{"id":204796,"date":"2025-10-16T18:49:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T18:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/204796\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T18:49:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T18:49:06","slug":"paul-seixas-sets-his-sights-on-slovenian-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/204796\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Seixas sets his sights on Slovenian superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Seixas<\/a> has made no secret of his lofty ambitions. Speaking on Eurosport’s Bistrot V\u00e9lo<\/a> this Monday, just days after finishing seventh at Il Lombardia, Seixas reflected on the challenge of chasing Tadej Pogacar<\/a>, the Slovenian who continues to dominate the sport in 2025. For the 19-year-old Frenchman, the goal isn\u2019t merely to close the gap \u2014 it\u2019s to surpass Pogacar at his peak.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about beating him when he\u2019s on the decline, but to beat him when he\u2019s at his level,\u201d Seixas says firmly, setting his sights on the Slovenian superstar. \u201cThat\u2019s the level you need today if you want to win the biggest races.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seixas\u2019 respect for Pogacar is clear. Over the course of his debut professional season, the Frenchman has tried to match the Slovenian\u2019s formidable pace four times \u2014 at the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9, the World Championships, the European Championships, and Il Lombardia. Each time, Pogacar came out on top, but with the teenage sensation impressing behind. As such, Seixas has been left both humbled and motivated.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cNot straight away, no,\u201d Seixas admitted. \u201cWe all know the level of performance he\u2019s capable of. We\u2019re going to train to try to beat him \u2014 that\u2019s sport. There are still big steps to take first. There\u2019s a lot of work to do, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pogacar as a benchmark: learning from the best<\/p>\n

Despite the daunting task, Seixas views Pogacar less as an obstacle and more as a benchmark for excellence. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the most complete riders out there,\u201d Seixas explained. \u201cWhatever the race, he\u2019s always ready to win. Whatever the terrain, whatever the effort \u2014 whether it\u2019s two minutes or an hour \u2014 he\u2019s the strongest. It\u2019s pretty crazy. He\u2019s a huge source of inspiration, because that\u2019s how you become an all-rounder and win general classifications. We\u2019re trying to understand how he does it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seixas is also acutely aware of the generational gap \u2014 he is eight years younger than Pogacar \u2014 yet he approaches the challenge with patience and perspective. \u201cIt means we\u2019re not part of the same generation. At some point, if everything goes well, he\u2019ll start to decline before I do. But the goal isn\u2019t to beat him when he\u2019s declining \u2014 it\u2019s to beat him when he\u2019s at his best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than rushing the process, Seixas prefers to focus on incremental progress. \u201cIt feels a long way off for me. There are so many steps to reach that level. I prefer to take a step back and remind myself that I still have time to progress. I\u2019m improving at my own pace. There\u2019s no point in saying I have to reach his level in two years. I\u2019d rather keep progressing gradually and be the best version of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seixas\u2019 measured approach, combined with the raw talent he has displayed in his first season, marks him as one of France\u2019s brightest young prospects. While Pogacar continues to set the standard, Seixas\u2019 ambition, discipline, and self-awareness suggest he is willing to bide his time \u2014 but not indefinitely. The message is clear: when he is ready, he intends to challenge the very best on his own terms.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paul Seixas has made no secret of his lofty ambitions. Speaking on Eurosport’s Bistrot V\u00e9lo this Monday, just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-204796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}