A near miss with a car and race radio mix-up as young Paul Seixas tastes the chaos of the Tour de France

Last month we wrote about how Paul Seixas‘ chaotic appearance at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes was both an interruption to his otherwise serene rise this year and a wake-up call ahead of his hotly anticipated Tour de France debut.

Two days into the race, and the stresses and strains of the world’s biggest bike race are already making themselves felt on the 19-year-old Frenchman.

Riders including Paul Seixas are almost taken out on a narrow section as the Tour de France reaches Barcelona! 😳 pic.twitter.com/UvaxAE0KgqJuly 5, 2026

Seixas did manage to make it back to the peloton ahead of the real finale, which featured multiple laps of the up-and-down circuit around Barcelona’s Montjuic park.

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

When his teammate Tiesj Benoot hit the front on the final climb in the closing metres, it looked like a statement of intent, but Seixas was still several wheels back, and in no position to attack.

“There was a small problem with the radios,” Seixas revealed.

“I was trying to say to them that I lacked a little bit to be able to attack, but the team director didn’t understand. He believed I was feeling 100% so he ordered Tiesj to ride, whilst I had no intention of attacking.”

What to read next

Seixas explained that he was caught behind a small split on the descent that followed that climb, leaving him on the back foot on the short final kick to the line, where he finished in ninth place, three seconds down on Tadej Pogačar, his winning teammate Isaac del Toro, and fellow rivals Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel.

“Honestly, given the circumstances, it’s very good. Three seconds, it’s not much, and it’s a good start to the Tour. The most important thing is to have only lost a tiny bit of time.

“In the end, I had better legs than I thought, but I prefer to save them for later on.”

The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.