Aged 19, Paul Seixas won the Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, signing his 7th professional victory. Considered the greatest French talent in decades, he is the first Frenchman to win this race since Julian Alaphilippe in 2021.

Published on: 04/22/2026 - 5:41 p.m. Modified on: 04/22/2026 - 6:08 p.m.

First participation, first victory. The French prodigy Paul Seixas won the Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday April 22, beating the Swiss Mauro Schmid and the Briton Ben Tullet at the top of the Mur de Huy.

At 19 years old, the rider from the Decathlon CMA CGM team became, despite a bloody elbow, the youngest winner in the history of the Belgian classic, beating the record which had belonged since the first edition in 1936 to Philémon De Meersman, then aged 21 years and 150 days.

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He is the eighth Frenchman to win on the Flèche, the first since Julian Alaphilippe in 2021.

“It's incredible, it's a huge victory, I tell myself that last year I was watching the race on TV, and here for my first participation I won,” he said at the finish.

Heading for Liège-Bastogne-Liège

This is already the 7th victory among professionals for the Lyonnais, who accelerated around 400 meters from the line to win without possible dispute the 80th edition of the Ardennes classic where he succeeds on the list of winners Tadej Pogacar, absent on Wednesday but whom he will meet again on Sunday during Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Also readWhy cycling prodigy Paul Seixas can end a French curse

Seixas, considered the greatest French talent in decades, has had a string of exceptional results since the start of the season. Second in the Tour of the Algarve and the Strade Bianche, he also won the Classic Ardèche and the general classification of the Tour of the Basque Country with three stages as a bonus.

Among the women, the Dutchwoman Demi Vollering won in this 2026 edition of the Flèche Wallonne by ahead of her compatriot Puck Pieterse after leading, at full speed, throughout the final ascent of the Mur de Huy. The Spaniard Paula Blasi, victorious on Sunday in the Amstel Gold Race, completed the podium on which the Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, 7th, did not manage to reach.

With AFP

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