Paul Seixas Wins La Flèche Wallonne as Youngest Victor

Paul Seixas claimed victory in the 90th edition of La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, becoming the youngest winner in the race's history at 19 years and 210 days old. The French rider for Decathlon CMA CGM surged clear on the steep final ramps of the Mur de Huy in Huy, Belgium, to win the 200-kilometer Ardennes Classic by three seconds ahead of Mauro Schmid of Jayco AlUla.

Seixas, who had already secured the overall title at Itzulia Basque Country earlier in the spring, led the peloton onto the decisive 1.4-kilometer climb averaging 8.9 percent, with gradients reaching 26 percent near the top. He accelerated with about 200 meters remaining, dropping Ben Tulett of Visma Lease a Bike, who faded to third place. Schmid overtook Tulett in the closing meters for second, while Benoît Cosnefroy of UAE Team Emirates XRG finished fourth and Mattias Skjelmose of Lidl Trek took fifth, eight seconds back.

The race followed a familiar pattern across the rolling roads from Herstal, featuring nearly 3,000 meters of elevation gain and three circuits including ascents of the Côte d'Ereffe, Côte de Cherave and Mur de Huy. A six-rider breakaway formed early, comprising Sjoerd Bax of Pinarello Q36.5,...