Florian Sénéchal Explained

Florian Sénéchal
Fullname:Florian Sénéchal
Birth Date:10 July 1993
Birth Place:Cambrai, France
Height:1.79 m
Weight:76 kg
Discipline:Road
Role:Rider
Ridertype:Classics specialist
Amateuryears1:2010–2011
Amateurteam1:Wasquehal Junior
Amateuryears2:2012
Amateurteam2:EFC–Omega Pharma–Quick-Step
Proyears1:2012
Proyears2:2013
Proyears3:2014–2017
Proyears4:2018–2023
Proteam4:[1] [2]
Proyears5:2024–
Majorwins:Grand Tours

Vuelta a España

1 individual stage (2021)One-day races and Classics

Primus Classic (2021)

Florian Sénéchal (born 10 July 1993) is a French racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam .[3] A classics specialist, Sénéchal has taken five victories during his professional career, including a stage win at the 2021 Vuelta a España and winning the French National Road Race Championships in 2022.

Career

Born in Cambrai, Sénéchal rode for Wasquehal Junior in 2010 and 2011, winning Paris–Roubaix Juniors in 2011,[4] before joining EFC–Omega Pharma–Quick-Step – the under-23 team of – in 2012.[5] Having rode as a stagiaire for,[6] Sénéchal joined the team's development squad,, for 2013,[7] where he won the Memoriał Henryka Łasaka one-day race,[8] before a stage win and successes in the general and points classifications at the Okolo Jižních Čech. He also rode as part of the squad that contested the team time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Italy.

Cofidis (2014–2017)

Sénéchal joined the team for the 2014 season,[7] and in his first race with the team, he finished eighth overall at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in Africa, winning the white jersey as the best young rider. His only other top-ten overall finish came at the Four Days of Dunkirk, where he finished sixth overall.[9] The following year, Sénéchal made his first start at a Grand Tour, when he rode the Tour de France.[10] His best result of the season was a third-place finish at Tro-Bro Léon, where he finished as part of the lead group, despite suffering a crash around halfway through the race.[11]

In 2016, Sénéchal recorded two top-five finishes in the first quarter of the season, with third at Le Samyn and fifth at the Classic Loire Atlantique.[12] [13] He placed eighth overall at the Tour de Wallonie – winning the young rider classification[14] – and third at Dwars door het Hageland,[15] before making his first start at the Vuelta a España.[16] Sénéchal was unable to repeat his podium finish at Le Samyn in 2017, finishing in fourth place, having been beaten to the finish by Iljo Keisse,[17] while his only other top-five placing during the year came at the French National Road Race Championships, where he finished in fifth place.

Quick-Step Floors (2018–2023)

In August 2017, Sénéchal signed an initial two-year contract to join from the 2018 season,[18] his first UCI WorldTeam contract.

2018–2019

He took top-five finishes at the Clásica de Almería (fifth) and Dwars door West-Vlaanderen (second), finishing the latter behind teammate Rémi Cavagna.[19] [20] He made his first start at the Giro d'Italia in May,[21] and following this, he took three further top-five finishes over the remainder of the season – fourth at the Brussels Cycling Classic,[22] third at the Grand Prix d'Isbergues,[23] and second to Sonny Colbrelli in the Gran Piemonte.[24] The following year, Sénéchal took his first professional race victory at Le Samyn in March.[25] He was one of three riders that were in a lead group of ten riders on the final circuit lap around Dour, and with pressure being applied at the front by Tim Declercq and Pieter Serry, Sénéchal was able to out-sprint his rivals to the finish line.[26] He finished sixth at Paris–Roubaix, leading home a small group around three-quarters of a minute behind the race winner, teammate Philippe Gilbert.[27] In July, Sénéchal signed a two-year contract extension with the team, taking him to the end of the 2021 season.[28] Sénéchal took two further runner-up finishes over the remainder of the season – he finished second on the second stage of July's Adriatica Ionica Race, as part of a 1–2–3 finish for along with Álvaro Hodeg and Gilbert,[29] and second to Piet Allegaert at the Tour de l'Eurométropole in October.[30] He was also involved in a post-race incident with Max Walscheid at the Münsterland Giro, later apologising for his actions.[31] [32]

2020

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic-enforced suspension of racing in 2020, Sénéchal recorded top-ten finishes in the early-season Belgian races Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (tenth),[33] Le Samyn (fifth),[34] and the Grote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré (seventh).[35] Sénéchal then won the Grote Prijs Vermarc Sport kermesse in July,[36] which was the first race held for professionals after the suspension of racing.[37] Fourth-place finishes followed in successive starts, at Dwars door het Hageland and the Tour de Wallonie,[38] [39] before a UCI World Tour podium finish on home soil, with third in a small group sprint at the Bretagne Classic Ouest-France.[40] Sénéchal took his second career victory four days later at the Druivenkoers Overijse, after a late solo attack.[41] His best result following that victory was a second-place finish to Mads Pedersen at Gent–Wevelgem, having gone clear in a group of four prior to the final kilometre of the race.[42]

2021

In his first start of 2021, Sénéchal finished second to Giacomo Nizzolo in a bunch sprint at the Clásica de Almería, having not been earmarked as 's main sprinter for the race.[43] Having finished seventh at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Sénéchal recorded a third-place finish at the Bredene Koksijde Classic, having initially been part of a thirteen-rider move that was brought back.[44] The following week, he led home a small group for second place at the E3 Saxo Bank Classic behind teammate Kasper Asgreen,[45] who had attacked with 5km (03miles) remaining.[46] He finished off the spring classics with a pair of ninth-place finishes at Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Tour of Flanders. For the first time since 2016, Sénéchal rode the Vuelta a España,[47] primarily as a lead-out man for Fabio Jakobsen. On stage 13, after Jakobsen was dropped in the final kilometres, Sénéchal held off Matteo Trentin in the final sprint to win his first Grand Tour stage.[48] [49] He then won the Primus Classic ahead of the UCI Road World Championships,[45] where he finished in ninth place in the road race, which was won by his teammate Julian Alaphilippe.[50] He also extended his contract with for a further two years, extending until the end of the 2023 season.[51]

2022–2023

In 2022, Sénéchal took his third successive top-ten finish at February's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, finishing in ninth place as part of the lead chase group behind solo winner Wout van Aert.[52] He then finished in third place at Dwars door het Hageland in June,[53] before taking his only victory of the season later the same month – when he won the French National Road Race Championships in Cholet, winning the sprint from a group of five riders.[54] He made his début in the jersey at the Tour de France, riding the race for the first time since 2017, being called up late to replace Tim Declercq.[55] His best stage result came on stage nineteen, when he finished in fourth place.[56] Sénéchal recorded no further victories during the season, with runner-up stage finishes at the Deutschland Tour and the Tour de Luxembourg.[57] [58] He then endured a winless 2023, with his best results coming in his final three starts for with fifth at the Circuit Franco-Belge,[59] third at the Famenne Ardenne Classic,[60] and seventh at Binche–Chimay–Binche.[61]

Arkéa–B&B Hotels

In October 2023, Sénéchal signed a two-year contract with UCI WorldTeam from the 2024 season.[62] His best result during the season was a tenth-place finish at the Antwerp Port Epic, having been set back by two collarbone fractures, the death of his grandfather and burnout which had left him contemplating his career in the sport.[63] He also had to apologise for comments that he had made about the team's equipment provider Bianchi at Paris–Roubaix.[64]

Major results

Source: [65]

2011
  • 1st Paris–Roubaix Juniors
  • 3rd Overall Trophée Centre Morbihan
  • 4th Road race, UCI Junior Road World Championships
  • 6th Overall Trofeo Karlsberg
    2012
  • 9th Paris–Roubaix Espoirs
  • 10th Overall Tour de Bretagne
    2013
  • 1st Overall Okolo Jižních Čech
  • 1st Points classification
  • 1st Stage 2
  • 1st Memoriał Henryka Łasaka
  • 2nd De Kustpijl
  • 4th Paris–Tours Espoirs
  • 6th Tour du Finistère
  • 8th Overall Paris–Arras Tour
  • 9th Overall Boucle de l'Artois
    2014
  • 6th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
  • 8th Overall La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
  • 1st Young rider classification
    2015
  • 3rd Tro-Bro Léon
  • 6th Boucles de l'Aulne
    2016
  • 3rd Dwars door het Hageland
  • 3rd Le Samyn
  • 5th Classic Loire Atlantique
  • 5th Tour de l'Eurométropole
  • 8th Overall Tour de Wallonie
  • 1st Young rider classification
  • 10th Overall Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
    2017
  • 4th Le Samyn
  • 5th Road race, National Road Championships
  • 6th Dwars door het Hageland
  • 7th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
  • 10th Dwars door Vlaanderen
    2018
  • 2nd Gran Piemonte
  • 2nd Dwars door West-Vlaanderen
  • 3rd Grand Prix d'Isbergues
  • 4th Brussels Cycling Classic
  • 5th Clásica de Almería
  • 6th Münsterland Giro
    2019
  • 1st Le Samyn
  • 2nd Tour de l'Eurométropole
  • 6th Paris–Roubaix
  • 6th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
  • 7th Binche–Chimay–Binche
  • 9th Bretagne Classic
    2020
  • 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
  • 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
  • 3rd Bretagne Classic
  • 4th Overall Tour de Wallonie
  • 4th Dwars door het Hageland
  • 5th Le Samyn
  • 7th Overall BinckBank Tour
  • 7th Grote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré
  • 10th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
    2021
  • 1st Primus Classic
  • 1st Stage 13 Vuelta a España
  • 2nd E3 Saxo Bank Classic
  • 2nd Clásica de Almería
  • 3rd Bredene Koksijde Classic
  • 7th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
  • 9th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
  • 9th Tour of Flanders
  • 9th Dwars door Vlaanderen
    2022
  • 1st Road race, National Road Championships
  • 3rd Dwars door het Hageland
  • 9th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
    2023
  • 3rd Famenne Ardenne Classic
  • 5th Circuit Franco-Belge
  • 7th Binche–Chimay–Binche
  • 9th Super 8 Classic
  • 10th Road race, UEC European Road Championships
    2024
  • 10th Antwerp Port Epic

    Grand Tour general classification results timeline

    Grand Tour20152016201720182019202020212022
    Giro d'Italia———135DNF———
    Tour de France135—161————107
    Vuelta a España—DNF————118—

    Classics results timeline

    Monument20142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
    Milan–San Remo—75—173————1476—
    Tour of FlandersDNF90—4044—12938DNF62
    Paris–Roubaix49172612DNF6NH71136360
    Liège–Bastogne–LiègeHas not contested during his career
    Giro di Lombardia————DNF——————
    Classic20142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
    Omloop Het Nieuwsblad19241736—DNF107977DNF
    Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne74DNF31DNF—6——7440—
    Dwars door Vlaanderen17DNF2510—30NH9——129
    E3 Harelbeke14———1625257DNF—
    Gent–Wevelgem14219DNF10047—2—DNF27—
    Bretagne Classic4943—DNF—93——DNF—
    Legend
    —Did not compete
    DNFDid not finish
    IPIn progress
    NHNot held

