He was participating in the 90th edition of La Flèche Wallonne to “find his place” in this race, and it turned out he was due to be the first across the finish line in his very debut. Paul Seixas already was the sensation of the season, and his dominating performance up the Mur de Huy just added one more reason for the French fans to believe he is bound to mark a new era in road cycling. The Decathlon-CMA CGM rider proved to be head and shoulders above his many rivals, powering away with about 250 meters to go and leaving Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) and Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike) far behind, fighting to round out the podium. At just 19 years and 210 days old, Seixas became the youngest-ever rider to win La Flèche Wallonne, defeating a record that was set 90 years ago in the first edition of the race by Philémon De Meersman (who won being 21y, 150d). If he keeps thriving at this pace, this achievement should be just one footnote in a long, prolific career that is seemingly just getting started.
(Source: press office A.S.O. – ©A.S.O. / Jennifer Lindini)
