Tour de France : Paul Seixas is already refusing to look beyond his first Grand Boucle
He could have basked in fourth place, fielded questions about next year’s Tour or even talked up his transfer future. Paul Seixas took a different route. At 19, the Frenchman has come through one of the most striking debuts in modern Tour de France history, but he is more interested in keeping the hype in check than adding to it.
The Lyon-born rider finished just off the podium on his first appearance, a feat no rider that young had managed for nearly 90 years. Over three weeks, he hung tough in the high mountains, picked up strong finishes and showed he can already mix it with the best climbers in the bunch. Even so, his message never really changed: he says he is still at the start of the learning curve.
The transfer buzz grows, Paul Seixas just wants to talk bikes
A ride like that was always going to turn heads. His contract with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale runs until 2027 and several big teams are already tracking his progress. But the man himself isn’t buying into that noise. He says he does not want to live from one round of contract chatter to the next and would rather pour all his energy into getting better than into what comes next on paper.
That calm stands in sharp contrast to the fuss that now follows every result he posts. Paul Seixas says he feels completely at home in his current team, convinced his present set-up still gives him room to grow before he even thinks about the future.
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A Tour that changes his status without changing his ambitions
This first Tour de France has mainly confirmed what plenty of people already suspected since the start of the season. After his results in the classics and his spring wins, Paul Seixas proved he can also survive three weeks against the best riders in the world. He leaves with fourth place, several top-10 stage finishes and an experience his team already sees as vital for what comes next in his career.
The Frenchman does not hide the fact that he dreams of winning the Grand Boucle one day. He also admits the gap to Tadej Pogacar is still huge. Rather than seeing that as frustration, he sees motivation. At just 19, Paul Seixas leaves this Tour with a new status, but without giving up the patience that has carried him through these three weeks.
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