Top French Decathlon prospect causes an upset with an impressive victory at the GP Wallonie

Aubin Sparfel won the GP Wallonie. The French talent from Decathlon CMA CGM, who officially still rides for the development team, proved to be the strongest at the Citadel of Namur with an impressive sprint. He caught up to French champion Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), who finished second. Third place went to Milan Fretin (Cofidis).

It may not be the biggest race on the calendar, but true cycling fans know just how spectacular the GP Wallonie can be. The finish at the Citadel of Namur is legendary, with the cobblestones leading up to the castle. It’s usually a race for true puncheurs: top riders like Arnaud De Lie, Mathieu van der Poel, and Christophe Laporte have all won here before.

Of that trio, only De Lie was present. After the start, a group of six riders managed to break away. Among them were the Dutch riders Hartthijs de Vries (Unibet Rose Rockets) and Marijn Maas (BEAT), as well as the Belgian Yorben Lauryssen (Tarteletto-Isorex). His teammate Jonah Killy was there, as were Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta) and Léandre Huick (Van Rysel Roubaix).

That leading group broke apart on the Mur de Lustin, a very grueling climb. De Vries, Maas, Huck, and Bais proved to be the best climbers. Behind them, however, the race quickly heated up as well. It was Mathis Le Berre (TotalEnergies) and Carlos Verona (Lidl-Trek) who managed to open up a gap, and they were joined by Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and Simone Gualdi (Lotto-Intermarché).

The chasers later merged with the leading group, bringing the number of riders at the front to ten. They didn’t get very far ahead of the peloton, though, because NSN, Decathlon CMA CGM, and Lotto-Intermarché were pushing hard there. Abrahamsen then left his fellow escapees behind, but he couldn’t stay ahead of the peloton. With less than twenty kilometers to go, the field was back together again.

On the penultimate climb, Decathlon CMA CGM tried to shake off the fastest riders, and they succeeded, dropping Biniam Girmay (NSN). Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), among others, then launched an attack, but to no avail. Marco Haller (Tudor) began the final climb solo, but the Austrian was quickly caught.

Groupama-FDJ took the lead, and the peloton was immediately stretched out on the Citadel. Romain Grégoire then launched a massive attack there, even before the sprint. Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto-Intermarché) went with him, but had to let go when Paul Lapeira (Decathlon CMA CGM) surged ahead. They were caught in the sprint, but Decathlon still managed to secure a narrow victory thanks to Aubin Sparfel.

1. Aubin Sparfel
2. Romain Grégoire
3. Milan Fretin
4. Benoît Cosnefroy
5. Jenno Berckmoes