“Pogacaresque”! The 19-year-old sensation Paul Seixas became the youngest winner in the history of La Flèche Wallonne! The record was from 1936

Ashley Davis23/04/2026

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Article by Mitica Docan – Published on Wednesday, 22 April 2026 20:26 / Updated on Wednesday, 22 April 2026 20:39

Paul Seixas (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), a French cyclist considered the new sensation in two-wheeled sports, aged just 19, won La Flèche Wallonne, one of the traditional one-day races, ahead of the Swiss Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) and the British Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Through his victory on the famous Mur de Huy, through a “light” sprint over the last 300 meters, Paul Seixas became, at 19 years old, the youngest winner in the history of the race, even in his first participation. The previous record in the Walloon Arrow was held by the Belgian Philemon De Meersman, who was 21 years and 150 days old when he triumphed in 1936, in the very first edition of the classic.

The Walloon Arrow had a route of 208.8 kilometers. The road users had to face a total of 11 repertory ascents, including three times the famous Mur de Huy (1.3 km with an average slope of 9.6% and maximum slopes of over 20%).

Considered the greatest talent France has produced in decades, Seixas confirmed his status this season by winning the Tour of the Basque Country and Ardeche Classic stage races. He was second in the Tour of the Algarve and in Strade Bianche, the gravel race in Tuscany where he came in behind Tadej Pogacar.

The showdown everyone is eagerly waiting for is in Liège-Bastogne-Liègethe Belgian classic Monument, where he will face the great Slovenian cyclist, who was absent from today's event. Pogacar, a two-time winner of La Flèche Wallonne, only finished 53rd on his debut in this race in 2019.

I am already focused on Liège–Bastogne–Liège; objectives appear one after the other and you have to stay focused. I'm just extremely happy with what I accomplished today. Stats and records are nice, but the important thing is to win. I focus on what I have to do: win. I'm the leader of the team, and age doesn't matter. If I start a race, I do it to win it. Today I was able to make it and the team put everything together for me
– Paul Seixas

“The duel with Pogacar will be another level of challenge”

“It's unbelievable, it's a huge win. I was actually thinking that last year I was watching the race on TV and this year I won it on my first run. Honestly, I just went on instinct. I saw that everyone was on the edge, so I made an extra effort. I tried to gauge the condition of my opponents and when I noticed they were starting to tire I told myself I had to push hard to the top of the climb“, said Seixas.

Seixas finished the race with a bloody right elbow, but clarified that it was not a crash, but an older wound that reopened in the peloton.

“The duel with Pogacar will be another level of challenge. Of course, I will give everything to win. But today's victory proves that I am in great shape.”

“I would like to thank all my teammates who, from the start, controlled the breakaway and took the train to the peloton. They put 200% of their will into this win. It's incredible, it's a huge win. Last year I was watching this race on TV. But like I said, this is a team effort,” said Paul Seixas.

Paul Seixas is certainly impressive. The Decathlon set a sustained pace on the climbs throughout the day, and then he had a very fast final ascent of the Mur. When he first attacked, about 300 meters before the finish, I thought he was in a hurry and was going to overexert himself, but then I saw the gap he created and realized he was just extremely strong. Not many drivers managed to win the Walloon Arrow on debut. Even Tadej [Pogačar] he had to come here a few times before he finally won the race. He is definitely an athlete of the future.
– Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla)