Paul Seixas Wins La Flèche Wallonne, Vollering Takes Women’s Race

A late winning burst

The budding Decathlon CMA CGM superstar surged to the front of a surprisingly large group of riders with 400 meters left to ride on the third ascent of the Mur de Huy (1.3km @ 9.6%, max. 19%). Several riders managed to stay on his wheel, when, 200 meters from the finish, as he put it afterwards, “I looked at the others and judged them and then I attacked and gave it full gas all the way.” It was no contest as the French teenager gradually pulled away.

“The plan was to set a strong pace today,” Seixas added. “That started right from the start when turning onto the local circuit [which was ridden three times]. From that moment on, it was a real struggle. I mainly had to stay on the wheel of my teammates. I really have to thank them, too, because they rode brilliantly. I was brought into a good position for the final climb. This victory is really down to the team. I am very satisfied. This is an enormously important victory. Last year I was still watching [it] on television; now I just won this race.”

Swiss national champion Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) finished second, 3 seconds adrift, just ahead of Visma–Lease a Bike’s Ben Tullett, who celebrated the first WorldTour podium of his career.

After Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe) opted to skip the race to save himself for Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the race lost much of its suspense as Seixas was widely seen as much the strongest rider. His strongest rivals – such as Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious), Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates–XRG), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Romain Grégoire (Groupama–FDJ United), Kévin Vauquelin (INEOS Grenadiers) and Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) – all finished in the top 13 but never really looked like threatening the winner.

Asked about his prospects in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, when he’ll be facing Tadej Pogačar and Evenepoel, Seixas said, with a laugh, “That’s going to be a great race. I will try to defend myself as best I can, but today is already a sign that I am in form.”

Vollering wins with powerful uphill solo

While Seixas bided his time on the Mur de Huy, in the women’s race Demi Vollering (FDJ United–SUEZ) attacked out of a group of 18 riders 500 meters from the finish, and soon had a sizeable gap on Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma–Lease a Bike), Kasia Niewiadoma (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto), seven-time race winner Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx–Protime) and other rivals, after getting an excellent leadout by the apparently inexhaustible Elise Chabbey and Juliette Berthet.

She appeared to have the race in the bag when last year’s winner, Puck Pieterse (Fenix–Premier Tech), burst out of a small chase group with 120 meters left to ride and was gaining with every pedal stroke. But about 50 meters from the line, Vollering looked around and must have received a shock, because Pieterse was almost on her wheel. She put on a final burst to hold her off and win the race for a second time.

As Vollering put it afterwards, “I’m really happy to win it and I think in an impressive way, I guess. I had no idea of course what happened behind, I never looked back. I only looked back just before the finish and I saw a Puck coming, so I was like ‘oh my god, I still need to do a sprint. . . . I just really trust my own pace and I didn’t want to have any regrets afterwards, so I just went over Elise [Chabbey] after an incredible lead-out from my teammates, full gas.”

Pieterse finished just behind her, while 23-year old Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADG) confirmed her surprise victory in last Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race, and her star potential, by finishing an excellent third, 3 seconds adrift. Niewiadoma was fourth at 6 seconds, after having a minor mechanical issue on the climb.

Vollering confirmed her excellent form and her drive to dominate the sport this year. She has won six races so far this year and will be looking for her third win in Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday.

Results Men’s 2026 La Flèche Wallonne, Herstal to Mur de Huy, 200km

Paul Seixas, Decathlon CMA CGM 4:35:29
2. Mauro Schmid, Jayco AlUla                                +0:03
3. Ben Tulett, Visma-Lease a Bike                             “
4. Benoît Cosnefroy, UAE Team Emirates– XRG     “
5. Mattias Skjelmose, Lidl-Trek                              +0:08
6. Alex Baudin, EF Education–EasyPost                    “
7. Ion Izagirre, Cofidis                                             +0:10
8. Lenny Martinez, Bahrain-Victorious                       “
9. Romain Grégoire, Groupama-FDJ United               “
10 Andreas Kron, Uno-X Mobility                              “

Results Women’s 2026 La Flèche Wallonne, Huy to Mur de Huy, 148.2km