April 22, 2004 – French national Sonia Huguet (Equipe de France) won the women's Fleche Wallonne, beating German Hanke Kupfernagel (Vlaanderen-T-Interim Univega) by nine seconds, and Lithuanian Edita Pucinskaite (Michela Fanini) by 18 seconds at the finish atop the “mur d'Huy”.

Huguet completed the 97.5K in 2:44:04, averaging 35.7 km/h. Canadian Sue Palmer Komar (Team Canada), runner-up here last year, took fourth place this year. RONA's Genevieve Jeanson finished 30th, 44 seconds behind the winner.

Huguet led the race's decisive breakaway. She launched a solo attack with less than 10K to go, and Kupfernagel soon bridged to her. The duo reached the bottom of the mur d'Huy (average slope 12.9% with pitches at 19%) with a lead of over 40 seconds over the closest chasers, a main group down to 40 riders after the successive climbs exploded the peloton of 152 starters.

Before that, two breakaways had put some animation in the race. At kilometre 16, Ina Teutenberg (Team Germany) and Japan's Miho Oki (Farm Frites) attacked. New-Zealander Meshy Holt bridged to them and the trio's lead varied from 45 seconds to 1:20 for more than 50 kilometres. The peloton reeled them in during the hard Bohisseau climb, 30 kilometres to the finish. Italian Fabiana Luperini (Let's Go Finland) and Lyne Bessette (Team Canada) counter-attacked and Genevieve Jeanson (RONA) joined them. Their lead reached 30 seconds but they were absorbed by the pack 10 kilometres to the finish. Shortly after Huguet made the decisive move.

“I got myself boxed in like a junior,” said Jeanson after the race. “The pack swallowed me at the end of our breakaway, and I was outmaneuvered on these narrow roads and I never managed to get back in position near the front. When Huguet and Kupfernagel went, I couldn't do anything. I guess this race is to be added to my 'education and learning' file.”

FLÈCHE WALLONNE (WOMEN)


1. Sonia Huguet (FRA, Equipe de France) 97.5Kin 2:44:04 (avg. 35.66 km/h)
2. Hanke Kupfernagel (GER, Vlaanderen-T-Interim), 0:09
3. Edita Pucinskaite (LIT,Michela Fanini), 0:18
4. Sue Palmer Komar (CAN, Team Canada), 0:20
5. Judith Arndt (GER, Nurnberger Versicherung)
6. Oenone Wood (AUS, Team Australia)
7. Trixi Worrack (GER, Nurnberger Versicherung)
8. Nicole Brandli (SUI, Équipe Suisse)
9. Olivia Gollan (AUS, Team Australia)
10. Barbara Heeb (SUI, Lietzport)
19. Lyne Bessette (CAN, Team Canada), 0:37
22.Mirjam Melchers (NED, Farm Frites), 0:40
26. Fabiana Luperini (ITA, Let's Go Finland), 0:44
30. Genevieve Jeanson (CAN, RONA)
35. Susanne Ljungskog (SWE, S.A.T.S.), 1':00

55. Amy Moore (Canadian National Team)

103. Nicole Demars (Canadian National Team)