photos credits @ La Fleche Wallonne
Paul Seixas already was the sensation of the season, and his dominating performance up the Mur de Huy just added one more reason for the French fans to believe he is bound to mark a new era in road cycling. Indeed, the Decathlon-CMA CGM rider proved to be head and shoulders above his many rivals, powering away with around 250 meters to go, leaving Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) and Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike) fighting to round out the podium.
At just 19 years of age, Seixas became the youngest-ever rider to win La Flèche Wallonne, defeating a record that was set 90 years ago in the first edition of the race by Philémon De Meersman at 21 years old.
If he keeps thriving at this pace, this achievement should be just one footnote in a long, prolific career that is seemingly just getting started.
174 riders took the start in the 90th edition of La Flèche Wallonne. The sun was shining and the sky was blue as six riders went clear after 11 kilometers: Sjoerd Bax (Pinarello-Q36.5), Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X), Jardi Van Der Lee (EF Education-EasyPost), Alan Jousseaume (TotalEnergies), Vincent Van Hemelen (Flanders-Baloise) and Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA).
From there, they quickly built up a sizable advantage, clocked of 2’45” atop the Côte de Trasenster, while a wide range of favorites in the field, such as Tudor Pro Cycling’s Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi, Ineos Grenadiers’ Kévin Vauquelin, Lidl-Trek’s Mattias Skjelmose, UAE Team Emirates’ Benoît Cosnefroy and Seixas, kept a watchful eye on the leaders.
Alaphilippe falls out of contention early on
As Decathlon-CMA CGM sped things up during the approach to the final circuit, the advantage of the break was down to 1’55”, which was reduced even further in the first climb to Huy, as Van Hemelen was dropped from the front group, along with Alaphilippe.
Movistar’s Raúl García Pierna and Iván Romeo later launched a number of attacks after the first ascent of the Mur, but were unable to create a new breakaway group.
Andreas Leknessund, the last man standing at the front
The gap remained steady through the second lap of the final circuit. Uno-X’s Tobias Halland Johannessen crashed on the descent of the Côte de Cherave, yet managed to bridge back to the peloton shortly after.
Shortly thereafter, Leknessund and Van Der Lee powered away in the second climb to the Mur de Huy, creating an advantage of 40” lead over the bunch, but were rejoined at the front by Bax and Otruba with 31 kilometers to go.
The Norwegian national champion would later go clear for good on the last climb up the Côte d’Ereffe, as the rest of the escapees were reeled back in by the bunch.
From that point, many teams fought for position, but no squad was able to take over the helm. Meanwhile, Vauquelin quickly solved a mechanical issue, while Hirschi suffered a crash that brought the curtains down on any chance of a victory.
Dominating performance by Seixas up the Mur de Huy
Leknessund was caught at the foot of the Côte de Cherave. Decathlon’s Jordan Labrosse led the decimated bunch into the Mur de Huy, with Seixas hitting the front with 800 meters to go.
The young Frenchman bid his time with great poise, keeping men like Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla), Cosnefroy and Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike) firmly at bay, before unleashing his stinging attack 250 meters from the finish.
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