{"id":811234,"date":"2026-07-19T01:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T01:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/811234\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T01:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T01:37:14","slug":"being-paul-seixas-the-boy-king-of-the-tour-de-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/811234\/","title":{"rendered":"Being Paul Seixas, the boy king of the Tour de France"},"content":{"rendered":"

BELFORT, France \u2014 \u201cTaisez-vous s\u2019il vous plait!\u201d Be quiet, please!<\/p>\n

The voice is slightly higher pitched and reedier than might be expected, but Paul Seixas\u2019 intervention is the mark of a veteran. Surrounded by fans at Montjuic, on stage two of the Tour de France\u2019s Catalan Grand D\u00e9part, the 19-year-old cannot hear the interview questions over the thrum and fervour of his promise. \u201cPaul! Paul! Seixas!\u201d<\/p>\n

He silences them with four polite words; the crowd, entranced, obey. After finishing his duties, Seixas spends five minutes greeting those now permitted to chant his name.<\/p>\n

Four days later, in the picturesque surrounds of the Pyrenees\u2019 Cirque du Gavarnie, another crowd interrupts Seixas\u2019 recovery \u2014 the entourage of French president Emmanuel Macron, who later calls the teenager \u201cextraordinary\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope he wins one or more stages,\u201d Macron told France 2. \u201cWe\u2019re behind him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seixas had just kept up with some of the world\u2019s best climbers over the fearsome Col du Tourmalet, finishing fifth on the race\u2019s first true mountain stage, yet at the finish, could only express his frustration that he had been unable to win the sprint for third.<\/p>\n

He is not that young rider who flies because he is unaware of his own limitations; Seixas is in the fight because he is aware of the magnitude of his gift.<\/p>\n

With the race entering Seixas\u2019 home region, Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes, the youngest men\u2019s Tour rider since World War Two sits sixth in the general classification (GC) \u2014 fewer than 30 seconds off the podium.<\/p>\n

The Tour is a national symbol \u2014 the thoughts of a first French winner in 41 years are wisps of breeze on a muggy evening. This year is not his year, but the next, and the one after that, and then so on<\/a>? That is the promise Seixas\u2019 debut represents. L\u2019\u00c9quipe, the country\u2019s biggest sports newspaper, has already appointed a reporter to concentrate solely on him.<\/p>\n

But Seixas wears expectations lightly, fastening them like an amulet around his neck. Behind him, his Decathlon CMA CGM team works relentlessly to minimise that pressure. The cloak fits snugly on his rounded shoulders \u2014 this is the boy that would be king.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Can Seixas one day end France\u2019s long wait for a home winner at the Tour? (Loic Venance \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Beaujolais is French wine country, with Seixas born in the waning days of the harvest on September 24, 2006. The area\u2019s grapes are known for their lightness, but it means the bottles they produce do not age well \u2014 lasting, at the very most, for 15 years. It was entirely appropriate then that the rural department\u2019s biggest sporting star, perhaps ever, should burst forth as a teenager.<\/p>\n

Seixas has always been early: the youngest rider in the Tour, the youngest winner of a one-week WorldTour stage race, the youngest champion of the prestigious La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember a long hike in Valais, Switzerland, when he was two years old,\u201d his father told L\u2019\u00c9quipe last month. \u201cHe walked until he was exhausted and he loved it. In the mountains, kids sometimes sit down on a rock because they\u2019re fed up. Paul was ahead of us, waiting. In two or three years, he started making lists for Santa Claus, with the peaks around us that he wanted to climb.\u201d<\/p>\n

It had been unclear at the start of the season if Seixas would go to the Tour, but the speed of his development meant his participation was barely a question by late spring. He was supercharged over the winter, finishing second to Tadej Poga\u010dar at both Strade Bianche and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, clear of the rest of the field on both occasions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember, two years ago during the Tour, that one of my colleagues pointed out that this kid was winning races and that maybe we should get to know him,\u201d says L\u2019\u00c9quipe journalist Luc Herincx. \u201cThen, when he won the (junior) world title in time trial, that was the first time he was mentioned in the newspaper. But it really became a big thing in June last year with the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 (where he finished eighth).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Seixas finished eighth at the 2025 Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 as an 18-year-old. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been such a long wait since our last Tour win, but also because we had Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet in the 2010s, and they\u2019ve retired. They reached their peak almost 10 years ago, and since then we haven\u2019t had any big names in the GC, so there\u2019s been some slack.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeixas coming was already some relief, but then when we noticed that he was so good at time trialling, which is something we didn\u2019t even have with Pinot and Bardet, we started thinking that maybe he could be one for the Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Decathlon were overwhelmed by interview requests for their young star, while L\u2019\u00c9quipe made a documentary following him over the 2026 season. Every road led to the Tour, and France\u2019s 41-year drought.<\/p>\n