    Notes and References

    1. News: 2020 Team Preview: Deceuninck-QuickStep. Barry. Ryan. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 31 December 2019. 2 January 2020.
    2. Web site: Deceuninck - Quick-Step. UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. 1 January 2021. https://archive.today/20210101071627/https://www.uci.org/road/teams/TeamDetail/15237/1000495/279. 1 January 2021.
    3. Web site: Arkéa–B&B Hotels. UCI. 14 January 2024.
    4. News: Senechal solos to victory. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 11 April 2011. 19 November 2024.
    5. News: Quentin. Lafaye. Sénéchal : « J'ai mis toutes les chances de mon coté ». French. Sénéchal: "I put all the chances on my side". Directvelo. Association Le Peloton. 16 December 2011. 19 November 2024.
    6. News: Nicolas. Gachet. Florian Sénéchal stagiaire chez Omega Pharma-Quick Step. French. Florian Sénéchal trainee at Omega Pharma-Quick Step. Directvelo. Association Le Peloton. 21 June 2012. 19 November 2024.
    7. Web site: Florian Sénéchal. French. L'Équipe. Éditions Philippe Amaury. 19 November 2024.
    8. News: Florian Senechal wygrał 15. Memoriał Henryka Łasaka. Polish. Florian Senechal won the 15th Henryk Łasak Memorial. TVP Sport. Telewizja Polska. 10 September 2013. 19 November 2024.
    9. News: Demare wins overall 4 Days of Dunkirk. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 11 May 2014. 19 November 2024.
    10. Web site: 2015 Tour de France start list . 2 July 2015 . Velo News.
    11. News: Jean-François. Quénet. Geniez wins Tro Bro Leon at first attempt. Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 19 April 2015. 19 November 2024.
    12. News: Terpstra solos to victory in Le Samyn. Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 2 March 2016. 19 November 2024.
    13. News: Turgis solos away to win Classic Loire Atlantique. Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 20 March 2016. 19 November 2024.
    14. News: Devenyns wins final Tour de Wallonie stage. Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 27 July 2016. 19 November 2024.
    15. News: Terpstra wins Dwars door het Hageland. Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 5 August 2016. 19 November 2024.
    16. Web site: 71st Vuelta a España . 20 August 2016 . ProCyclingStats.
    17. News: Van Keirsbulck wins Le Samyn. Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 1 March 2017. 19 November 2024.
    18. News: Florian Sénéchal commits future to Quick-Step Floors. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 9 August 2017. 3 January 2018.
    19. News: Sénéchal posts impressive top 5 at Clasica de Almeria. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 11 February 2018. 19 November 2024.
    20. News: Cavagna wins Dwars door West-Vlaanderen. Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 4 March 2018. 19 November 2024.
    21. Web site: 2018: 101st Giro d'Italia: Start List . 3 May 2018 . ProCyclingStats.
    22. News: Sénéchal takes fourth in fraught finale. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 1 September 2018. 19 November 2024.
    23. News: Team News: 72nd Grand Prix d'Isbergues won by Gilbert. VeloUK. LH Publishing. 24 September 2018. 19 November 2024.
    24. News: Sénéchal finishes runner-up at Gran Piemonte. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 11 October 2018. 19 November 2024.
    25. News: Alex. Ballinger. Florian Sénéchal continues Deceuninck - Quick-Step's winning streak on the cobbles in Le Samyn. Cycling Weekly. TI Media. 5 March 2019. 19 November 2024.
    26. News: News: Win for Sénéchal at le Samyn. VeloUK. LH Publishing. 6 March 2019. 19 November 2024.
    27. News: Barry. Ryan. Brecht. Decaluwé. Philippe Gilbert wins Paris-Roubaix. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 14 April 2019. 19 November 2024.
    28. News: Florian Sénéchal signs new contract with Deceuninck – Quick-Step. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 9 July 2019. 19 November 2024.
    29. News: Hodeg leads Deceuninck-Quickstep sweep. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 25 July 2019. 19 November 2024.
    30. News: Florian Sénéchal runner-up at Tour de l'Eurometropole. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 5 October 2019. 19 November 2024.
    31. News: Alex. Ballinger. Fight breaks out between Quick-Step and Sunweb riders after finish of Münsterland Giro. Cycling Weekly. TI Media. 3 October 2019. 19 November 2024.
    32. News: Samuël. Grulois. Florian Sénéchal : " Plein de coureurs m'ont félicité d'avoir foutu une petite raclée à Walscheid ! ". French. Florian Sénéchal: "Lots of riders congratulated me for giving Walscheid a good thrashing!". RTBF. 7 October 2019. 19 November 2024.
    33. News: Barry. Ryan. Brecht. Decaluwé. Jasper Stuyven wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 29 February 2020. 19 November 2024.
    34. News: Tim. Bonville-Ginn. Hugo Hofstetter takes the win at Le Samyn 2020 in a reduced bunch sprint. Cycling Weekly. TI Media. 3 March 2020. 19 November 2024.
