INFO WITH ONE DAY TO GO
April 21 st 2026 - 18:24
Key infos :
. La Flèche Wallonne looks as up for grabs as ever ahead of its 90th edition. With all three former winners in the start list (Julian Alaphilippe, Dylan Teuns and Marc Hirschi) far from their best form, a new victor is expected on the slopes of the Mur de Huy. ”Six or seven riders can claim victory,” says the race’s head of sports Jean-Michel Monin.
. Having achieved a podium result already in 2023, Mattias Skjelmose looks like the man to watch after his 2nd place in last Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race. Yet it’s hard to take eyes off the sensation of the season so far, Paul Seixas, who has just amazed the cycling world with his triumph in the Tour of the Basque Country.
. The cohort of candidates set to line up at the start in Herstal is quite long. Runner-up in both his appearances in this race, Kévin Vauquelin has a solid chance of finally taking victory. This dream result is also chased by his French compatriots Romain Grégoire, Lenny Martinez or Benoît Cosnefroy - and also by Norway’s Tobias Halland Johannessen.
“THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FINALE OF THE SEASON”
It’s become a tradition - since 2013, every edition of La Flèche Wallonne has started in a different place. This year, the race is beginning from Herstal’s Place Jean Jaurès as of 11.30AM. This city near the River Meuse thus becomes the 18th different start town in this event’s history. “We always focus on the final circuit with the Mur de Huy, yet moving our start around enables us to discover new spots in the Walloon region,” explains the race’s head of sports Jean-Michel Monin. Another change, compared to the harsh weather in 2024 and 2025, will be the dry, mild conditions expected on Wednesday, with blue skies and temperatures not exceeding 15ºC. “It won’t be too tricky for the riders out there, so the peloton will probably be faster and a bit less nervous than it usually is in the rain.” Unlike last year with Tadej Pogacar, there isn’t an outright favorite for the win on Wednesday. “There are six or seven riders who could realistically claim victory. It’s hard to imagine how some teams are going to play their cards. Some may send riders up the road before the last climb,” analyzes Monin. “The final circuit is very hard for a breakaway to stay clear of the bunch. The escapees would need to clock a big gap in the first climb atop the Wall if they are to fight for the win later on. Afterwards, the Mur de Huy is pretty straightforward - the best rider wins. It is the most beautiful finale of the season.”
SKJELMOSE AND LIDL-TREK WANT TO “SETTLE THE SCORE”
Second in last Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race, Mattias Skjelmose was also the runner-up in the 2023 edition of La Flèche Wallonne. After freezing in 2024 and crashing out of the race in 2025, the Lidl-Trek rider has unfinished business in the first of the two Ardennes Classics. “He is in good shape and we are pretty ambitious,” says his DS Maxime Monfort. “He has been a bit unlucky in previous years, and now it’s time for us to settle the score.” The German team hasn’t been favored by chance either in these first few months of the season, with injuries and crashes hampering the performances of key riders like Mads Pedersen, Giulio Ciccone or Juan Ayuso. “But I think we are putting this bad luck behind us,” says Monfort. “We are always aiming for the win, but we would also be happy with a good result following a beautiful team performance. We hope to have at least two men with Mattias to lead him into the final climb in Huy. Once in those slopes, it will come down to a one-kilometre uphill sprint where everything will be possible.”
PAUL SEIXAS: “MY REAL GOAL IS TO FIND OUT WHAT MY PLACE IS”
About to debut in La Flèche Wallonne, Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) is the youngest rider on tomorrow’s start list at 19 years and 210 days old. Will he become the youngest man to ever win this race, too? His exceptional start of the season, claiming the Tour of the Basque Country and the Ardèche Classic on top of being the runner-up to Tadej Pogacar at Strade Bianche, have led some observers to consider him the main favorite for the win on Wednesday. “I don’t share that point of view,” said the promising French rider during a press conference. “I am coming to La Flèche Wallonne just to test myself in this type of effort. We are going to try and score the best possible result, but I’m under no obligation to win.” The sharp, explosive punch needed to triumph in the Mur de Huy is not the strongest quality in Seixas’ wide range of abilities. “But I specifically worked on this before Pays Basque. I don’t know how good I will be compared to the rivals I’ll face in Huy, but I know I can do well. My real goal is to find out what my place is in this type of effort, and in this race. I’m going to learn what the Mur de Huy is really like, and where it is better to launch an attack. I want to see how it goes and grab any chance that may come my way.”