On Stage 13, the race passed through M\u00e9lisey, the home village of Pinot, a rider burdened by similar expectations throughout his career, who admitted to burnout and withdrew from the sport. By the end, Pinot told Swiss newspaper Le Temps that he was \u201cglad he did not win the Tour de France\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pinot was the future once, and though he emerged on Friday and was feted at the stage start, Seixas\u2019 passage past his farm was both homage and symbolic of precociousness\u2019 danger.<\/p>\n

Internally, Decathlon launched a plan to protect their teenage star. Having been known to the team since he was a 15-year-old, Seixas had always been considered different.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was his mentality, his way of being in his daily life,\u201d explained one team source, speaking anonymously to manage the pressure around his rider. \u201cAs soon as we said something to Paul, he immediately remembered it and never made the same mistake twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Seixas descends the Col du Tourmalet on Stage six of the 2026 Tour. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

They resolved to learn from Bardet and Pinot\u2019s examples, limiting his media engagements outside of races, but also practising over and over when on altitude camps. He is an excellent speaker, with Decathlon wanting that personality to stand out \u2014 in modern cycling, especially one backed by a retail giant, he is a commercial asset as well as a rider \u2014 while affording him the recovery needed to win races.<\/p>\n

This has been developed, to an extent; his former youth coaches describe Seixas as introverted, with his talent helping to generate the belief that he could lead a team, on and off the road.<\/p>\n

In June, the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes (the newly renamed Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9) served as a dress rehearsal for the media pressures of the Tour de France, with some 40 journalists attending a press conference and the team making him available to speak every morning in front of the bus. Next January, Bardet will also join the team in the newly created role of sporting manager, bringing his own experience of challenging for the yellow jersey.<\/p>\n

Seixas\u2019 physical abilities are well-known. His raw numbers, especially his powers of recovery, place him in an elite bracket of endurance athletes \u2014 a catchment that can be counted on one hand when considering his age. Already, however, it has become evident that he is a rider of rare maturity.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was 18 when I first got to know him, but he\u2019s completely different, he\u2019s already like a 25-year-old,\u201d says Decathlon team-mate Aur\u00e9lien Paret-Peintre. \u201cHe knows so clearly what he wants for the race, for his career. He has a really good plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a trait, too, that Poga\u010dar picked out when asked about Seixas\u00a0in Li\u00e8ge: \u201cI admire him. At such a young age, he\u2019s so mature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n (Jeff Pachoud \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Last year, when riding to what appeared to be his first professional victory at the Tour of the Alps, Seixas gave a stage victory away to team-mate Nicolas Prodhomme as an appreciation of the domestique duties he had received.<\/p>\n

Decathlon\u2019s coaching staff still laugh at Seixas\u2019 reaction when that win finally came, having beaten Jo\u00e3o Almeida and Juan Ayuso at this year\u2019s Volta ao Algarve Bicicleta. After celebrating for 15 seconds, Seixas turned, stopped, and his face fell.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn, I left my recovery shoes on the bus,\u201d he said, their coach several kilometres away at the bottom of the valley. \u201cI won\u2019t be able to recover the best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Tour, he has scaled back the ultra-attacking style that saw him win the Itzulia Basque Country in April, riding a disciplined race knowing that he cannot launch alone against Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, and the remaining podium contenders.<\/p>\n

After climbing to Le Lioran on Stage 10, that newfound canniness was on full display \u2014 this is the first level where he has not been the most physically gifted in the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany riders didn\u2019t think about how to manage the climb \u2014 they went all out from the bottom,\u201d he said post-stage, having finished third. \u201cAfter that, we let Vingegaard ride, because he had the most to lose. He took us to the finish.\u201c<\/p>\n