    35. News: Jakobsen wins GP Monseré. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 8 March 2020. 19 November 2024.
    36. News: Dani. Ostanek. Florian Sénéchal wins the GP Vermarc Sport. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 5 July 2020. 19 November 2024.
    37. News: Renners na eerste koers: "Speeksel of drinkbus?" en "Tijd voor coronapaspoort?". Dutch. Riders after first race: "Saliva or water bottle?" and "Time for a corona passport?". Sporza. Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie. 6 July 2020. 19 November 2024.
    38. News: Dwars door het Hageland: Jonas Rickaert victorious in Diest. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 15 August 2020. 19 November 2024.
    39. News: Top 5 for Sénéchal at Tour de Wallonie. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 19 August 2020. 19 November 2024.
    40. News: Bretagne Classic: Sénéchal takes first podium of the season. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 25 August 2020. 19 November 2024.
    41. News: Positief nieuws voor Deceuninck-Quick.Step: Florian Sénéchal wint Druivenkoers in Overijse. Dutch. Positive news for Deceuninck-Quick.Step: Florian Sénéchal wins Druivenkoers in Overijse. Het Laatste Nieuws. DPG Media. 29 August 2020. 19 November 2024.
    42. News: Florian Sénéchal takes runner-up at Gent-Wevelgem. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 11 October 2020. 19 November 2024.
    43. News: Sénéchal steps in for Hodeg, Cavendish in Clasica Almeria. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 14 February 2021. 19 November 2024.
    44. News: Laura. Weislo. Tim Merlier wins Bredene-Koksijde Classic. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 19 March 2021. 19 November 2024.
    45. News: Florian Sénéchal: Dreaming of Paris-Roubaix. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 2 October 2021. 19 November 2024.
    46. News: Laura. Weislo. Kasper Asgreen wins E3 Saxo Bank Classic. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 26 March 2021. 19 November 2024.
    47. Web site: 76th Vuelta a España. 14 August 2021. ProCyclingStats.
    48. Web site: Vuelta a España: Florian Sénéchal wins stage 13. Daniel. Benson. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 27 August 2021. 27 August 2021.
    49. Web site: Florian Sénéchal sprints to victory on stage 13 of Vuelta a España after Fabio Jakobsen failed to follow the wheels. Tim. Bonville-Ginn. Cycling Weekly. Future plc. 27 August 2021. 27 August 2021.
    50. News: Issy. Ronald. Julian Alaphilippe defends world title with stunning victory in Flanders World Championships. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 27 September 2021. 19 November 2024.
    51. News: Patrick. Fletcher. Florian Sénéchal extends with Deceuninck-QuickStep. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 11 September 2021. 19 November 2024.
    52. News: Florian Sénéchal takes top 10 in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 26 February 2022. 19 November 2024.
    53. News: Sénéchal takes hard-fought podium in Hageland. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 11 June 2022. 19 November 2024.
    54. News: Patrick. Fletcher. Sénéchal takes French road race title. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 26 June 2022. 19 November 2024.
    55. News: Ibrahim. Mustapha. Mark Cavendish snubbed from Tour de France again after team-mate Tim Declercq tests positive for Covid. Eurosport. Warner Bros. Discovery. 28 June 2022. 19 November 2024.
    56. News: Tom. Thewlis. Tour de France 2022: Christophe Laporte wins thrilling finish on Stage 19 into Cahors. Cycling Weekly. Future plc. 22 July 2022. 19 November 2024.
    57. News: Close again for Florian Sénéchal. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 26 August 2022. 19 November 2024.
    58. News: Sénéchal comes close to victory in Luxembourg. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 14 September 2022. 19 November 2024.
    59. News: Top five for Sénéchal in Mont-de-l'Enclus. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 28 September 2023. 19 November 2024.
    60. News: Sénéchal in the spotlight again. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 1 October 2023. 19 November 2024.
    61. News: Sénéchal digs deep for top 10 in Binche. . Decolef Lux. SARL. 3 October 2023. 19 November 2024.
    62. News: Florian Sénéchal chez Arkéa-B&B Hotels en 2024. French. Florian Sénéchal at Arkéa-B&B Hotels in 2024. L'Équipe. Éditions Philippe Amaury. 2 October 2023. 19 November 2024.
    63. News: Dani. Ostanek. 'I hit rock bottom' – Florian Sénéchal reveals mental struggles during 2024 season. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 24 October 2024. 19 November 2024.
    64. News: Josh. Croxton. Florian Sénéchal apologises after berating Bianchi in post-Roubaix rant. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 11 April 2024. 19 November 2024.
    65. Web site: Florian Sénéchal. FirstCycling.com. FirstCycling AS. 19 November 2024.

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