{"id":502867,"date":"2026-02-25T09:51:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/502867\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T09:51:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:51:13","slug":"you-have-to-put-the-age-factor-aside-hes-a-ufo-paul-seixas-rapid-ascent-through-the-eyes-of-a-decathlon-teammate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/502867\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cYou have to put the age factor aside \u2013 he\u2019s a UFO\u201d \u2013 Paul Seixas\u2019 rapid ascent through the eyes of a Decathlon teammate"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nSpeaking on Eurosport\u2019s Bistrot Velo<\/a>, teammate Paul Lapeira made it clear that Seixas is no longer being assessed on age or potential curves. \u201cYou have to put the age factor aside, because he\u2019s a UFO.\u201dContinuity, not a breakthroughThe outside narrative has understandably focused on the spectacle of his ride at the Volta ao Algarve<\/a>. A summit victory on Alto da Foia, second overall behind Juan Ayuso, and a time trial just 13 seconds slower than a specialist such as Filippo Ganna. For many, it felt like a breakout.<\/p>\n

Lapeira does not see it that way. \u201cWhen you consider his age, of course, you\u2019re surprised. But when you know his talent and the expectations on his shoulders, you\u2019re not surprised, because it\u2019s what we expect from him,\u201d he explained. \u201cWhat he did in the Algarve is simply a continuation.\u201d<\/p>\n

That word \u2013 continuation \u2013 is key.<\/p>\n

Seixas closed last season with a European Championships podium and a top ten at Il Lombardia. He began this one by immediately racing for overall victory in his first outing of 2026. The trajectory has not stalled. It has not dipped. It has accelerated.<\/p>\n

And it has done so under increasing responsibility.<\/p>\n

\"tadej<\/p>\n

Seixas podiumed at the 2025 European Championships alongside Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogacar<\/p>\n

A leader at 19<\/p>\n

Unlike 12 months ago, Seixas is no longer just an ambitious support rider. He is a protected figure in selected races, even with experienced winners such as Lapeira in the same squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a co-leadership planned when we are racing together with Paul Seixas,\u201d said Lapeira, the 2024 French national champion. \u201cI will have my chance. The team manages that quite well. It doesn\u2019t put astronomical pressure on Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n

That final point is revealing. The pressure is obvious from the outside. Inside the team, it is being managed rather than amplified.<\/p>\n

Seixas\u2019 winter preparation underlined that shift in status. He spent months at altitude in Sierra Nevada, even speaking openly about not seeing his parents or girlfriend for two months in order to focus fully on performance. The work translated directly into his Algarve level, particularly in the time trial, where optimisation around position, equipment and detail played a role alongside raw climbing ability.<\/p>\n

Lapeira was quick to highlight that structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis result in the time trial obviously comes largely from his physical condition, because without the legs he has, he would never achieve that placing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there is also all the optimisation work around him, everything done around the time trial within the team \u2013 the bike, the clothing\u2026 All those small details added together mean that in the end, you get the kind of good results he is capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ceiling is still moving<\/p>\n

For Decathlon, Seixas is not just a prodigy to protect but a long-term project to build around. Recruitment has strengthened the squad, but the investment in infrastructure appears just as significant.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good because we are putting every possible chance on the riders\u2019 side,\u201d Lapeira added. \u201cFor the future, the team is capable of providing him with a lot to take him even higher. I think he is in the right place.\u201d<\/p>\n

That assessment carries more weight than external hype.<\/p>\n

Seixas\u2019 rise has been steady rather than explosive, but the numbers and the results are beginning to force a shift in tone. When a 19-year-old is competitive in the mountains, competitive against time trial specialists, and entrusted with leadership without visible strain, the conversation changes.<\/p>\n

Inside Decathlon, it already has.<\/p>\n

Age, as Lapeira bluntly put it, is no longer the defining metric.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Speaking on Eurosport\u2019s Bistrot Velo, teammate Paul Lapeira made it clear that Seixas is no longer being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347512,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,176987,176605,85,202122],"class_list":["post-502867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-decathlon-cma-cgm-team","tag-paul-seixas","tag-sports","tag-volta-ao-algarve"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}