After Seixas show, Cosnefroy sees similarities with Pogačar: 'Paul controlled it like a boss'

However strong you are, there was simply no beating Paul Seixas at La Flèche Wallonne. Benoît Cosnefroy was perfectly positioned on the Mur de Huy, but was no match for his young compatriot. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG Frenchman recognises the winner's talent — and is more than happy to draw the comparison with his own team leader.

Cosnefroy is having a remarkable spring. After a slightly difficult start to the season, he finished third at both the Brabantse Pijl and the Amstel Gold Race.

At La Flèche Wallonne he fell just short of keeping Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike) off the final podium place. "The team brought me in the best possible way, but on the final Mur it comes down to the legs," he said in his flash interview. "And honestly, I believed in it. At 400 metres from the line I still felt good, but 200 metres later it got difficult. At 150 metres I was really in trouble."

Seixas ultimately proved the strongest in Wallonia with plenty to spare. He will challenge Tadej Pogačar at Liège–Bastogne–Liège this Sunday. Cosnefroy sees the parallels between the two superstars clearly. "Paul controlled it like a boss and showed he was the strongest. Hats off to him. I thought this kind of effort might not be entirely his thing, but he's just like Tadej: a physically powerful climber who can shine on different types of terrain."

On Sunday the Frenchman will again ride in support of the world champion at UAE, but on Wednesday he could not reward his team's work with a victory. "I gave everything I had — you can't be disappointed with that. Tactically I made no mistakes either. I was where I needed to be, but I was simply the fourth strongest rider on the day. Or maybe the third least strong, depending on how you look at it," laughs Cosnefroy.