{"id":539795,"date":"2026-04-19T18:17:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/539795\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T18:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:17:14","slug":"pogacar-isnt-there-he-has-no-equal-not-even-evenepoel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/539795\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPogacar isn\u2019t there… he has no equal. Not even Evenepoel\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\u201cI see him winning because he sees himself winning. So when he goes there to win, and it seems he\u2019s preparing specifically for this race and has it in mind\u2026 he wants to win because Pogacar isn\u2019t there, so I don\u2019t see why we wouldn\u2019t be able to say that he\u2019s going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

A different kind of favourite<\/p>\n

That confidence is built on more than a single week. Seixas\u2019 spring has followed a clear upward curve, from an early breakthrough at the Volta ao Algarve to a second place behind Pogacar at Strade Bianche, before his emphatic display in the Basque Country.<\/p>\n

The nature of those performances has fed into a more aggressive assessment from Pineau, who believes the profile of La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne suits Seixas perfectly. \u201cAfter what he showed in the Basque Country, on this kind of race, he has no equal. Not even Evenepoel.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a bold claim, particularly given the presence of Remco Evenepoel<\/a>, but one that reflects the way Seixas\u2019 level is currently being interpreted in France. The Mur de Huy demands explosiveness and timing rather than endurance alone, and Pineau sees those qualities as strengths rather than unknowns. \u201cWith the Mur de Huy, you need explosiveness and punch, and the race is only 200 kilometres. I know he has asked his team to prepare a plan to win the race.\u201d\"Paul<\/p>\n

Paul Seixas at Itzulia Basque Country 2026<\/p>\n

Momentum meets opportunity<\/p>\n

The absence of Pogacar changes the dynamic, but it does not remove the challenge. Instead, it creates a different kind of pressure.<\/p>\n

Seixas is no longer arriving as an outsider. He is being framed as a rider expected to win, based on what he has already delivered rather than what he might achieve in the future.<\/p>\n

That shift has been building inside his own team as well. At Decathlon CMA CGM Team<\/a>, his Itzulia performance established him as the clear focal point, with experienced riders committing fully to his leadership. The next step is to translate that control from a stage race environment into a one-day finish that offers far less margin for error.From Huy to Li\u00e8ge<\/p>\n

La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne may be the immediate focus, but it is not the only test waiting.<\/p>\n

At Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, Seixas will line up against Pogacar once again, revisiting a rivalry that already produced a second place finish at Strade Bianche earlier this season. Pineau believes that gap may already have closed. \u201cHe is really looking forward to the race. He believes he has progressed a lot since Strade Bianche, to be able to go far with Pogacar and maybe even beat him.\u201d<\/p>\n

That progression is what defines the current moment. Seixas is not simply building towards future targets. He is accelerating through them.<\/p>\n

A shift happening in real time<\/p>\n

The debate around Seixas has moved quickly from potential to expectation. Performances that would normally be seen as early career highlights are now being used to project immediate success in races he has never ridden.<\/p>\n

That is what makes the current situation unusual. La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne is not being framed as a learning experience. It is being treated as an opportunity to confirm what his recent results already suggest.<\/p>\n

Whether that proves accurate will be decided on the slopes of the Mur de Huy. But the tone has already been set. Seixas is no longer being discussed as a future contender. He is being judged against the very best, and in some quarters, already placed above them.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI see him winning because he sees himself winning. So when he goes there to win, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,117520,117694,156725,112065,7133,101,8782,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-539795","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-decathlon-cma-cgm-team","10":"tag-jerome-pineau","11":"tag-la-fleche-wallonne","12":"tag-paul-seixas","13":"tag-remco-evenepoel","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-tadej-pogacar","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539795","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=539795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}