Benoît Cosnefroy fights hard to fourth place at La Flèche Wallonne

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.

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.”

La Flèche Wallonne 2026 results:

1. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) 4:08:25

2. Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) +3″

3. Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike) s.t

4. Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t