Wednesday sees the second of the Ardennes classics trio when the top riders take on the 72nd running of La Fleche Wallonne.

Caught between the Amstel Gold and next weekend’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the Wallonne may not have the same profile as its weekend cousins, but it’s still a stern test: 10 of the region’s steepest climbs and a finish atop the draining 1,300m of the Mur de Huy - the Wall of Huy.

The peleton sets off from Charleroi and, after 65km, comes up against the Huy for the first time. After two loops of the route, 197km and a further six different climbs, the riders ascend the Huy for the win.

The local Belgians long dominated the race, winning every edition up until 1975. but since then, the winners have included Italy’s Davide Rebellin, last year, who also won in 2004, his compatriot Danilo Di Luca (2005), France’s Laurence Jalabert (1995 and 1997) and a certain Lance Armstrong (1996) from the USA.

This year’s favourite must be Damiano Cunego, who looked so impressive heading up the Cauberg in last weekend’s Amstel Gold. But Rebellin also looked in half-decent form in the same race.

If the Amstel is an indicator, second-placed Frank Schleck from Luxembourg or Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, who finished just behind Cunego and won in 2006, could be good tips.

David Millar, of Team Slipstream, is once again the lone Brit.

Cooke and Vos go head to head

In the women’s version of the race, which is also a World Cup event, there will be two areas of interest for British fans: the head-to-head contest between Nicole Cooke and the Netherlands’ Marianne Vos; and the performance of the GB team of Cooke, Sharon Laws and Emma Pooley.

The women ride a 103km version of the men’s event, starting in Huy, covering the same route as the men’s final lap to finish on the Mur.

Three-time winner Cooke will be looking to avenge her defeat last year to Vos, who pipped her to the line in the last few metres of the final climb. But perhaps more interesting will be the GB team performance.

Pooley is odds-on to ride with Cooke in the Olympics road race, for which GB have the option of a third place, and Laws’ recent recruitment to Cooke’s Halfords-Bikehut team signals an intention to take that place up. Pooley’s Specialized Designs team has not been invited to the race, so she joins her compatriots in what could well be a Beijing dry run.

The trio ride in national colours to overcome the trade-team allegiances.

Who do you think will win the men’s version – Cunego?

And will Cooke gain revenge over Vos in the women’s race?