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Thursday, April 23, 2026

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Current racing:

• April 23 - 26: Vuelta Asturias
• April 20 - 24: Tour of the Alps

Upcoming racing:

• April 26: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• April 26 - May 3: Tour of Turkey
• April 26: Giro dell'Appennino
• April 28 - May 3: Tour de Romandie
• May 1: Eschborn-Frankfurt

Latest completed racing:

• April 22: La Flèche Wallonne
• April 19: Amstel Gold Race
• April 15 - 19: Tour of Hainan
• April 14 - 18: O Gran Camiño
• April 17: De Brabantse Pijl
• April 19: Tour du Doubs race cancelled
• April 12: Paris-Roubaix
• April 6 - 11: Itzulia Basque Country (Tour of the Basque Country)
• April 7 - 10: Région Pays de la Loire Tour

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La Fleche Wallonne reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here is the report from second-place Mauro Schmid's Team Jayco AlUla:

Mauro Schmid continued his impressive run of form with a sensational second place at Flèche Wallonne.

The Swiss champion backed up his sixth-place finish at the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday with another stellar performance as he powered up the final climb to secure the runners-up spot.

The podium, from left: Mauro Schmid (2nd), Paul Seixas (1st), & Ben Tulett (3rd). Sirotti photo

A strong tailwind made for a rapid race with the break of the day barely allowed much of an advantage. The attackers were eventually reeled back in on the finishing circuits as the repeated ascents of the Mur de Huy began to take their toll on the tiring peloton.

As the bell rang for the final lap, Team Jayco AlUla sprang into action as Schmid made his way from the rear of the bunch and up towards the front. A strong lead out into the penultimate climb from Brabanste Pijl winner Anders Foldager insured the squad had a strong position for the finale, with Andrea Vendramme and Schmid in tow.

The fight for space saw Schmid shuffled back in the pack, but the Coppi e Bartali winner was alert to the danger and soon sliced his way through the peloton to sit in the top five as the road began to ramp up.

It was then a waiting game as the gradient edged into double figures with riders beginning to drop away, while Schmid remained. As Paul Seixas made his move with 250 metres to go, nobody was able to respond, but behind Schmid used his strength to race past his rivals for the final podium spots and secure a hard-fought second place.

Mauro Schmid:
“I think overall it was a pretty hard day actually, with the tailwind, it was always on the pedals all day. The first 100km, in my opinion, were harder than last year, so I didn’t really feel great at the start.

"Also, the first time doing the circuit, I didn’t really have good legs, but I felt like the finish suited me, so I didn’t want to let the team down and give it a crack.

"On the second last climb, so like 6km to go, I felt super good and got into a good position. Then unfortunately on the run into the Mur I messed it up a little bit and I was quite far back, so I said to myself I just need to go early because afterwards when you get stuck with like 500 metres to go you cannot move anymore.

"I just went straight to the front, and I had to do a big effort to go to get there. At 300 to go I was feeling like it’s really hard when Paul [Seixas] went, but then I looked back and saw nobody was coming anymore, so I was like yeah, I think that’s the reason why I’m suffering. I’m super happy with the second place here.”

Here's the report from third-place Ben Tulett's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Ben Tulett finished third at La Flèche Wallonne. On the iconic final climb of the Mur de Huy, the 24-year-old Brit from Team Visma | Lease a Bike impressed, but he had to concede to top favorite Paul Seixas. It marked Tulett’s first podium finish in a WorldTour race.

Ben Tulett finishes third. Sirotti photo

The 90th edition of La Flèche Wallonne started in Herstal. The peloton prepared for a 200-kilometer race featuring eleven categorized climbs along the way. As tradition dictates, the Mur de Huy was the decisive point. The steep ascent had to be tackled three times in total. Tulett came into the race with question marks following his crash in the Tour of the Basque Country a week and a half earlier, which also caused him to miss the Amstel Gold Race. 

During the opening phase of the Walloon classic a breakaway of six riders formed. The group was given space by the peloton, which was gearing up for the demanding finale. The short succession of climbs thinned out both the breakaway and the peloton considerably. On each passage of the Mur de Huy, Tulett looked fresh. With just over five kilometers to go, the last remaining escapee, Andreas Leknessund, was caught. The decisive moment came on the Mur de Huy. 

Tulett was excellently positioned as he began the final climb. The Brit rode near the front over the first steep meters, side by side with Seixas. Heading toward the summit, the Frenchman launched a blistering acceleration and left everyone behind. In the fight for second place, Tulett ultimately also had to give way to Mauro Schmid. 

Tulett responded with delight after securing his first WorldTour podium: “This result comes as a surprise,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if I had recovered enough to race today. A podium finish is more than I had hoped for. I’m very happy I was able to show myself here. It’s a great way to wrap up a few challenging weeks.” 

“La Flèche Wallonne is already a tough race, but the battle to start the final kilometer in a good position makes it even harder,” Tulett added. “My teammates brought me to the front at the right moment, after which I was among the first to start the Mur. This climb doesn’t lie, so everyone finished where they deserved. That makes this podium finish something I’m very proud of.”

