Circuit de Wallonie: Riley Sheehan surges from reduced bunch for first victory in three seasons

PARIS, FRANCE - APRIL 12: Riley Sheehan of NSN Cycling Team of United States of America during the match between Paris v Roubaix Men Elite at the Paris on April 12, 2026 in Paris France (Photo by Pim Waslander/Soccrates/Getty Images) — Riley Sheehan (Image credit: Getty Images)

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Riley Sheehan (NSN Development Team) won the reduced bunch sprint at Circuit de Wallonie for his first victory in three years.

The 25-year-old US rider launched his acceleration on the slightly uphill finish from fifth position and had time to glance back before the line to see rivals several bike lengths behind. Gerben Thijssen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) went second and Joren Bloem (Unibet Rose Rockets) took third.

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Thursday's Belgian race covered 196.1km from la Louvière to Charleroi. An attack in the final 15km of the finish circuit was made by Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5) and the British rider took a solo lead, but was caught with 5km to go. The peloton was reduced to less than 20 riders for the finale, with Sheehan the best of the bunch.

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Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.