Paret-Peintre has played a key role in that development, the 30-year-old climber becoming an unlikely long-term roommate for his young team leader, and relishing the mentorship role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known him since he arrived at the team,\u201d Paret-Peintre tells The Athletic before the start of stage 13. \u201cHe already knows everything about the race. He\u2019s super strong, so my role is more of an extra, mentally.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the stage, I tell him: \u2018Bye, go quickly to the shower\u2019, to recover as much as possible, for example. I also try to be a link between him and the team if he\u2019s tired and wants fewer interviews; it\u2019s about having less stress for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Aur\u00e9lien Paret-Peintre has acted as a mentor for Seixas since the teenager joined the pro ranks (Anne-Christine Poujoulat \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Paret-Peintre has seen rapid development in his team-mate over the last two weeks; in his view, it is in keeping with Seixas\u2019 trajectory since the pair met.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last six months, he really developed his ability to manage a group, to be a really good leader\u201d, said Paret-Peintre. \u201cHe said to me this winter: \u2018I\u2019m just 19, it\u2019s hard to ask these guys, like Tiesj (Benoot), already 32 years old, to do these things\u2019. But now he\u2019s really clear in his head, he does not feel the pressure for the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The noise is growing by the day, especially as he sits on the edge of the podium for Saturday\u2019s decisive climb of Le Markstein, followed by Plateau de Solaison a day later.<\/p>\n

With national attention turned back towards the Tour, France having been knocked out of the World Cup in the semi-finals on Tuesday<\/a>, there is a sense that a podium or stage win will send Seixas into true superstardom. Already, like Kylian, he is just \u201cPaul\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMbappe launched this generation \u2014 there\u2019s (NBA star) Victor Wembanyama<\/a>, (Olympic swimmer) Leon Marchand<\/a> \u2014 who are able to be so charismatic at 18 or 19 years old, and who can say: \u2018OK, no matter my age, I want to be the best\u2019,\u201d Herincx explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeixas is part of that, and that means he appeals to the younger generation, but there\u2019s also something else. When he was announced as going to the Tour, there was a video of him visiting his grandparents in the countryside, the ones who got him into cycling, and I think everybody can identify with that. We all grew up with the Tour with our grandparents, so I think he manages to gather every generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

“J\u2019ai quelque chose \u00e0 vous annoncer\u2026”<\/p>\n

“I have something to tell you\u2026”#DECATHLONCMACGMTEAM<\/a> \u2013 @Decathlon<\/a> @cmacgm<\/a> @van_rysel<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/kcKzR4hBIo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM (@decathloncmacgm) May 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Herincx is aware of the media\u2019s own role, and especially L\u2019\u00c9quipe, as the race\u2019s dominant voice \u2014 the Tour was founded to sell copies of the newspaper\u2019s predecessor L\u2019Auto \u2014 in not putting unfair pressure on Seixas. He believes it is a fair point to raise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we set our line on the very first day it was announced he would go to the Tour,\u201d Herincx answers. \u201cWe wrote an editorial, which effectively stated he had nothing to lose; that because he was only 19, we shouldn\u2019t pretend he was going to win the Tour, to be as good as Poga\u010dar or Vingegaard, but he could not be faulted for finishing off the podium, or exploding in the Tour\u2019s third week. We\u2019ve tried to be really careful, even when we focus on his success.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Seixas is already a sporting icon in France (Anne-Christine Poujoulat \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

So far, the demands on Seixas do not appear to be overwhelming; he sails serenely above them, at the least. That is not to say they do not exist, merely that Seixas is uniquely wired to carry them. One example stands out: competing in the French cyclocross title as a 15-year-old, riding one year up.<\/p>\n

In the race, held in the northern mud of Pas-de-Calais, he was crashed into by a Breton rider on the very first lap. The impact injured his leg, before he crashed a few kilometres later, losing a shoe, before falling back from the leaders once again. He eventually hit the front on the final lap \u2014 winning the sprint to take victory. His response?<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I mustn\u2019t put incredible pressure on myself before a championship, otherwise it becomes unmanageable,\u201d he told local website DirectVelo. \u201cAt cadet level, nothing is at stake right now. I\u2019m not risking my life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in the higher categories that I\u2019ll need to be at my best. For the moment, it\u2019s just preparation for the future. It\u2019s all about having fun \u2014 that\u2019s what I have to tell myself before a French Championship. I know it\u2019s possible. I let fate take its course.\u201d<\/p>\n

The level has changed, the risk is there, his attitude remains the same.<\/p>\n