Fourth-place Benoît Cosnefroy's UAE Team Emirates-XRG posted this La Flèche Wallonne report:

Benoît Cosnefroy tackled the infamous Mur de Huy on Wednesday afternoon, with the Frenchman taking fourth place for UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the 90th edition of La Flèche Wallonne.

It was on these cruel slopes that Paul Seixas of Decathlon CMA CGM took the day’s win, with Cosnefroy just a few seconds later across the line.

Benoît Cosnefroy finishes fourth. Sirotti photos

Cosnefroy is in sparkling form for the Emirati squad, with his fourth-place finish coming off the back of podium places at both De Brabantse Pijl and the Amstel Gold Race.

Taking this confidence into Wednesday’s hilly Classic, Cosnefroy’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates rallied around the Frenchman’s bid. Right from the off, Luca Giaimi, Rune Herregodts and Mikkel Bjerg took command of the peloton and ensured the team were in a good position for the climbs to come.

Next up, Vegard Stake Laengen continued his streak of showing well on the hills, guiding his teammates into the finale. At which point, Tim Wellens and Pavel Sivakov came to the fore, positioning Cosnefroy in the ideal position before the third and final ascent of the Mur de Huy. With its ramps of over 20%, the final climb was always going to decide the day’s winner.

As such, Cosnefroy moved along the right-hand side of the peloton leading into the right-hand bend that preceded the 1.3km-long ascent. Sitting in the front five positions at the bottom of the climb, Cosnefroy bided his time and waited for the steepest slopes just 300m from the line.

With Seixas surging, Cosnefroy rallied his efforts behind and ultimately came across the finish line in fourth place, only three seconds back on the race winner. It was a fine display from the Frenchman, who will now take this form and confidence into Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday afternoon.

Cosnefroy: “The team did the best work possible today and in the final Mur it was up to the legs. Honestly, I believed in it at 400m from the finish as I was still feeling good; with 200m to go it became harder, and at 150m I was on the limit.

“The Mur, sometimes I love it and sometimes it’s horrible. You know that you’ll be exhausted at the end of it.

“Paul [Seixas] showed today he was the strongest, chapeau to him. He’s someone like Tadej [Pogačar] and the other top climbers – when you’re strong physically, you get to shine on all terrains.

“I gave it all today and I don’t have any regrets because of that, tactically I was there where I needed to be. In the end, the legs answered and today I was the 4th strongest, or the 3rd less strong.”

And here's the Flèche Wallonne report from ninth-place Romain Grégoire's Team Groupama-FDJ United:

Third participation, and a third consecutive top 10 for Romain Grégoire at La Flèche Wallonne. Seventh in the most famous finishing climb on the calendar in 2024 and 2025, the rider from Besançon once again delivered a solid result at the top of the fearsome Mur de Huy this Wednesday. In the 2026 edition, he claimed ninth place, ten seconds behind winner Paul Seixas, following yet another remarkable team performance.

The Groupama-FDJ United team before the race start. Sirotti photo

The real “Ardennes Classics” got underway this Wednesday from Herstal, this year’s starting point for La Flèche Wallonne. While the host city differed from previous seasons, the decisive, iconic, point remained naturally the same. At the end of the 200 kilometres on the day’s menu, it was once again the Mur de Huy, with its final kilometre at over 10% and sections exceeding 20%, that was set to decide the outcome of the race. As usual, the Mur had to be climbed three times in total, each ascent systematically preceded by the Côte d’Ereffe (2 km at 5%) and the Côte de Cherave (1.5 km at 7.5%).

Nevertheless, all attention was focused on the final lap, and rightly so, as the first two circuits produced no real gaps, with the early breakaway even holding about a thirty-second lead at the start of the final forty kilometres. Before the second passage through Huy, however, Kevin Geniets was forced to withdraw after a crash. “We lost a key element with Kevin,” said Stéphane Goubert. “We missed him, but the guys compensated well for his absence. They all worked well to position Romain as planned.” In the final lap, Groupama-FDJ United notably made its presence felt at the front of the peloton after the Côte d’Ereffe, and from then on kept Romain Grégoire in the very front positions.

“We had opted for a conservative race and to really come into play only in the last lap, to be very efficient with positioning and even be right at the front at the foot of the final climb,” explained the team leader. “The whole team executed it very well.” After the Côte de Cherave, the peloton was still quite large, but approaching Huy, the Frenchman re-joined Rudy Molard and Ewen Costiou, who led him out perfectly through the final two kilometres.

He thus started the Mur among the top ten positions and even moved up into the top five halfway up. However, when Paul Seixas launched his first acceleration around 350 metres from the finish, the young puncher had to concede a few bike lengths. Fighting hard, he still battled all the way to the line to secure another top 10 finish (9th), ten seconds behind the day’s winner. “He was where he belonged; there are no regrets,” Stéphane added. “I’m a bit disappointed because we didn’t come for a top 10, but at the same time, I didn’t have the legs to do better,” Romain said. “I gave everything, and I can’t blame myself. I feel I have a good base level, but the sensations aren’t at their absolute best, and that’s a bit frustrating. I manage to pick up decent results like this, but I’d like things to really click.”

He still has one more opportunity to do so in this spring campaign. “I’ve had quite a few placings, so why not try to land a big result on Sunday in the biggest one,” he concluded. “We’ll go for the podium, and we believe in it.”