THIRD TIME LUCKY FOR VAUQUELIN?
During his press conference on the eve of the race, Paul Seixas was quick to single out a name as his biggest rival in the Mur de Huy among the French riders: “Kévin Vauquelin. He is quite strong in this type of effort, and he has been second in the last two editions of this race, so I think he will definitely be up there.” The Ineos Grenadiers rider indeed has an excellent track record in La Flèche Wallonne, and is a legitimate contender to build on it after a consistent start of the season - 5th in the Volta ao Algarve, 4th in Paris-Nice, 10th in the Tour of the Basque Country. A crash in last Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race, though, could have put his chances in jeopardy. “He had made it to the front group, and then he crashed out of contention,” regrets his DS Christian Knees. “But luckily he came away just fine. He just lost a bit of skin, and is still in good shape. We are hoping for the best, and looking forward to having a good fight out there.” For the win, perhaps? “We won’t target a specific result, because we don’t want to put any pressure on Kévin or the rest of the team.”
AN ARRAY OF FRENCH PODIUM CONTENDERS
Besides rising star Paul Seixas and two-times runner-up Kévin Vauquelin, a number of French riders are also targeting a landmark result in this 90th edition of La Flèche Wallonne. Already acquainted with the podium in Huy (2nd in 2020), UAE’s Benoît Cosnefroy comes to Belgium fresh off scoring a 3rd place in the Amstel Gold Race last weekend. “I’m so happy I’ve reached a level of form that I’ve hardly ever had in the Classics period,” he muses, hoping to successfully succeed his teammate Tadej Pogacar in the race’s palmarès. Just a few meters shy from the podium in his debut (4th in 2025), Bahrain’s Lenny Martinez wishes to improve on his result from last year. “I like the Mur de Huy because it’s super steep and explosive, and I believe that perfectly suits my skills,” the pocket climber says. A consistent performer in these slopes (7th in 2024 and 2025), Romain Grégoire is also aiming for a podium spot this Wednesday after finishing 4th at Strade Bianche and the Amstel Gold Race this season. “I am ambitious because I have been up there in the last few races,” asserts the Groupama-FDJ rider. “I have good legs at this moment and I want to be as well-positioned as possible heading into the final climb up the Mur to give my best there. I want to score a remarkable, meaningful result.”
A FIRST FOR NORWAY?
Never before has a Norwegian won La Flèche Wallonne. In fact, just one man from the Land of the Midnight Sun has ever stood on the podium - Jostein Wilmann, 2nd in 1982, which was the last edition not to finish in the town of Huy. In their fifth participation in this event, Norwegian team Uno-X have their eyes set on achieving what would be a historic result with Tobias Halland Johannessen. “He is definitely a contender as he is in good shape,” DS Gabriel Rasch confidently asserts. “He was pretty good in the Tour of the Basque Country (3rd), and he is feeling even better right now. But he would still have to beat Seixas and Skjelmose tomorrow…” Runner-up at Milano-Torino and 4th overall at Tirreno-Adriatico, Johannessen has looked as sharp as ever this season. “He has always had the level he is showing now, but he is more consistent now after being able to train well all winter long.” After being quite bold tactically in the previous editions of La Flèche Wallonne, Uno-X seems poised to wait for the finale this year. “We expect the race to be hard all day long, with many attacks in the final laps and a small group into the Mur de Huy. We won’t make any crazy attacks this time, though!”
