. I don’t know if this race suits me, I’ll give an answer to that Wednesday evening. I don’t have any reference points, because I never raced a one-day event on a finish such as the Mur. I expect Liège-Bastogne-Liège to be more my cup of tea.”

The Dane knows the race only from watching it on television. “I saw Valverde take the win on numerous occasions and also the past years Julian Alaphilippe showed his fast legs. Nowadays, Flèche Wallonne has become quite the atypical race, a kind of ‘waiting game’ until the race explodes on the Mur. This contrary to the trend where the races are opened quite early. It’s something I like, just as was the case at the Amstel. The Flèche is all about waiting, waiting, waiting”, he repeats “and see how fast you can ride up the Mur at the end. In the past years, several riders have tried to avoid the classical scenario but no one has succeeded. Maybe Wednesday is the day, we will see, but I think we’re in for the same final.”

Is there a perfect moment to launch your sprint at the end? “I don’t know”, concludes Kron, “first and foremost, you have to be in good position to start the final climb, then get your timing just right and hope for strong legs and explosivity. This is my first participation and a top ten spot would be nice but I also expect something from Maxim Van Gils. I think his chances are better than mine at Flèche Wallonne.”

Images: Photo News.