Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM) continued his scintillating spring with victory at La Flèche Wallonne, soaring away on the brutal slopes of the Mur de Huy to stamp his name as the youngest-ever winner of the 90-year-old Ardennes Classic.
Coming off a dominant week-long performance at Itzulia Basque Country, 19-year-old Seixas was installed as the heavy favourite for success on his debut in Wallonia, and he delivered on the famed final ascent of the midweek race.
Article continues below
Swiss champion Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) passed Tulett in the dying metres to grab second place, three seconds down, while Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who followed Seixas and Tulett up the climb, took fourth place.
How it unfolded
The 90th edition of the men’s La Flèche Wallonne followed a familiar formula, running 200km around Wallonia from Herstal to the Mur de Huy.
Almost 3,000 metres of climbing lay between the riders and the finish line at the start of the day, with three ascents each of the Côte d’Ereffe (2.2km at 5.2%), Côte de Cherave (1.4km at 7.6%), and the famous final climb of the Mur de Huy (1.4km at 8.9%) lying in wait.
Attacks flew in the early kilometres of the race, and it didn’t take long for the break of the day to go clear.
Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) was joined in…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…