Paul Seixas tipped for greatness after 'beautiful' Fleche Wallonne win, as Vincenzo Nibali says 'a star is born' ahead of Tour de France
Published 22/04/2026 at 17:34 GMT+1
React to this story
French sensation Paul Seixas celebrated a ”very beautiful victory” after winning the Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday afternoon and breaking another record.
Teen sensation Seixas becomes youngest La Fleche Wallonne winner on debut
Video credit: TNT Sports
Decathlon-CMA CGM rider Seixas followed up his triumph at Itzulia Basque Country to become the youngest winner of the Ardennes Classic in its 90-year history.
The Frenchman led from the first climb in the race with Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike) alongside him, and then pulled away with a couple of hundred metres remaining, winning in comfort.
Swiss champion Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) overtook Tulett at the death to climb to second, while Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was fourth, just behind Tulett in third spot.
Speaking to TNT Sports after his triumph, Seixas said: "It was a very beautiful victory. We wanted to win here, and we did win here.
"I want to thank my team-mates. They did everything today. They controlled and placed me absolutely perfectly.
"It's unbelievable. It's huge. Last year I was watching this race, and this year I'm winning it. It's incredible, and I'm really happy. It was the fruit of a collective effort.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2026/04/22/image-8505bfc7-989a-4de0-ad33-837569cfc45a-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
'I gave everything' - Pidcock reacts to Stage 3 victory at Tour of the Alps
Video credit: TNT Sports
"There was a plan to do a certain tempo with the team, and, in the end, it wasn't easy to keep that. There was a lot of battling for position.
"At the end, it was just to follow the wheels. It wasn't that easy to follow them, but I did as much as I could to maintain position.
"I just had to go for a good tempo, and trust the other riders, trust my other feeling. I saw how many metres I had to go. I saw that others were already in the red zone, so I went all-out. I could see that I could leave them all behind.”
Nibali claims 'a star is born' ahead of Tour de France
Former rider Vincenzo Nibali analysed the race for TNT Sports, and he said that he felt Seixas may already be capable of racing at the Tour de France, adding, ”a star is born".
He explained: "Talking about Paul Seixas, I think that a star is born in France.
"The fact that the government is giving its opinion about his new contract is a great thing, it shows that a [country] can be really represented by an athlete. His results have been remarkable.
"I don’t know if he is ready for the Tour de France, yet. I would have chosen a more delicate and quiet path, because the Tour, compared to other races, is very complex, difficult, and much more nervous. But we are all very curious how his progress and improvement will be.
"For sure, by riding the Tour, he will gain a lot of experience."
- 'I'm not coming back' - Pedersen recalls retirement fears after scary crash
- Warner Bros. Discovery announces long-term extension to Giro d'Italia rights
- London to host first-ever team time trial in Tour de France Femmes history
Looking ahead to this weekend's race with Tadej Pogacar - Liege-Bastogne-Liege - Nibali believes that the Slovenian still has the edge over Seixas.
He observed: "We’ve seen him battling against Tadej during Strade Bianche recently, trying and searching to keep him close. Tadej in this moment has still something extra. He is still very young. I don’t think he can already compete with Tadej.
"Maybe he can stay close, but Tadej, in the end, is also faster, so I think it is still difficult for Seixas to beat Tadej."
Watch and stream the 2026 cycling season - including the Tour de France - on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement