Paul Seixas (center) celebrates on the podium after winning the La Fleche Wallonne, a one-day race Herstal to Huy, Belgium, on Wednesday. | AFP-JIJI

Liege, Belgium –

In his first season as a full-time professional rider — he took part in several races in 2025 while still also competing as a junior — Seixas has already outstripped some of France's previous great Tour hopes.

His victory at La Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday, hot on the heels of a dominant success at the Tour of the Basque Country, demonstrated that Seixas is a different breed than the French riders who gave the nation hope in the years since Bernard Hinault won his fifth Tour de France in 1985.

"We haven't seen the likes of him in France for 50 years," said Tour director Christian Prudhomme.

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