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 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.
“I didn’t have the legs to do better” – Romain Grégoire
“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.”
