The Frenchman was able to get up early to celebrate. His victory could no longer be disputed halfway up the almost 1000 metre long final climb. However, the battle for second place remained exciting right up to the finish line. Swiss rider Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) took the win ahead of Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Benoit Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates - XRG).
The 90th edition of the Flèche Wallonne was 200 kilometres long this year, but only the last one counted in the end. Until then, Decathlon had everything under control, the last breakaway was caught seven kilometres before the finish. "I would like to thank all my team-mates who rode hard from the start, kept the breakaway attempts under control and positioned me well in the decisive moments," Seixas was the first to praise his team, before also talking about himself. I'm really happy that I was able to win the race. To win at my very first start is incredible! I watched this race on TV until last year."
With his performance, Seixas has confirmed that he can be the big challenger to Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) at the fourth Monument of the year on Sunday at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which at least the whole of France is hoping for. "Today's result shows that I'm in great shape." And that has basically been the case all year. Seixas celebrated his seventh win of the season in Huy. Only Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) has achieved this number. The Belgian had skipped the Flèche in order to prepare for Liège in peace.
Flèche Wallonne 2026 - Results
La Flèche Wallonne: Herstal - Mur de Huy
La Flèche Wallonne 2026: La Flèche Wallonne, Herstal - Mur de Huy
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 04:35:29 |
| 2 | Team Jayco AlUla | +000:00:03 |
| 3 | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | +000:00:03 |
| 4 | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | +000:00:03 |
| 5 | Lidl - Trek | +000:00:08 |
| 6 | EF Education - EasyPost | +000:00:08 |
How the Flèche Wallonne 2026 went
In good weather and 16 degrees, which has been a rarity in Wallonia in the recent past, a group of six set off shortly after the start to dominate the first part of the day. Led by Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility), the group built up a three-minute lead over the first 50 kilometres. By the time they reached the three-lap circuit exactly halfway through the race, one of them was gone again.
The clock was still 1:20 minutes behind when the peloton crossed the Mur de Huy for the first time. One lap later, there were still a good 40 seconds left. Leknessund and Jardi Christiaan van der Lee (EF Education - EasyPost) broke away from their fellow escapees, but Sjoerd Bax (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) and Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA) came back. But that was short-lived.
Leknessund clearly proved to be the strongest of the breakaway riders, shaking off all his rivals on the Cote d'Ereffe. At the foot of the Cote de Cherave seven kilometres before the finish, however, he was also caught. A large peloton stayed together until the Mur, and everyone rode relatively evenly into the climb at the bottom. Seixas, Schmid and Tulett formed the front row 500 metres before the finish, while the other pros behind them were already struggling mightily. However, when the Frenchman increased the pressure again in the steepest section, the other two were no longer able to keep up. With 250 metres to go, he finally opened his sprint, which was no longer needed in this form. Seixas took a commanding victory ahead of Schmid, who won the battle of the chasers.
