For the first time in history, an American rider has won the Circuit de Wallonie. Celebrating at the finish line in Charleroi, the venue for this year's classic which was 196 kilometers long, was Riley Sheehan, a native of Boulder, Colorado, who, with a regal sprint after interpreting the exciting final of the race perfectly, prevailed ahead of Gerben Thijssen (Alpecin - Premier Tech) and Joren Bloem (Unibet Rose Rockets).

THE RACE

Very nervous like almost all races in Belgian territory, the race was dominated by a long breakaway (which started after about a dozen kilometers from the start) by Bram Dissel (BEAT Cycling), Benjamin Kofoed Thestrup and Lucas Toftemark (AIRTOX - Carl Ras), Hjalmar Klyver (Lucky Sport Cycling Team) and Tynan Shannon (Team Brennan). Caught by the peloton (which was broken into several sections for some kilometers) just over fifty kilometers from the finish, it was then Michiel Coppens (BEAT CC p/b Saxo) and Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) who attacked, with the latter, after approaching the three laps of the concluding 11.8-kilometer circuit together with the Belgian, launching a solo attack at the start of the final lap.

The work especially by Lotto and Alpecin, however, brought the peloton to close the gap on the Englishman 5 kilometers from the finish, at which point it was his teammate Frederik Frison who attempted a counterattack but found a prompt response from BEAT CC p/b Saxo. Another attack signed by Pinarello-Q36.5 on the final climb before the finish further thinned the main group which, composed of just under fifteen riders, thus went to contest the victory in a sprint won without difficulty by Sheehan.

For him, who scored for the first and only time as a professional at the Paris-Tours in 2023, this was thus his second success among the elite after almost four years.

FINAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Riley Sheehan (NSN Development Team) s.t.

2. Gerben Thijssen (Alpecin - Premier Tech) s.t.

3. Joren Bloem (Unibet Rose Rockets) s.t.

4. Jochem Kerckhaert (BEAT CC p/b Saxo) s.t.

5. Emīls Liepiņš (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) s.t.

6. David Dekker (BEAT CC p/b Saxo) s.t.

7. Brent Van Moer (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) s.t.

8. Aimé De Gendt (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) s.t.

9. Tobias Müller (Unibet Rose Rockets) s.t.

10. Max Kroonen (BEAT CC p/b Saxo) s.t.